Rating: 
Summary: The Full Churchill
Review: A superbly written biography, truly amusing, on a man and a time which will be unlikely matched anytime soon. A must.
Rating:
Summary: A Captivating Read
Review: As Hitler was gaining power in Germany, Churchill was warning his fellow countrymen of the dangers thatlurked. He did not receive a listening hear. At a speech before a University audience in Oxford when he told the crowd it was "essential for us to be safe in our island home," the audience burst into laughter. The laughter grew so raucous that Churchill could not continue. These are the sort of snapshots that Manchester captures that makes this book such a delightful read.Churchill was written off more than once. This second snapshot describes what happened:
"Joseph Stalin, receiving a British delegation headed by Nancy and George Bernard Shaw, had bluntly asked her about Winston's political prospects.Her eyes widened. 'Churchill?' she had said. She gave a scornful little laugh and replied, 'Oh, he's finished.'" These are just two examples of the thoroughness of this well-written book. The author takes a complicated era and makes it understandable.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent History of Churchill's Wilderness Years
Review: As one reads William Manchester's second volume on Churchill, one is struck by Churchill's uncanny grasp of the threat of Nazi Germany, and his many attempts to warn Britain of its peril. Like Cassandra in Greek mythology, though, Churchill's predictions are not believed, and he is only included in the War Cabinet when war was inevitable. William Manchester's book is thoroughly researched, and is at least as good as that of Churchill's official biographer, Martin Gilbert, with one important difference: Manchester's book is written on a far larger canvas, and the level of detail he is able to devote to Churchill is far greater -- and the subject is more than worthy of it. Mandatory reading for anyone studying Churchill, a good prelude to read before reading Churchill's own five volume history of World War II in that it gives insight into Churchill's mind. On a personal level, I know that Mr. Manchester is advanced in years, and I cannot help thinking, in my selfishness as a historian, that I hope he completes volume III soon. It would be a tragedy if the task of completing this wonderful history proves to be too much for him.
Rating:
Summary: Current Events
Review: As the crisis in Iraq developed in the post-911 days, I found myself thinking more and more about this second volume of the life of Winston Churchill. I was reminded of the essential differences between appeasement and the need to take agressive measures to stop agression. William Manchester does an outstanding job of spelling out the state of the world at this time leading up to World War II. He details, from a British perspective, every move as we watch disappointedly from an historical vantage point. Churchill's eventual elevation to Prime Minister comes not as a triumph, but more like an act of desperation. All along the way, knowing who the bad guy is (and just how bad he really is) we are disappointed (or is it disgusted) at each step of retreat. I am in the midst of reading Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" and, while I can sing it's praises, it does not do as impressive job on this subject as Manchester's "Alone". Someting about Manchester's writing makes you feel that you're in the midst of everything that's happening. I can think of no better a time to read this book than in the present world political situation. I'll leave it to the reader to decided how similar the Iraq situation is to that of Nazi Germany. However, the various ways the world and this country react to the situation brings Europe of the 1930's to mind.
Rating:
Summary: Current Events
Review: As the crisis in Iraq developed in the post-911 days, I found myself thinking more and more about this second volume of the life of Winston Churchill. I was reminded of the essential differences between appeasement and the need to take agressive measures to stop agression. William Manchester does an outstanding job of spelling out the state of the world at this time leading up to World War II. He details, from a British perspective, every move as we watch disappointedly from an historical vantage point. Churchill's eventual elevation to Prime Minister comes not as a triumph, but more like an act of desperation. All along the way, knowing who the bad guy is (and just how bad he really is) we are disappointed (or is it disgusted) at each step of retreat. I am in the midst of reading Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" and, while I can sing it's praises, it does not do as impressive job on this subject as Manchester's "Alone". Someting about Manchester's writing makes you feel that you're in the midst of everything that's happening. I can think of no better a time to read this book than in the present world political situation. I'll leave it to the reader to decided how similar the Iraq situation is to that of Nazi Germany. However, the various ways the world and this country react to the situation brings Europe of the 1930's to mind.
Rating:
Summary: We're left hanging
Review: I cannot praise this book in any better fashion than those before me. However, I must plead with Mr. Manchester's heirs to bring together the material gathered for volume three. Following his wife's death in 1998, Manchester had a stroke, and announced he wouldn't be able to finish volume three. On June 1st of this year, he passed away. Just as Martin Gilbert took over Randolph Churchill's task of writing his father's official biography, surely the Manchester heirs could find an author who could do justice to the research this great author had done on the third volume.
Rating: 
Summary: Wilderness Years
Review: I liked this treatise on the life of Churchill. His wilderness years when those who treated him with disdain thought of him as a wash up. This was his time to bide his time, in order to gain his composure for his future use. Anyone in the oxbow of life can gain insights on how to use time rightly until the attainment of a goal. Churchill did not just bide his time, he used it to his advantage. One day I hope Manchester finishes volume III.....
Rating:
Summary: Wilderness Years
Review: I liked this treatise on the life of Churchill. His wilderness years when those who treated him with disdain thought of him as a wash up. This was his time to bide his time, in order to gain his composure for his future use. Anyone in the oxbow of life can gain insights on how to use time rightly until the attainment of a goal. Churchill did not just bide his time, he used it to his advantage. One day I hope Manchester finishes volume III.....
Rating:
Summary: When you need to think your problems trivial...
Review: I purchased this book in 1988. I have picked it up repeatedly over the years as a source of inspiration. In the darkest time since the dark ages, Churchill carried an empire determined to topple. He saved the world from a new dark age. In these incredibly wealthy times, when noblesse oblige is considered quaint, we can look to this most aristocratic of democrats to understand the cost of not standing against evil. Now, if only Mr. Manchester would "oblige" us. This second one only took six years; it's now been nine waiting for the third!
Rating:
Summary: Churchilll and Manchester, what a pair
Review: I stumbled across The Last Lion, ran to Visions of Glory and am now waiting with less patience everyday, for the last volume on Mr. Churchill. But the story doesn't stop there, Mr. Manchester is without a doubt the best historian I've come across. I've read everything he's written and can only hope for more.A hint, keep your dictionary close, he uses some words that I needed to look up, but what a wonderful way to learn.
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