Winston Churchill was the prime minister of the United Kingdom during the dark days of World War II. This was during a time when Britain seemed to stand alone against Nazi Germany. Churchill’s leadership is largely credited for keeping up the spirit of the British people, especially during the German air blitz and the allied defeat at the Battle of Dunkirk in 1940.
But Churchill's natural leadership skills were evident many years before he became prime minister. As author Candice Millard writes in her newest book, Hero of the Empire, Churchill knew he was destined for the world stage long before he actually stepped on it.
"It's just this incredible adventure story," she says. "...The fact that it happened to Winston Churchill and launched his political career is really just extraordinary."
Even though Churchill lived until 90 years of age, he thought he would die young, and thus sought out to accomplish as much as possible in the time he was given. By 24, he was off to his fourth war on three different continents, wrote three books and ran a campaign for Parliament.
For Churchill, this ambition served as more than a call to adventure and gallantry, but "a glittering gateway to distinction" that could further serve his career, Millard says. During his military career, Churchill was willing to risk his life for notoriety, and he truly believed he could save the British Empire.
"When we think of Winston Churchill, we usually think of him as an old man sending young men into war. But the truth is that few people understood as well as he did, and no one understood better, the real cost and tragedy of war," says Millard.
One largely forgotten but "stunning" formative story was Churchill's time as a prisoner of war after being captured by the Boers in Pretoria. Without any map, compass, food or water (except for a crumbling biscuit and a piece of chocolate), no weapon and no ability to speak the language, he somehow managed to escape and trek across 300 miles of enemy territory, explains Millard. With an unknown outcome at the time of his escape, Churchill knew that if he survived, this story would jump start his political career.
For Millard, it is these kinds of lesser known stories of hardship that grasp her interest in her book subjects. After having spent five years researching Churchill, Millard sought to answer common questions and bring a new perspective to this influential leader.
"[I look] for a ton of primary source materials...that will give me dialog and give me all those rich details so that you feel like you were there," Millard explains. "I want the reader to be completely immersed in the story...and feel how [Churchill] felt."
It's the smaller private moments of struggle that intrigue Millard, from writing about James Garfield to Theodore Roosevelt to Winston Churchill. "They're searching for a foothold. And I think you can really see, not the statesman or the great politician or leader, but the man," she says.
