The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965 (SIGNED. FIRST PRINTING.)

New York / Boston / London: Little, Brown and Company, 2012. Signed, First Edition, First Pri. Hardcover. New/New. 9.5" x 6.25" x 2.25. Illustrated. Signed by Paul Reid. SIGNED. FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING, 2012. Signed by Paul Reid on the half title page. Hardcover. Bound in black publisher's cloth. Publisher's initials "LB" are blind debossed on the front cover. Spine is lettered in silver foil. Contents include: List of Maps; Author's Note; Preamble, The Lion Hearted; Parts 1 through 8; Source Notes; and Copyright Acknowledgments. xvi, 1181 pp. Illustrated dust jacket bears a black and white portrait of Winston Churchill in a metallic sheen. DJ cover is lettered in off white and red. DJ spine is a royal blue and red with off white lettering. Lovely copy. New. <br><br>THE EIGHT PARTS ARE: <br>Part One: Cyclone (May to December 1940); <br>Part Two: The Rapids (January to December 1941); <br>Part Three: Vortex (December 1941 to November 1942); <br>Part Four: Crosscurrents (November 1942 to December 1943); <br>Part Five: Pilot (December 1943 to June 1944); <br>Part Six: Anchorage (June 1944 to May 1945); <br>Part Seven: Ebb Tide (1945 to 1955); <br>Part Eight: Postscript (1955 to 1965). <br><br>ABOUT THIS BOOK: "The final volume of William Manchester's masterful account of Winston Churchill, The Last Lion. Spanning the years 1940 to 1965, Defender of the Realm begins shortly after Churchill became prime minister, when Great Britain 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, profound intellect, and irresistible will to action. In brilliant prose, informed by decades of research, the authors recount hot Churchill organized his nation's military response and defense, compelled FDR to support America's beleaguered cousins, and personified the 'never surrender' ethos that helped win the war, while at the same time resisting -- without success -- the inevitable shift in world power from the British Empire to the United States. We see Churchill, driven from office, rising to warn the world of the coming Soviet menace and hear him speak in opposition to the socialist policies of the Labour government. After his triumphant return to 10 Downing Street, we follow Churchill as he pursues his final foreign policy goal -- a 'summit at the top' with President Dwight Eisenhower and the Soviet bosses. And finally, we witness Churchill's last years, when, hobbled by ill health and age, he faces the end with the same courage he brought to every battle he ever fought." (From the dust jacket). <br><br>ABOUT THE AUTHORS: <br><br>WILLIAM MANCHESTER was a hugely successful popular historian and renowned biographer. In addition to the first two volumes of The Last Lion, his books include Goodbye, Darkness, A World Lit Only by Fire, The Glory and the Dream, The Arms of Krupp, American Caesar, and The Death of a President, as well as assorted works of journalism. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal and the Abraham Lincoln Literary Award. He passed away in 2004. <br><br>PAUL REID is an award-winning journalist. In late 2003, Manchester, in failing health, asked him to complete The Last Lion: Defender of the Realm. He lives in North Carolina.