Churchill and the generals: Their finest hour

by Barrie Pitt

This book vividly brings alive the dramatic situation facing Europe and the Allies after the loss of Dunkirk. Churchill and his generals--Alexander, Brooke, Wavell and Montgomery--were faced with many disasters that required courageous decisions in order to pursue their aim of victory. This is the inside story of the situations they faced, the decisions they made and the outcome of those choices. An incredible portrayal of the courage, the nerve and the commitment of those brave men who affected the course of history.

Genres: Nonfiction, Military Fiction, World War II

223 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1982

About the author

Barrie William Edward Pitt was educated at Portsmouth Southern Grammar School before becoming a bank clerk. After service in the Second World War Pitt worked as a surveyor, joined 21 SAS (TA), with whom he rose to the rank of sergeant, and started to write for the magazine Adventure. Pitt also worked for a time as an information officer at the Atomic Energy Authority establishment at Aldermaston, where he demonstrated a talent for turning scientific information into readable prose

In 1958, Pitt wrote a novel, The Edge of Battle, and Zeebrugge, an admired account of the First World War raid on the Belgian U-boat base. This led to a long and prolific career as an author and editor of popular histories. Under the overall editorship of Sir Basil Liddell-Hart, he was responsible for the first major part-work, Purnell's History of the Second World War, a 96-instalment mass circulation series which was launched in 1966 at the Imperial War Museum. He also worked as a researcher for the 1960s BBC television series The Great War.

Reviews

[Dave]

Interesting book but doesn’t give a lot of details about Churchill’s thoughts of his generals after the war, only during the first few years of WWII while he was in control of the British military.

[Gobi Tharmarajah]

Well written. However, the details are shallower than you would expect. I am confused over the image of Churchill after reading this book.