Martin Gilbert

This fascinating volume opens with Churchills return to Conservatism and to the Cabinet in 1924, and, as the story unfolds, presents a vivid and intimate picture both of his public life and of his private world at Chartwell between the wars.As Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1924 to 1929, Churchill pursued a humane and constructive social policy, including the introduction of pensions for widows and orphans. The controversial return to the gold standard is examined here on the basis of new evidence; so too are Churchills efforts after the General Strike to bring peace to the coal industry. In 1927 Churchill planned and fought for a massive attack on unemployment.In this volume Martin Gilbert strips away decades of accumulated myth and innuendo, showing Churchills true position on India, his precise role (and private thoughts) during the abdication of Edward VIII, his attitude toward Mussolini, and his profound fears for the future of European democracy. Even before Hitler came to power in Germany, Churchill saw in full the dangers of a Nazi victory. And despite the unpopularity of his views in official circles, for six years he persevered in his warnings.This book reveals for the first time the extent to which senior civil servants, and even serving officers of high rank, came to Churchill with secret information, having despaired at the extent of official lethargy and obstruction. Within the Air Ministry, the Foreign Office, and the Intelligence Services, individuals felt drawn to go to Churchill with full disclosures of Britains defense weakness and kept him informed of day-to-day developments from 1934 until the outbreak of war. As war approached, people of all parties and in all walks of life recognized Churchills unique qualities and demanded his inclusion in the government, believing that he alone could give a divided nation guidance and inspiration.

This third volume of the official biography of Sir Winston Churchill contains a full account of his initiatives and achievements as wartime First Lord of the Admiralty between August 1914 and May 1915. These include his efforts to prolong the siege of Antwerp, his support for the use of air power, and his part in the early development of the tank. It shows the forcefulness with which he argued for an offensive naval policy, first against Germany, then against Turkey."What about the Dardanelles?" was the cry Churchill heard often between the two world wars. It epitomized the distrust in which he was held by both politicians and the public as a result of the naval setback at the Dardanelles in March 1915 and the eventual failure of the Gallipoli landings launched the following monthalthough Gallipoli was the ministerial responsibility of the Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, and the ultimate responsibility of the Prime Minister, H.H. Asquith.Martin Gilbert examines the political crisis of May 1915, during which the Conservative Party forced Asquith to form a coalition government. The Conservatives insisted that Churchill leave the center of war policymaking for a position of increasing political isolation. In the next seven months, while the Gallipoli campaign was being fought, Churchill served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, with no authority over military or naval policy.Resigning from the Cabinet in November 1915, Churchill was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding an infantry battalion in the trenches of the Western Front. In May 1916, he returned from the trenches, hoping to reenter political life, but his repeated attempts to regain his once-substantial influence were unsuccessful. For the final year of Asquiths premiership, Churchill held no political office, and was frustrated by his lack of power.

This volume starts with the outbreak of war in September 1939 and ends with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. In it, Martin Gilbert reveals not only how each decision was reached, but what influences lay behind it, whether of individuals or of information reaching Churchill from the most secret source of British Intelligence.Drawing on a remarkable diversity of material, including the War Cabinet and other Government records, as well as Churchills own archive, the diaries and letters of his private secretariat, and the recollections of those who worked most closely with him, Martin Gilbert reveals the full extent of Churchills personal contribution to every aspect of the struggle.On the day Hitler invaded Poland, Churchill, aged sixty-four, had been out of office for ten years. Two days later, on 3 September 1939, he became First Lord of the Admiralty, in charge of British naval policy and at the center of war direction. On 10 May 1940 he became Prime Minister, leading his nation during a time of grave danger and setbacks. His first year and a half as Prime Minister included the Dunkirk evacuation, the fall of France, the Battle of Britain, the Blitz, the Battle of the Atlantic, the struggle in the Western Desert, and Hitlers invasion of Russia.By the end of 1940, Britain under Churchills leadership had survived the onslaught and was making plans to continue the war against an enemy of unlimited ambition and ferocious will.One of Churchills inner circle said: "We who worked with Churchill every day of the war still saw at most a quarter of his daily tasks and worries." Martin Gilbert has pieced together the whole, setting in context much hitherto scattered and secret evidence, in order to give an intimate and fascinating account of the architect of Britains "finest hour."

