From Publishers Weekly
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.)
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Lord Moran (Charles McMoran Wilson) was Winston Churchill's private doctor and close friend throughout Churchill's career as a statesman. This abridged and revised edition of Moran's diaries was published in Britain in 2005. Entries begin with Churchill's resignation as prime minister in 1945. Moran chronicles the man's medical problems (his first stroke occurred in 1949), his return to power in 1951, his trip to the U.S., and his iron curtain speech. In this private look at a public figure, Moran visits Churchill's relationship with his wife, his frequent outrage at stories about him in the papers, and his love of books. Moran explains that he thought it right to recount the stages of Churchill's decline as long as he possessed political power and even afterward when his advice was still sought, but there was no point in continuing the story beyond the time when he ceased to be of any historical significance--why, then, the book ends in 1960, five years before Churchill's death. Edifying to history buffs. George Cohen
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About the Author
Lord Moran aka Charles McMoran Wilson was Winston Churchill's private doctor and close personal friend.
