William Manchester

MacArthur, the public figure, the private man, the soldier-hero whose mystery and appeal created a uniquely American legend, portrayed in a biography that will challenge the cherished myths of admirers and critics alike. Illustrations Preamble: Reveille First Call Ruffles & Flourishes (1880-1917) Charge (1917-1918) Call to Quarters (1919-1935) To the Colors (1935-1941) Retreat (1941-1942) The Green War (1942-1944) At High Port (1944-1945) Last Post (1945-1950) Sunset Gun (1950-1951) Recall (1951) Taps (1951-1964) Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Copyright Acknowledgments Index

From tales of chivalrous knights to the barbarity of trial by ordeal, no era has been a greater source of awe, horror, and wonder than the Middle Ages. In handsomely crafted prose, and with the grace and authority of his extraordinary gift for narrative history, William Manchester leads us from a civilization tottering on the brink of collapse to the grandeur of its rebirth - the dense explosion of energy that spawned some of history's greatest poets, philosophers, painters, adventurers, and reformers, as well as some of its most spectacular villains - the Renaissance.

On a lovely October evening in 1961 President Kennedy and William Manchester sat in the Oval Room of the White House, talking for three and a half hours. At first the discussion was detached; Mr. Manchester was writing his Portrait of a President. But soon they were conversing as two men do who have lived many of the same years in the same places. Both were natives of Massachusetts. As a World War II Marine on Guadalcanal, Manchester had been separated by only a narrow strait from Kennedy's PT-109 base on Tulagi. They had both been awarded Purple Hearts before leaving the Pacific. Now they were fathers of daughters the same age, had traveled in the same foreign countries, and shared a deep interest in American history.More than two years later, following the assassination of President Kennedy, Mrs. Kennedy realized that she and others would be obliged to share their recollections of the national tragedy with a responsible writer--and so she and Senator Robert Kennedy asked Mr. Manchester to set down a history of the assassination and the days immediately preceding and following it.At the invitation of the Chief Justice, Mr. Manchester was a privileged observer of the Warren Commission inquiry. Meanwhile, however, he had developed his own sources of information. Operating out of headquarters in the National Archives, for two years he worked twelve to fifteen hours a day, conducting a major historical investigation throughout Texas and elsewhere, accumulating forty-five volumes and portfolios of transcribed tapes, shorthand, documents and exhibits, all of which will be deposited in the Kennedy Library. Finally, in New England, he completed a 350,000-word manuscript, not for scrutiny by the family but to set down as a whole the national and personal tragedy.The result is a powerful narrative which, in the opinion of the publisher, is both a significant contribution to history and an eminent literary achievement.

In very good condition. Not torn pages. One crease on front cover.

In this powerful biography, the middle volume of William Manchester’s critically acclaimed trilogy, Winston Churchill wages his defining campaign: not against Hitler’s war machine but against his own reluctant countrymen. Manchester contends that even more than his leadership in combat, Churchill’s finest hour was the uphill battle against appeasement. As Parliament received with jeers and scorn his warnings against the growing Nazi threat, Churchill stood alone—only to be vindicated by history as a beacon of hope amid the gathering storm. Praise for The Last Lion: Alone   “Manchester has such control over a huge and moving narrative, such illumination of character . . . that he can claim the considerable achievement of having assembled enough powerful evidence to support Isaiah Berlin’s judgment of Churchill as ‘the largest human being of our time.’”—The New Yorker  “Memorable.”—San Francisco Chronicle   “Stirring . . . As Manchester points out several times, it’s as if the age, having produced a Hitler, then summoned Churchill as the only figure equal to the task of vanquishing him. The years Alone are the pivotal years of Churchill’s career.”—The Boston Sunday Globe  “The best Churchill biography [for] this generation . . . Even readers who know the basic story will find much that is new.”—Newsweek   “A triumph . . . equal in stature to the first volume of the series.”—Newsday  “Vivid . . . history in the grand manner.”—The Washington Post   “Compelling reading.”—The Times (London)

Spanning the years of 1940-1965, The Last Lion picks up shortly after Winston Churchill became Prime Minister—when his tiny island nation stood alone against the overwhelming might of Nazi Germany. The Churchill conjured up by William Manchester and Paul Reid is a man of indomitable courage, lightning fast intellect, and an irresistible will to action. The Last Lion brilliantly recounts how Churchill organized his nation's military response and defense; compelled FDR into supporting America's beleaguered cousins, and personified the "never surrender" ethos that helped the Allies win the war, while at the same time adapting himself and his country to the inevitable shift of world power from the British Empire to the United States.More than twenty years in the making, The Last Lion presents a revelatory and unparalleled portrait of this brilliant, flawed, and dynamic leader. This is popular history at its most stirring.

s/t: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory 1874-1932 When Winston Spencer Churchill was born in Blenheim Palace, Imperial Britain stood at the splendid pinnacle of her power. Yet within a few years, the Empire would hover on the brink of a catastrophic new era. This first volume of the best-selling biography of the adventurer, aristocrat, soldier, and statesman covers the first 58 years of the remarkable man whose courageous vision guided the destiny of those darkly troubled times and who looms today as one of the greatest figures of the 20th century. Black and white photos & illustrations.