The Last Lion
by William Manchester · first published 1983
79% recommend21% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Deep, detailed multi-volume biography of Churchill that covers his life and the wartime strategy in depth; praised as thorough, not pop history, for readers wanting a comprehensive account.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…did? You'll find in many occasions in history, he took principled and considered if not always correct positions. He certainly wasn't a Hilter or even a Bush. For more reading: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Lion-Winston-Churchill-1874-1932...
on “Painting as a Pastime by Winston Churchill (1948)” ↗I really enjoyed The Last Lion a biography of Churchill by William Manchester. I look forward to comparing that book with this.
on “A New Biography of Churchill” ↗The Last Lion - a multi-volume biography of Winston Churchill, by William Manchester.
on “Ask HN: Biographies recommendations – both Westerner and Non-westerner” ↗Answering my own question, this would be the first two volumes of William Manchester's "The Last Lion", a comprehensive biography of Winston Churchill.
on “Ask HN: Best book you read during our Annus Horribilis (2020)?” ↗Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann. The Last Lion (Alone) by William Manchester.
on “Ask HN: What book(s) did you love reading this year?” ↗…https://www.amazon.com/Dealing-China-Insider-Economic-Superp... (4) https://merics.org/en/tracker/how-bri-shaping-global-trade-a... (5) https://asiatimes.com/2025/02/us-revives-wwii-era-pacific-ai... (6) Manchester. The Last Lion, the 3 volume definitive biography of Churchill, which puts the Prof's work in the largest possible context. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Lion:_Winston_Spencer... (7) Jamie Holmes. 12 Seconds…
on “How the U.S. became a science superpower” ↗If you're into historical biographies, I highly recommend The Last Lion by McMasters on Churchill. Really puts things into perspective about how close Germany came to owning Europe. It's really 3 books, 5000+ pages, not a quick read but worth the effort.
on “Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?” ↗…satisfying. 1776 is a classic. "Blind mans bluff" is a great book about submarine warfare. For more current stuff Robert Kagan is probably the most informed pundit on war and military strategy. WW-II "The Last Lion" books 1 and 2 are about Churchill and they involve lots of military strategy. You should also check out "The gathering storm + the other six books Churchill wrote on WWII. Man I could go on forever.…
on “Ask HN: good books about military strategy?” ↗…the best biography I know of, though I think the 1st one is the best: http://www.amazon.com/Edmund-Morriss-Theodore-Roosevelt-Tril... (bonus points for the Churchill series too: http://www.amazon.com/Last-Lion-Box-Set-Churchill/dp/0316227...) Hope it helps!
on “For anyone who has been turned down by 38 companies” ↗…shoulders above everything else. Some other good ones, including a great series about Winston Churchill: Mornings on Horseback - about Teddy Roosevelt by David McCullough Truman - David McCullough The Last Lion - series of books about Churchill. I forget the author. All of Doris Kearns Goodwin books are excellent, as well. She's covered a lot of presidents.
on “Ask HN: Favourite biographies about USA presidents?” ↗I'm in the middle of it right now. It definitely doesn't suffer from pop-history. I also read Andrew Robert's Churchill biography and thought it was excellent. Not quite to the level of The Last Lion, but that's mainly because it's much shorter.
on “Napoleon: Two Centuries of Life After Death” ↗The best thing I read this year was "The Last Lion", a three-volume biography of Winston Churchill. I don't know that I would recommend it to most people, it's a hell of a lot of words to read about one guy: volume 1 alone is 850 pages in hardcover,…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2023 and recommend for 2024” ↗…done neither Churchill nor the book justice in this description, but I think there's support for the notion that personality doesn't simply or easily decompose into good parts and bad parts. [1] 'The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Alone, 1932-1940', William Manchester
on “Wozniak: “Actually, the movie was largely a lie about me”” ↗https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II easily. I grew up when the History Channel was nicknamed the "Hitler channel". I've read Manchester's the Last Lion, Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and will soon be ordering Ullrich's Hitler - Ascent. Saving Private Ryan is in my top 5 favorite movies of all time. This is currently my wallpaper: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/59/US_Army...
on “Ask HN: What is your favorite internet rabbit hole?” ↗It's pretty interesting actually - I'm reading The Last Lion (a biography of Winston Churchill), and it's amazing how much the British appeased Hitler and neglected to rearm, while the Nazis built out a serious army. But then to imagine the current mood for American…
on “Why dumb recruits cost the Army, big-time (2006)” ↗