The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume 3

Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965

By: William Manchester, Paul Reid

Narrated by: Clive Chafer, Paul Reid

Length: 53 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Spanning the years 1940 to 1965, Defender of the Realm, the third volume of William Manchester’s The Last Lion, picks up shortly after Winston Churchill became prime minister - when his tiny island nation stood alone against the overwhelming might of Nazi Germany. The Churchill portrayed by Manchester and Reid is a man of indomitable courage, lightning-fast intellect, and an irresistible will to action.

This volume brilliantly recounts how Churchill organized his nation’s military response and defense, compelled President Roosevelt to support America’s beleaguered cousins, and personified the "never surrender" ethos that helped the Allies win the war, while at the same time adapting himself and his country to the inevitable shift of world power from the British Empire to the United States.

More than 20 years in the making, The Last Lion presents a revelatory and unparalleled portrait of this brilliant, flawed, and dynamic leader. This is popular history at its most stirring.

©2012 John Manchester, Julie Manchester, Laurie Manchester and Paul Reid; published by arrangement with John Manchester, Julie Manchester and Laurie Manchester (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc

Critic reviews

"Before his death in 2004, an ill Manchester asked former Cox newspapers journalist Reid to take his research notes and finish writing the final volume of his trilogy. The long-delayed majestic account of Winston Churchill’s last 25 years is worth the wait…. Manchester matches the outstanding quality of biographers such as Robert Caro and Edmund Morris, joining this elite bank of writers who devote their lives to one subject." ( Publishers Weekly)

"General readers, as always, will be taken by [Manchester's] boundless abilities as a storyteller…. Essential for Manchester collectors, WWII buffs, and Churchill completists." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"A big book but reads easily…. The finished book is a worthy conclusion to what must be considered one of the most thorough treatments of Churchill so far produced. An essential conclusion to Manchester's magnum opus." ( Library Journal)

Wonderful Story

Excellent listening and well presented biography of the wonderful leader of the UK during WWII.

What a man

I have listen to all three volumes with delight. The life story is incredible, and the performance is fitting. Thank you.

Winston, a Leader raised for his Time

William Manchester has written an in-depth biography of Sir Winston from the time he took over the premiership of Parliament at the outbreak of the second world war, until his death.
He doesn't minimise Winston's faults, but he is very sympathetic to the man, and outlines the extreme difficulties he had to deal with in keeping both his allies and his senior officers in sympathy with his plans. Certainly his oratory won the masses, and his tenacious belief in the cause he was espousing, kept him going in spite of severe and often unjustified criticim when others of a lesser calibre would have capitulated

Detailed

This is the most detailed biography that I have consumed yet. Yes it was long,but it was so good.

Heavy Drinker. Never Exercised. Saved the World.

When a book is this good (and as universally lauded as this one has been) there is really not much one can say. But I’m sure I’ll find something.

First, the Author’s Note, read by the Paul Reid, is a touching explanation of how he got the job of finishing The Last Lion. A writer myself (though on nothing like this scale) I could sympathize with a writer confronted by a mountain of notes taken by another man, now dead, who had color coded them in a way only that man could understand. The Preamble, also read by Reid, is a short, revealing portrait of Churchill: his talents and shortcomings, his endearing and infuriating qualities—for both his friends and his enemies, foreign and domestic. It makes a fine listen in and of itself.

The far more massive book that comes after that—the final third of an even more massive literary venture—is a piece of writing that is paced just right. The years we want to hear about, 1940 through 1945, are given in detail that is thorough without being excruciating. And, while a straight-up academic biographer would probably have felt compelled to treat the last twenty years, 1945 to 1965, with the same exactitude, Reid opts to handle them more deftly. While it is sad to see the pivotal figure that essentially saved Western Civilization slip to junior partner status after America enters the war, it is even harder to see the man who had been a lambent flame of physical and mental energy his whole life drift into senility. Reid has the sense and taste to draw a curtain over much that could have been written. Bless him for that.

Reid’s style is spot-on as well. It has been said of Manchester that he wasn’t so much an historian as a storyteller, and Paul Reid follows faithfully in those footsteps. The story of the man, his triumphs and failures, is always center stage and always moving forward. Because this is written as a story—as opposed to academic history—it makes perfect listening. It also helped that I’ve spent the last few years reading up on the Second World War, especially the European and African theaters. Thus I was able to follow the paths of the armies without having to hit “pause” and go dig out maps.

Finally, the narration is every bit as good as the writing. Clive Chaffer’s pacing and diction are superb throughout, especially his way of delivering every one of the great man’s words, spoken or written, that appear in the text with a Churchillesque inflection. His studied avoidance of giving any other character in the story a unique voice helps keep Churchill the focus of the tale.

At 53 hours one might entertain qualms about listener ennui. But one would be wrong. Maybe it’s just me, but I cleaned the kitchen, rode to work and back on the train, folded laundry or just sat and sipped a drink, the man and the war becoming more and more a part of my mental makeup. I didn’t so much listen as absorb. William Manchester chose the right man to carry on and Audible chose the right reader.

In an age obsessed with youth and fitness and hooked on movies based on DC Comics superheroes, it’s refreshing to realize that the man who really did save the world was a heavy drinker who never exercised and displayed his greatest heroism at an age when most men are contemplating retirement.

Excellent Job

Any additional comments?

Paul Reid has done and excellent job of finishing the work that Manchester had begun. Clive Chafer, too, is to be commended for making this third volume of the Churchill biography such an enjoyable listen.

You’ll be tearing up at the end

One of the greatest men to ever walk the earth, with his life told in an exemplary manner.

One narrator is great, the other. Is tiresome

The second narrator is terrible. He reads every sentence in the same monotonous, tiresome cadence. Distracting and irritating.

Churchill. What a great man!!!

what a wonderful piece of writing.
more than 50 hours of spell binding written records of the later life of a visionary genius who was probably the greatest leader in the World in more than 100 years.

Incredible

The most impactful narrative of Churchill's life I have read. Worth every hour spent listening to it.