'Stimulating, erudite and above all entertaining...For any reader tired of the seemlingly endless round of Churchill-worship' Robert HarrisA radical biography for a new generationIn A.J.P. Taylor's words, Churchill was 'the saviour of his country' when he became prime minister in 1940. Yet he was also a deeply flawed character. Giving due credit to Churchill's achievements but making no secret of his failures, Geoffrey Wheatcroft takes a radically different approach to other biographies. Going far beyond a reappraisal of a life and a career, he reveals the complex shadow Churchill has cast over post-war British history and contemporary politics. Telling the story of Churchill's extraordinary life and the equally fascinating one of his legacy, Churchill's Shadow focuses on how we as a nation have been living in the grip of his self-written myth ever since his death. 'This is the indispensable biography of Churchill for the post-Brexit 2020s' David Kynaston, author of On the Cusp: Days of '62'Wheatcroft is a skilled prosecutor with a rapier pen...this could be the best single-volume indictment of Churchill yet written' New York Times'A clear-eyed, incisive and superbly balanced account of Churchill, the man and the myth' Robert Gildea, author of Empires of the Mind

'Stimulating, erudite and above all entertaining...For any reader tired of the seemlingly endless round of Churchill-worship' Robert HarrisA radical biography for a new generationIn A.J.P. Taylor's words, Churchill was 'the saviour of his country' when he became prime minister in 1940. Yet he was also a deeply flawed character. Giving due credit to Churchill's achievements but making no secret of his failures, Geoffrey Wheatcroft takes a radically different approach to other biographies. Going far beyond a reappraisal of a life and a career, he reveals the complex shadow Churchill has cast over post-war British history and contemporary politics. Telling the story of Churchill's extraordinary life and the equally fascinating one of his legacy, Churchill's Shadow focuses on how we as a nation have been living in the grip of his self-written myth ever since his death. 'This is the indispensable biography of Churchill for the post-Brexit 2020s' David Kynaston, author of On the Cusp: Days of '62'Wheatcroft is a skilled prosecutor with a rapier pen...this could be the best single-volume indictment of Churchill yet written' New York Times'A clear-eyed, incisive and superbly balanced account of Churchill, the man and the myth' Robert Gildea, author of Empires of the Mind