The Last Lion by William Manchester

Winston Spencer Churchill has always been one of my favourite authors since the day I accidentally bumped into his book "My Early Years" at Bleham Palace, England.
It was one of those fortuitous meetings that bridged the gap of yesteryear and the immediate in congenial surroundings.
I was a decade or two young then, and everything seemed so fresh and inviting. Churchill afterall was one of the greatest 20th century Prime Ministers of Britain. So it was indeed an honour to be introduced to him via the literary route.
I had a couple of weeks to spare. It was the springtime of my professional career. Back at the Royal Commonwealth Society room where I resided for a while, I took some time off to read and expand my horizons on things English.
Winston Churchill's My Early Years somehow blended perfectly with my sojourn in the "old country".
Naturally, I fell in love with England, Britain or UK, as some might call it. The Last Lion dropped onto my lap many years later. The author, albeit an unknow writer to me, had penned a thick volume on Churchill from the years1932-1940.
Since I am a biased reader who unashamedly admires the late Churchill, I am quick off the block to conclude that it is a fantastic read.
Even if you are not very keen on British history or on the lives of historical figures like Churchill, you will be compelled to digest the book with interest because of the way Manchester has spun the tale.
The Last Lion takes you down the path that few men have ever seen or heard or experienced. Churchill is one of the rare ones who was born to "save" Britain when the chips were down.
Those who have lived through those tumultuous years when German planes came in waves to bomb England to the Stone Age will no doubt recount how Winston Churchill "galvanised the English language and took it to war".
Many proud citizens of England will recall how Churchill through his radio speeches summoned the courage of all English people and took them never to surrender.
His famous words: "We will fight on the beaches, we will fight on the hills, we will fight in the streets, we shall never surrender" roused the entire nation to give its best and beat back a ferocious German attack and finally convinced Adolf Hitler that he could not conquer England.
William Manchester takes the reader through the halls of the home and schools where Churchill stayed and lived and gave a vivid account of what went into the making of a man who was destined to lead England out of the ashes of near defeat and into the smoke laden battle fields of victory.
With his bulldog tenacity, Churchill marched into the front lines of South Africa, India and other forgotten trenches and emerged more determined than ever that his was a life dedicated and devoted to the study of war and see the solutions amid a maze of confusion and deception that usually followed immediately after the first shots of war were fired.
This book gives an excellent account of Churchill during the years leading to the Second World War. It tells of the politics of war and administration. It focuses on his personal struggles and joys of family life.
It casts a long shadow of a man who saw the world teetering on the precipice of a gigantic conflagration and warned repeatedly that the Nazis were on the warpath long before anyone was totally convinced by their sinister intentions.
The Last Lion is a book to be digested at leisure. Put yourself in Churchill's shoes. Follow in his footsteps and see the avenues down which Churchill strode.
Listen to the voice of William Manchester as he narrates the events of the pre-war years and how Winston Churchill prepared himself and England for the long, hard years ahead.
You won't regret reading The Last Lion because today our war too stands gingerly on that precipice that reflects the jagged edges that separate global peace and worldwide conflict.
What would leaders like Churchill do? Look back on history and learn.