Brief Book Review: The Last Lion: Alone, 1932–1940

By William Manchester

Summarised in one quote

Later he would be remembered as a great war leader, but no man ever fought harder for peace. (p.142)

After reading Manchester’s first 1000 page epic covering Winston Churchill’s childhood, early life and experience in World War One, I was taken aback to find that his second book in the trilogy was of equal length and yet covers only 1932–1940, the eight years in between the two world wars.

I was skeptical Manchester could conjure enough compelling reading from those eight years to fill another 1000 pages, and had prepared myself for a hard slog ahead.

While Alone did at times reflect that of Churchill’s own experience during this time period (frustrating and meandering) the narrative gathers pace as the possibility of a second world war looms. Alone slowly transforms into a rather compelling and often emotional read.

The reason is, as the reader you view Alone through the lens of events that we know happen and Manchester does a splendid job of helping us sympathise with the views of the time while highlighting the visionary that Winston was. I must admit, on many occasions I was truly ashamed to be British.

But that should not dissuade from learning the rather gloomy events that led to the most deadly conflict of modern times, through the eyes of the only man prepared to take it on.

My favourite passage from Alone

As Europe toiled slowly towards its next butchery […] the quintessential Churchill, the Winston the public never saw, prowled his study night after night, an inner shutter drawn in a private blackout of the mind, excluding everything but the topic before him. His prose grew in intensity as though controlled by a rheostat, as he used language to express his wrath, a fury matched only by Hitler, who was free to act while Churchill, who couldn’t even control his own spending, saw himself approaching senescence with no prospect of any change in his reputation as the leper of Parliament. (p.380)

Buy on Amazon | Read more Brief Book Reviews