The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume II: Alone, 1932-1940: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume II: Alone, 1932-1940

By: William Manchester

Narrated by: Richard Brown

Length: 36 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

This second volume in William Manchester's three-volume biography of Winston Churchill challenges the assumption that Churchill's finest hour was as a wartime leader. During the years 1932-1940, he was tested as few men are. Pursued by creditors (at one point he had to put up his home for sale), he remained solvent only by writing an extraordinary number of books and magazine articles. He was disowned by his own party, and dismissed by the BBC, Fleet Street, and the social and political establishments as a warmonger, and twice nearly lost his seat in Parliament. Churchill stood almost alone against Nazi aggression and the pusillanimous British and French policy of appeasement.

Manchester tracks with new insights this complex, fascinating history, without ever losing sight of Churchill the man - a man whose vision was global and whose courage was boundless.

©1988 William Manchester (P)1990 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Manchester is not only a master of detail but also of 'the big picture'....I daresay most Americans reading The Last Lion will relish it immensely." ( National Review)
"[Manchester] can claim the considerable achievement of having assembled enough powerful evidence to support Isaiah Berlin's judgment of Churchill as the largest human being of our time." (Alistair Cooke)

Where in the name of God did you get this narrator

What made the experience of listening to The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume II: Alone, 1932-1940: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume II: Alone, 1932-1940 the most enjoyable?

The writing of Mr Manchester

What other book might you compare The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume II: Alone, 1932-1940: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume II: Alone, 1932-1940 to and why?

Volume ! and Volume 3

How could the performance have been better?

The narration was terrible. especially compared with the narration of VOL 1 and 3. He did not sound at all like Churchill.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"The war and carnage that never had to be!"

Any additional comments?

I almost stopped listening as it became too difficult to put up with the terrible narration.

Winston Churchill Biography

Where does The Last Lion rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Well told story. Good mix of intimate details and broad political and cultural context.

What three words best describe Richard Brown’s voice?

The direct quotes from Churchill's speeches were better rendured by the narrator in Vol. I

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It is a very long book which I very much enjoyed. This is not a book you could possibly listen to in one sitting

Slow and depressing compared to the first....

...but that's to be assumed I guess, given the period and events. The reader didn't do the voices or accents nearly as well as the reader of the previous book. That guy was fantastic.

Truly Stunning...

A fascinating account of how close we came to losing Western Civilization as we know it...

looking forward to volume III

Loved the first two volumes of this biography I hear the third volume is due out in 2011. Something to look forward to in the new year.

Excellent book but poorly read.

The narrator left a lot to be desired. The narrator from Volume1 was much better.

Great story, poor production

The narrator sounds like he’s speaking from another room. Actually surprised Audible has not redone this book. Too great a book to sacrifice to a bad production.

Book 2 of the brilliant Manchester biography

The first two books of The Last Lion by William Manchester are masterpieces, the third one not quite as good due to Manchester dying before he completed it. At first glance it may seem odd that this book only covers 8 years while the first covered nearly 60 and the last 25. But these were the crucial years that led to WWII and Manchester shows vividly how it could have avoided if only British statesmen had listened to Churchill throughout the 1930s.
Two minor complaints: the narrator's impersonation of Churchill takes some getting used to, and often times there are French and German phrases that are not translated. But these are indeed minor and shouldn't deter anyone from a great book

Great book, poor narrator

I'm a big fan of the book, but i had to return this audio book because i just couldn't stand the narrator's voice. It's flat, wooden, and sounds hollow. I will buy it again if a different narrator is available.

Poor narration, but excellent book

Were it not for the poor narration, I would definitely rate this book higher than Manchester's first volume. It certainly is a wonderful effort by Manchester to make sense of his time outside of the British government. You will share with Winston the frustration of being alone in a time of appeasement at any price. Nevertheless, the book treats Chamberlain rather fairly, despite his obvious blindness in judging Hitler.