Churchill's Empire: The World That Made Him and the World He Made

This is the first book to provide a comprehensive account of Churchill's lifelong involvement with the empire, from the early stages of his childhood that shaped his imperialist outlook to his emergence as a self-made hero. Instead of locating him on a left/right spectrum, Toye presents Churchill as a human being, a man whose imperialist outlook brought both acclaim and dread. Churchill was a powerful leader who believed in the strength of his race, but not necessarily the human race--he stood alone against Hitler, but he was also an imperialist who equated Gandhi with Hitler, celebrated racism, and believed India would always remain unsuited to democracy.

Toye traces Churchill's shifts and velleities with impressive skill and erudition, using a vast range of contemporary newspapers to particularly good effect (Literary Review). Toye, named Young Academic Author of the Year by Times Higher Education magazine in 2007, has synthesized the details of Churchill's life to produce a thought-provoking, sensitive account of the nerve and muscle of empire (Daily Express).

Author: Richard Toye
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Published: 07/19/2011
Pages: 464
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.28h x 5.55w x 1.23d
ISBN: 9780312577131

Review Citation(s):
New York Times Book Review 09/04/2011 pg. 28

About the Author

RICHARD TOYE was born in Cambridge, U.K. in 1973. He studied at the universities of Birmingham and Cambridge, and is now an associate professor at the University of Exeter. He has written extensively on British and international history. In 2007 he was named Young Academic Author of the Year by Times Higher Education magazine for his book Lloyd George and Churchill: Rivals for Greatness.

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