The journalist and author Paul Reid discusses the book he co-authored with the late William Manchester, The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965 (Little, Brown, 2012), Churchill, Manchester, and Reid’s own career as a writer, with Joseph Planta.

The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965 by Paul Reid (Little, Brown, 2012). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Last Lion

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

This past fall one of the most highly awaited books was published, The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965. It is the third in a series of books on the life of Churchill by William Manchester. The first volume, Visions of Glory, 1874-1932 was published thirty years ago, with the second, Alone, 1932-1940 published in 1988. Since then the third volume has been long anticipated—there’s a story of someone saying they were dying and appearing at the publisher’s office in New York to read whatever they had in terms of a draft. In 2003, in failing health, Mr. Manchester asked his friend, the award-winning journalist Paul Reid to complete the book. And has he ever. It’s a remarkable book, magisterial, and a welcome addition to any history buff, Churchill admirer, or a fan of great historical writing. Mr. Reid joins me now to talk about Churchill in the last 25 years of his life, those war years, his own decade or so completing this book, William Manchester, and more. I am a great admirer of William Manchester’s work, which includes a biography on Douglas MacArthur, American Caesar; The Arms of Krupp; the book on the assassination of John Kennedy, The Death of the President; not to mention those two previous books on Churchill; and my personal favourite The Glory and the Dream, his history of the United States between the years 1932 and 1972. The book is published by Little, Brown. I am very pleased to welcome to the Planta: On the Line program in Tryon, North Carolina today, Paul Reid; Mr. Reid, good morning.

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