Author and historian Martin Gilbert describes the triumphs and tragedies of a momentous century for the Jewish people.

How does he assess the information that is brought to him? How does his personal or political philosophy, or a moral sense, sustain him? How does he draw inspiration from those around him? How does he deal with setbacks and disasters? In this brilliant close-up look at Winston Churchill's leadership during the Second World War, Gilbert gets to the heart of the trials and struggles that have confronted the world's most powerful leaders, even up to current politicians such as George Bush and Tony Blair. Basing the book on his intimate knowledge of Churchill's private and official papers, Sir Martin Gilbert, Churchill's official biographer, looks at the public figure and wartime propaganda, to reveal a very human, sensitive, and often tormented man, who nevertheless found the strength to lead his nation forward from the darkest and most dangerous of times.

La primera guerra mundial fue el primer conflicto europeo del siglo XX. Dos grupos de estados poderosos se agredieron mutuamente con todos los medios que les brindaba la ciencia militar, incluido el gas tóxico. Cuando finalizó, habían muerto nueve millones de soldados y cuatro imperios habían quedado destruidos.El espléndido relato de Martin Gilbert refleja, semana a semana, los sucesos y los horrores en el frente occidental y oriental, tanto de la lucha en el mar como en el aire, así como sus efectos lejos de las trincheras. Los primeros combates, los desembarcos en Gallípoli, la agitación en el este, las batallas del Somme o de Passchendaele, la última gran arremetida alemana o el contraataque aliado, entre otros destacados momentos, se narran con una minuciosidad sin precedentes. Pero no sólo los detalles de la estrategia militar, sino también los aspectos más humanos y conmovedores, que no escapan a su análisis: el valor, la devoción y la resistencia de los soldados; los odios raciales, las ambiciones desmedidas, los resentimientos albergados durante mucho tiempo…El profesor Gilbert nos brinda una versión rigurosa y a la vez amena de uno de los acontecimientos más complejos de la historia. Y convierte las páginas de esta obra, considerada un clásico de la bibliografía sobre el tema, en un sentido homenaje a todos aquellos que perdieron la vida en el transcurso de la guerra.

La segunda guerra mundial fue el conflicto bélico más destructivo de la historia, en el que perdieron la vida cuarenta y seis millones de personas en los 2.174 días transcurridos desde que Alemania atacó a Polonia, en septiembre de 1939, hasta que Japón se rindió, en agosto de 1945.Sólo un historiador como Martin Gilbert posee la erudición y la amplitud de miras necesarias para narrar la historia como había que narrarla, entrelazando todos sus aspectos: el político, el diplomático, el militar y el civil para seguir de semana en semana, de mes en mes y de año en año el terrible avance de la fuerza inexorable de la muerte. El objetivo del autor es presentar lo que ocurrió, pero no desde el punto de vista de ninguna de las naciones enfrentadas, sino desde una perspectiva global, y lo ha conseguido con éxito.En este primer volumen, ilustrado con un excelente material fotográfico, se recorre la historia de la guerra desde sus inicios en 1939 hasta diciembre de 1942. La espléndida narración de la defensa de Stalingrado, la resistencia británica en la batalla por Inglaterra o las emotivas historias de heroísmo y sufrimiento, tanto de soldados como de civiles, harán descubrir al lector una nueva visión de lo que supuso la segunda guerra mundial para los que combatieron en ella y la padecieron, y también de lo que supone para nosotros hoy día. Su estudio y su comprensión harán que se cumpla la máxima que no por repetida resulta menos cierta: conocer los hechos para que no vuelvan a suceder.

Pero no es su antigüedad su rasgo más definido, sino el tratamiento de la confrontación como un todo dialéctico en el que cada movimiento de una de las partes suscita una reacción en la otra, en una

Incluye 2 volúmenes:Volumen 1: La Segunda Guerra Mundial (1939-1942)Volumen 2: La Segunda Guerra Mundial (1933-1945)