Young Titan - by Michael Shelden (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Just when you think there can be nothing fresh to be said about the long life of Winston Churchill, along comes biographer Michael Shelden's page-turner about Churchill from age twenty-six to forty" (The Washington Times).

Between his rise and his fall, young Winston Churchill built a modern navy, experimented with radical social reforms, survived various threats on his life, made powerful enemies and a few good friends, became a husband and father, took the measure of the German military machine, and faced deadly artillery barrages on the Western front. Along the way, he learned how to outwit more experienced rivals, overcome bureaucratic obstacles, question the assumptions of his upbringing, value loyalty--and how to fall in love. In Young Titan, historian Michael Shelden gives us a portrait of Churchill as the dashing young suitor who pursued three great beauties of British society with his witty repartee, political flair, and poetic letters. This is the first biography that focuses on Churchill's early career--the years between 1901 and 1915 that both nearly undid him but also forged the character that would later triumph in the Second World War.

Review Quotes

"Young Titan gives us an exciting, needed look at Winston Churchill in his years as a Liberal. Breaking with the Conservatives, he battled for better working conditions, for unemployment insurance, for improvements in education. He waged a two-front war: against the Tories on the right, the socialists on the left. It is the young Churchill at his best, a great foretelling of what was to come when Britain and the world needed him most."--Chris Matthews, author of Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero and anchor of MSNBC's Hardball

"[A] charming new biography....Shelden has capitalized on an understudied period of an iconic life and proved that such a study can still surprise."--New Criterion

"[A] solid biography covering the first four decades of Winston Churchill's life, marked by both ambition and heartbreak....Shelden offers an unadorned account of Churchill's dogged pursuit to build his legacy against some long odds."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"A biographer of note, [Shelden] actually found a fresh angle on England's man with the big cigar that should appeal to avid history fans."-- "Ft. Worth Star-Telegram"

"A fluid and informative examination of the early career of one of modern Britain's most outstanding political leaders."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"A vivid portrait of a young man on the make, as ambitious as he was gifted. . . Enthralling."--DailyBeast.com [Newsweek digital edition]

"Entertaining and erudite.... Shelden is full of sharp literary insights about Churchill, as one would expect from a literary biographer of his rank."-- "Wall Street Journal"

"For history buffs, Winston Churchill is the gift that keeps on giving, and in Young Titan Michael Shelden has given us the gift of Churchill's fascinating formative years. It's all here--the boy wonder, adventurer, romantic, orator, and eloquent man in the arena. I didn't want it to end."--Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation

"In sparkling prose, Shelden explores the tendentious world of high-level Edwardian politics as Churchill worked with and competed against the likes of Herbert H. Asquith, David Lloyd George, and other notables."-- "Library Journal"

"Michael Shelden has done the nigh-impossible: he has found original things to say about the man Isaiah Berlin called 'the largest human being of our time'--Winston Churchill. In this entertaining and deeply researched book, Shelden paints a memorable portrait of the young Churchill's life and loves."--Jon Meacham, author of American Lion

"Much has been written about Winston Churchill, but there is still much to learn, especially about those early years when he seemed destined for greatness. Michael Shelden now thoughtfully explores those years in Young Titan....An engaging as well as perceptive take on the man who believed that while we are all worms 'he was a glowworm' -- a belief history would splendidly vindicate."-- "Richmond Times Dispatch"

"Perceptive and entertaining."-- "Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post"

"Swiftly narrated.... Shelden, a noted biographer whose 1992 Orwell was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, explores the young titan in entertaining depth, with deep regard for Churchill's achievements and no end of colorful detail."-- "USA Today"

About the Author

Michael Shelden is the author of four previous biographies. For twelve years he was a features writer for The Daily Telegraph (London) and a fiction critic for The Baltimore Sun. He is currently a professor at Indiana State University.