PublishedBiteback Publishing, October 2018 |
ISBN9781785903175 |
FormatHardcover, 356 pages |
Whilst there have been many books about
Churchill and several biographies of Clement Attlee, few have focused on the
relationship between these two very different giants of twentieth-century
politics and how it was pivotal to Britain winning the Second World War.
Politically, the two men differed on many
issues. However, as this book reveals, they had more in common than previously
imagined. Though we see Churchill as the hero of the war, we have forgotten
that he was a reformer, much concerned with poverty. Conversely, while Attlee
had a reputation as a pacifist, Churchill trusted him to arrange many of the
details of the evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940 because in 1915 Attlee had
overseen the evacuation from Gallipoli. Both men were also united by their love
of words. Churchill was a superb writer while Attlee was a decent poet.
In 1940, Attlee took Labour into
the wartime coalition government and served under Churchill, becoming the first
person to hold the office of Deputy Prime Minister. Whilst Churchill
concentrated on the war effort, Attlee was left in charge of domestic affairs,
effectively ensuring the smooth running of the country.
This book tells the story of two men whose
association would shape the destiny of Britain and the world.
