Ramsay MacDonald

The Churchill revealed by Nester is a model of statesmanship: prescient and competent, but accompanied by certain errors of strategy.

Churchill was an early and steady supporter of a Channel Tunnel, which was first proposed in 1751. For most of his life he joined in lively and almost continuous discussion of  “a fixed link with the Continent.” Indeed, during the 1924-1929 Conservative government, Churchill was seen as “the leading political advocate of a tunnel.”

This is just a representative fraction of Piers Brendon’s comprehensive book. He avoids repeating material in several previous accounts, and goes much deeper into the subject. Most of the anecdotes have not appeared previously and are thus quite valuable. Anyone interested in the personal side of the great man owes it to themselves to buy a copy.

The relationship between Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee deserves a thorough study. John Bew’s biography succeeds better than David Cohen’s comparison.

Andrew Roberts lectures on "The Importance of Churchill for Today" at the Hillsdale National Leadership Seminar on Principles and Politics.

Question: Malcolm MacDonald (son of Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald) records in his book, "Titans and Others," a Churchill confrontation with then-Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin in the House of Commons. “History will say the Rt. Hon. Gentleman is wrong in this matter,” Churchill says. “I know it will, for I shall write that history.” What was the date? Didn’t he say this frequently?