Rating: 
Summary: A grand historical sweep
Review: This, and volume 1, is one of the best biographies that I've ever read. Churchill was probably the last great Englishman of the Empire. It is truly a shame that he had to bankrupt his realm inorder to save it. He sounded the alarm on Hitler, and no one listened. The section in this book that deals with the House of Commons vote on the Munich Agreement is one of non-fictions greatest passages. How Manchester describes how Churchill and all the other great leaders abstained rather than vote with their party is great writing, as is the rest of this book. Where is volume 3. I read this one over 5 years ago.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent--Almost as good as WSC's Marlborough
Review: Excellent book. Interesting to read along with other British histories including Churchill's own. His personality can be understood better by reading about his mother, Jennie Jerome (Lady Randollph Churchill; Mrs. George Cornwallis-West). Her Autobiography contains many pictures--she was truly beautiful and interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Great insights into his personal life and behavior
Review: Vol 2 presents great insights into Churchill and Roosevelt's relationship. Waiting for Vol III -- don't let this become like Schubert's Unfinished Symphony!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating biography about a fascinating man.
Review: The biography in interesting and reads like current events. He captures the essence of the great man. It is hard to put the book down. He throughly explains Churchill's childhood and how that influenced him later in life. He also captures Churchill's dynamic, adventurous life.
Rating:
Summary: Where's Volume III ????
Review: Somebody please tell me Volume 3 is coming! I waited patiently for 2. But the suspense is killing me. Of all the Churchill biographies (including "The Second World War"), this series has best captured the heart of the times, the nation, the politician, and the man. I'd suggest a spam campaign, if I weren't afraid Manchester would waste time responding!
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest biographies ever written
Review: Having lived through the Second World War in occupied Denmarkand as a refugee in Swe
den Mr. Churchill gave the daily inspirationand
hope we all were desperately seeking. William
Manchester's two volumes on the early years as
well as the years leading up to WWII make it
very difficult to wait for volume III. These two
volumes were truly great and rate with the finest
biographies I have ever read.
Please give me the latest indications of when
we might all expect the volume dealing with the
actual years of war and the postwar period
leading up to his passing?I END
Rating:
Summary: Churchill Saves the World
Review: Having read Manchester's incomparable biography of Winston Churchill, one is struck by the supernatural, almost superhuman aspect of his subject. Churchill is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest politicians of the twentieth century -- or as Manchester says, The greatest nineteenth century politician who remained to challenge his sinister twentieth century counterparts.
This first novel of his early years show the struggle, his toil, his stolen successes, his vision ignored or supplanted by lesser men. Reviewing the life and decisions of Churchill reveal a striking fact -- he was almost never wrong. A casual reader might attribute this to "common sense", but those who drink history more deeply are less likely to accept such a simple view. To one living at the time, Hitler had many facets of his leadership that would attract many modern readers -- he was the first leader of a major nation to embrace enviornmentalist policies, the first to embrace technological development as a means to improving national utility, and most importantly the only leader to move his nation out of the great depression. It is a measure of Churchill's greatness that he saw through all of these things, and was the only - literally the only - major political figure in the world to strongly and resolutely attack the emergence of the German National Socialist Movement before, during, and after its rise to power. Prior to reading Manchester's bio, I had assumed that Churchill was in some way right for the wrong reasons, as so often occurs in history, and his subsequent election as Prime Minister was the result of his record, regardless of his reasons. I was wrong.
Manchester shows us that Churchill got it almost exactly right: conservative enough to defend his principles, yet liberal enough to innovate and excel at innovation throughout his carreer. Unshakably rooted in his beliefs, and sincerely willing to sacrifice his self interest to them (a trait which, I confess, I have seen no more than once or twice in historical oand modern individuals), he simultaneously was able to marry this rocklike character with an amazing ability to innovate: technologically, strategically, and politically. Manchester does him service by this excellent bio, to which my only question is, when is the last installment due
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: Certainly not for the faint of heart. The book is long, and at times arduous, but if you're a fan of Churchill's, or appreciate a well-written book on a fascinating man, I highly recommend this
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely Readable
Review: Living in Madrid good English books are not always available. However being a bit of a Churchill admirer I recently came across the first two volumes of the Biography by William Manchester, wonderful stuff! but where the hell is the third volume ! I wait with impatience. BTW my own opinion of Churchill is that he is possibly this centuries greatest person if for nothing else than the motivation that he supplied from the fall of France to the entry of the USA and USSR in the Second World War
Rating:
Summary: An objective Churchill would have devoured this volume!
Review: Manchester at his best, skillfully integrating the product of meticulous and exhaustive research with a literate and engaging portrait of one of the Twentieth Century's most important leaders. Had Churchill the ability to overcome his trademark philodoxia, he would admire and embrace the man who takes form under the masterful direction of Manchester. Flawed and quite human, Churchill's brilliance and impetuosity remind us of the special qualities of leadership which were England's secret weapons. The difficulty of writing a biography of so daunting a character as Churchill is compounded by the status of the subject as an honored historian in his own right. While clearly admiring of Churchill, Manchester does not fall victim to the all too common tendency of modern biographers to apologia. Churchill's flaws, as well as his radiance, made him the invaluable model and beacon of hope which he became through his long and turbulent career. In this first volume of Manchester's planned multi-volume venture, the author follows his subject from birth through his extraordinary rise to the highest ranks of office, only to fall victim to the self-destructive behavior which led to the early demise of his father's career. Ending with his exile to the political wilderness, this first volume leaves the reader anxious to begin the second installment, a equally engaging account of Churchill's patient and vigilant efforts to rouse the conscience of the British people to the impending peril posed by Nazi Germany.
A must read for any serious student of history, and a compelling personal drama likely to capture the interest of anyone interested in the character of power.
Bravo!
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