The Last Lion

The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965 (2012) by William Manchester and Paul Reid. This is a monumental book, covering a larger-than-life figure, Winston Churchill, during the years 1940 to 1965. In 1940, of course, he experienced his finest hour -- standing up to Nazi Germany and defiantly declaring that England would "never surrender." But the scope and breadth of this book is even greater than one man's life, for it frequently digresses and goes into fascinating detail about other people, both major and minor, who were involved in the struggle. I found it to be one of the best, most entertaining and informative books I have read. I would recommend it to anyone who has the reading speed and fortitude to get through it (it comprises over 1,000 pages of text). I only wish I could read it again, and soon. Grade: A