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Churchill: Walking with Destiny Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Andrew Roberts (Author), Stephen Thorne (Narrator), Penguin Books Ltd (Publisher)

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Winston Churchill towers over every other figure in 20th-century British history. By the time of his death at the age of 90 in 1965, many thought him to be the greatest man in the world.

There have been over a thousand previous biographies of Churchill. Andrew Roberts now draws on over 40 new sources, including the private diaries of King George VI, used in no previous Churchill biography, to depict him more intimately and persuasively than any of its predecessors. Masterfully narrated by Stephen Thorne, this audiobook in no way conceals Churchill's faults, and it allows the listener to appreciate his virtues and character in full: his titanic capacity for work (and drink), his ability see the big picture, his willingness to take risks and insistence on being where the action was, his good humour even in the most desperate circumstances, the breadth and strength of his friendships and his extraordinary propensity to burst into tears at unexpected moments. Above all, it shows us the wellsprings of his personality - his lifelong desire to please his father (even long after his father's death) but aristocratic disdain for the opinions of almost everyone else, his love of the British Empire, his sense of history and its connection to the present.

During the Second World War, Churchill summoned a particular scientist to see him several times for technical advice. 'It was the same whenever we met', wrote the young man. 'I had a feeling of being recharged by a source of living power.' Harry Hopkins, President Roosevelt's emissary, wrote, 'Wherever he was, there was a battlefront.' Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, Churchill's essential partner in strategy and most severe critic in private, wrote in his diary, 'I thank God I was given such an opportunity of working alongside such a man, and of having my eyes opened to the fact that occasionally such supermen exist on this earth.'

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Product details

Listening Length	50 hours and 28 minutes
Author	Andrew Roberts
Narrator	Stephen Thorne
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	04 October 2018
Publisher	Penguin Books Ltd
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B07HB9978H
Best Sellers Rank	3,765 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 19 in Historical Biographies (Audible Books & Originals) 25 in Military & War Biographies 31 in Biographies of Politicians

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Robert D. Crane

A history of a man of history

Reviewed in Australia on 10 November 2019

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This is a long story and you'll be surprised at the historical junctures that Churchill played a role in. The book details a life well lived and someone driven by destiny that has now become immortalised by history. Churchill wasn't without flaws, and the book makes no effort to disguise or diminish these. Success if defined by the recovery from failure and at this Churchill was a master.

If you enjoy learning about the relationships at tumultuous times in history then look no further. If you want to learn about the full life of one of the few people who has affected local, national and international events, then you will also not be disappointed.

This book successfully details the history of a man who is now part of history and that alone makes it more than a worthwhile read.

One person found this helpful

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Yug

He rescued our civilisation

Reviewed in Australia on 1 December 2018

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This is a new compelling and very well written account of the life of Winston Churchill. The author had access to thousands of new pieces if information, notably the diaries of King George 6th, with whom Churchill had a weekly meeting during his time as Prime Minister. Strongly recommended.

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Richard Turnley

Great book about a great man

Reviewed in Australia on 8 August 2020

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I had thought that I knew nearly everything about this great man but this book added a new dimension..I thoroughly enjoyed it and still maintain my view that Britain will never again see a man as great as Churchill. The use of Noblesse Oblige in the life of Churchill is as important as his wartime leadership

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Rodney Goodall

I just cannot put it down!!!

Reviewed in Australia on 21 April 2019

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I've read a few biographies on Winston, but this is my favourite. Cogent and coherent, it is a very easy read, crammed with the information one seeks about our heros. I felt by the end I was the great man's personal friend, I knew so much about him.

One person found this helpful

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James Rayner

Churchill

Reviewed in Australia on 17 January 2019

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A very well written and easy to read account of Churchill's incredible life especially his involvement in the Boer war, WW1 and WW2. A true leader, albeit not a perfect one! (but, is there one?)

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dave parkinson

Biography at it’s best!

Reviewed in Australia on 25 February 2019

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If anyone wants to know about the life and times of Churchill, start with this wonderfully researched book.
It’s a monumental read, but there is something of interest on every page.

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B. Hedley

Winston in perspective

Reviewed in Australia on 26 January 2019

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A superb “warts and all” book. Throws new light into many areas and shows how human was this giant of a man. Not to be missed.

One person found this helpful

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Ben henri

A brilliant book

Reviewed in Australia on 28 September 2020

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I knew a reasonable amount about Churchill but my eyes were opened wide by this book. Just an amazing piece of work by the author. Hard to see this study of Churchill being bettered....ever

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Dr Tolstoyevsky

One of the best Churchill books!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 February 2019

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I have in my library nearly 100 books on or about Churchill - and I have to say this has to be one of the very best, single volume editions I’ve ever read. The attention to detail and the writing and narrative styles are truly fantastic. Having read a lot of books about this incredible man - I can honestly say that this is up there with the best.
The pictures, presentation & literary skill makes this book a pure reading treat! This, surely, has to be the ‘go to’ one stop book on Churchill. This is, quite simply, a huge literary achievement! Credit to the author: this is a remarkable book.

