In Search of Churchill - Paperback

by Martin Gilbert (Author)

Martin Gilbert began work on Winston Churchill's biography, initially as Randolph Churchill's assistant, in 1962 on his 26th birthday. By 1992 he had himself written six of the total eight volumes and edited ten documentary volumes of a projected 15.

Back Jacket

Martin Gilbert's biography of Churchill is probably the longest biography ever written, and in the opinion of many one of the greatest. 'In Search of Churchill' is the story of Gilbert's thirty-year quest for his subject. He reveals the staggering extent of his historical labour and shares with the reader some of the great moments in his pursuit. It is also the story of those who helped Churchill on his. Secretaries, assistants, diarists, correspondents, soldiers, politicians, civil servants; the eminent and the humble: all of them had tales to tell, many of them published here for the first time. The portrait that emerges of Churchill is almost tangibly intimate. Here, perhaps more than in any other book about him, is the character of the man, untrammelled by formalities, as seen by those who were with him at his most unguarded moments.

"Readers daunted by the 800-odd pages of the official life should start here. They will love it."
JOHN CAMPBELL, 'The Times.'

"A fascinating account of tireless and resourceful detective work...Gilbert's zeal in pursuit of every scrap of evidence on Churchill's life is an example to all biographers. The work he has done puts all students of the twentieth century, and all students of Churchill, incalculably in his debt."
JOHN GRIGG, 'Sunday Telegraph.'

"This book, part intellectual autobiography, part coda to his monumental Churchill biography, is required reading for Churchill enthusiasts. It takes on all the pace of an adventure novel."
ANDREW ROBERTS, 'Literary Review.'

"Any world statesman close to the end would be grateful for a Martin Gilbert. What better way to meet your maker than in the happy knowledge that a leading scholar is devoting his career to tracking down, codifying and publishing every detail of your own? Gilbert is a careful scholar with a proper respect for evidence, fact, accuracy...His primary concern is setting the record straight - and in this entertaining and enjoyable book he explains how he sets about it."
BEN PIMLOTT, 'Guardian.'

Author Biography

Martin Gilbert was born in London in 1936 and educated at Highgate School and Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1962, he became research assistant to Randolph Churchill and, after Randolph's death, succeeded him as biographer of Sir Winston Churchill. He is the author of many works of history and lives in London and Jerusalem.