cover image Churchill: The Struggle for Survival, 1945–60

Churchill: The Struggle for Survival, 1945–60

Lord Moran, . . Carroll & Graf, $15.95 (480pp) ISBN 978-0-7867-1706-4

The Churchill industry continues with this second volume of the diaries of Lord Moran (volume one, covering the wartime years, was published here in 2002). Moran, born Charles McMoran Wilson, was Churchill's doctor and friend, traveling with the iconic figure for decades—and he kept notes. This volume begins with "The Big Blow," when English voters turned the wartime prime minister out of office by a landslide and covers, often in voluminous detail, the next 15 years of Churchill's life—a period during which he wrote his magisterial history of WWII and again served as England's prime minister (he was re-elected in 1951). The book reads more like a novel than a diary, and the author's charming style and devotion to his subject create an indelible portrait of the enigmatic, multifaceted Churchill. Sometimes, it's the personal details that make history come alive. When Churchill was turned out of office in 1945, Moran said the people were ungrateful. "Oh, no," Churchill replied with remarkable calm. "I wouldn't call it that. They have had a very hard time." (Feb.)