58 people found this helpful

Mark Woodburn

A benchmark in Biography from Andrew Roberts

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 December 2018

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After his superlative biography of Napoleon, it may have been difficult to contemplate Andrew Roberts producing a finer work but in Churchill: Walking with Destiny, his latest book, he has succeeded. The clue is in the title. The first part of the book exams Churchill's experiences of life as a front line soldier and senior politician before the momentous events of May 1940 which the author is at pains to explain provided Winston with the hard won knowledge that formed his views on how to run the government of a democracy in the age of total war.
The eternal difficulty in writing a new biography of such a (seemingly) well known figure is to provide fresh insights and information. Andrew Roberts has unearthed new sources such as the diary of King George VI which provide fascinating commentary from those who dealt closely with the greatest Briton and their personal views of him.
The second part of the book presents the author with a conundrum: how much to leave out? How can he provide details on every aspect of Churchill's running of the war, every campaign, every idea both good and bad, every argument with those around him in a manageable single volume? The answer is he does not. Instead he provides clear and succinct passages on all the major events without becoming bogged down in too much extraneous detail while peppering the narrative with often amusing anecdotes about Winston's personal behaviour and relationships with those around him.
Andrew Roberts does not shy from the usual Churchill controverises e.g. Tonypandy, gassing the Kurds, India etc. Indeed it can appear that he spends too much time expunging so many of the ridiculous myths that have inexplicably become part of the contemporary narrative on Winston Churchill. But he is right to. It is the role of the serious historian to get to the heart of the matter, report the facts and let the reader judge for themselves.
This is a wonderful book. The prose is highly readable, sparkles with insight and the book is filled with anecdotal gems. Any writer who can make Edwardian tariff reform both interesting and stimulating deserves all the credit that comes. A truly fine biography and quite probably the best single volume on Churchill you are likely ever to read.

49 people found this helpful

flycatcher

The rave reviews are deserved.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 October 2018

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This is how a biography should be written. Detailed but gripping; appreciative of the subject but clear about failings as well as genius. What a read: impossible to put down!

39 people found this helpful

Mrs Susan C Wales

Churchill, Walking with Destiny

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 October 2018

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Described by the critics as the best single-volume about Churchill ever written this wonderful book is not to be missed.
Andrew Roberts writes with clarity and charm about the great man; his amazing resilience, courage and wit, as well as his almost superhuman capacity for work, and of course his incomparable powers of oratory. More than that, there are details and quotes and stories that most of us didn't know before. The book is tremendously enjoyable and a huge achievement.

31 people found this helpful

Anglian Traveller

‘Walking with Destiny’: best Churchill biography ever?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 December 2018

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Andrew Roberts’ biography of the man who tens of millions worldwide regarded in 1945 as “probably the greatest man alive” is a highly literate page-turner full of fresh perspectives. While not eschewing controversies which dogged Churchill’s reputation throughout his career (most of them exaggerated and stoked by jealous political rivals), Roberts presents the facts & detailed evidence in each case, allowing the reader to draw his/her own conclusions. Among hundreds of previously-published biographies of Churchill, this might justifiably claim to be the best-ever, certainly in a single volume.

Roberts’ narrative structure is that of traditional classic biography with a chronological timeline. Alongside the public parliamentary battles and legion of detractors Churchill created by ‘crossing the floor’ not once but twice before 1922 (to more effectively champion his centrist/liberal positions in support of home rule for Ireland, women’s suffrage, the introduction of the welfare state and House of Lords reform), mistakes in the conduct of the First World War are not glossed over but recounted in forensic detail which never fails to engage. Subsequent years ‘in the wilderness’ prior to his celebrated leadership through WW2 are matched by deep insights into Churchill's personal life, chronic financial difficulties and highly supportive marriage.

The reader is reminded again and again of Churchill’s great resilience, legendary capacity for work and formidable oratory skill: in the 40 years prior to becoming PM in 1940, Churchill had given more than 1,000 public speeches in Parliament, at formal meetings or out ‘on the stump.’ One factor of which I was previously unaware was the great number of personal injuries Churchill suffered, particularly in his early 20s, including a four-times dislocated shoulder and many broken bones.

Fearless - some might say foolhardy - in the presence of physical danger, Churchill was often under enemy fire right up to 1916 when as a serving MP with already a long record of active military service he nevertheless volunteered for the western front following the failure of the Dardanelles venture. He once observed: “Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result” and he was, indeed, shot at without result on numerous occasions. Churchill’s legendary impish wit and clever insight shines through even in situations of the gravest adversity.

Roberts’ book is a fine lesson in how biography ought to be written and is highly recommended, especially to readers interested in this remarkable and important figure of the 20th century and not intimidated by the book’s >1,000 pages’ length. It’s an impressive achievement.

23 people found this helpful

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Churchill: Walking with Destiny Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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