Though
today he is hailed as one of Britain's greatest leaders, throughout his career,
Winston Churchill was an outsider, accumulating a reputation for bad judgement
and untrustworthiness. Only risk-takers and fellow outsiders would back him -
but these strong and often feuding personalities proved to be vital to his
decision-making in war and peace alike.
Winston's
Bandits provides, for
the first time, a detailed account of his greatest friendships. These friends
were Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, a press baron who craved power but only on
his own terms; Frederick Lindemann, later Lord Cherwell, an ascetic and
quarrelsome scientist who believed in Churchill's intellectual genius; Brendan
Bracken, an Irishman from a humble background who reinvented himself as a major
force in financial publishing and gave Churchill unconditional support; the
young Bob Boothby, who would earn notoriety for adventurous sexual conduct and
dubious financial dealings; Randolph Churchill, who was often a disappointment
and burden to his father; and Duncan Sandys, who reaped the full benefits of
being Churchill's son-in-law in his political career.
Together,
they were Winston's bandits. This remarkable book explores how Churchill's
relationships with these forceful and intriguing sparring partners provide the
key to understanding his greatest triumphs and disasters.
Hardback | 480 pages | Published August 2024
