When Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared in print on Christmas Eve 1925, his creator had no idea that for the next hundred years this bear would, for so many, become synonymous with childhood. Here Gyles Brandreth tells the remarkable story of A A Milne - the man behind that 'bear of very little brain' who nevertheless went on to become a global phenomenon. Drawing on years of friendship with Milne's son, the real Christopher Robin, Gyles conjures an intimate portrait of a prolific author whose legacy came to be defined by his most famous creation, and the fascinating yet troubled Milne family who for many years had a conflicted relationship with the iconic bear. This is the story of that bear but it is also a story about youth, innocence and growing up, fathers and sons, the double-edged sword of success, and, perhaps most of all, the impossible longing of returning to the enchanted places of childhood.