'Britain's most famous politician of the twentieth century, Sir Winston Churchill, was not only a great wartime leader but also an inspiring orator, officer in the British Army, historian, artist, bricklayer and prolific writer, the only prime minister ever to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature He was the first person created an honorary citizen of the United States and is still revered at home, where he was overwhelmingly voted the greatest Briton of all time in a BBC poll. Nevertheless, Churchill remains one of the most controversial figures in modern history, with critics alleging that he was a diehard imperialist and warmonger, a racist, a bitter opponent of the working class and maverick opportunist. Was Churchill a democrat or a reactionary? Did he invent the tank? Was he a school dunce? Jeremy Havardi's balanced, well-researched and generally sympathetic book demolishes much of the myth-making surrounding the great man, setting out to correct the historical record in a stimulating collection of essays. Arranged in chronological order to show his life in the context of world history, the essays are both detailed and analytical while still highly accessible to a general audience. The author believes that Churchill deserves to be remembered as much for his domestic policy as his wartime achievements, and is particularly interesting on his role in introducing old age pensions and unemployment benefits as well as strongly advocating a land value tax. Havardi examines Churchill's political philosophy and shows how he anticipated many important debates facing the world today'.