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PITT,BARRIE: : CHURCHILL AND THE GENERALS.[Author SIGNED copy.]

LONDON.SIDGWICK AND JACKSON LIMITED,1981.

ISBN 0283987448.

UK,8vo HB+protected dw/dj,SIGNED,1st edn. [An account of the events upon which the BBC-Le Vien TV drama Churchill and the Generals was based,with Timothy West playing Churchill.] NFINE/NFINE.No owner inscrptn but author's blue ink dedication, signature+date: 'To Peter & Bernice (?), With all good wishes Barrie Pitt 5th Aug, 1981.' to front free endpaper and no price-clip to protected dw/dj.Bright, crisp,clean,contemporary b/w photographic illustrated front panel of dw/dj,with white and gilt lettering; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top+ fore-edges generally bright and clean; contents bright,tight,clean - near pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,would appear unread - apart from my own collation.Bright,crisp, clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original, plain black cloth bds with bright,crisp, stamped gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white eps - SIGNED front free endpaper excepted.UK,8vo HB+ protected dw/dj,SIGNED,1st edn,5-196pp [paginated] includes contents list/table, separate lists of b/w illus/photographs+ b/w maps,a foreword by Editorial Consultant: Jack Le Vien,a prologue,11 chapters and an epilogue,14 b/w contemporary photographs interspersed throughout the text and the book,notes and an index,plus [unpaginated] half-title+ title pages,dedication and 2pp blanks at the rear. On May 10th,1940,Winston Spencer Churchill became Prime Minister of Britain.On the same day began the long-awaited German offensive in the West, and,such were the cataclysmic events which immediately followed,that the exchange of the country's leadership was hardly noticed by the majority of the populace. Within three weeks,however,they were to become well aware of the calibre of the man who now wielded control in Whitehall, and from whom they would draw inspiration to carry them through the dreadful days ahead.For the first few months,indeed, there was little for British comfort except that Churchillian inspiration conveyed to them in the matchless rhetoric of the first wartime speeches.For what was left of the army was woefully short of every sort of equipment with which to repel the invader,let alone to beat him back to his own homeland. And when the army was reformed,who was to lead it in the field? This was one of the most pressing problems to face the new Prime Minister,and it was to remain his chief consideration for two and a half years,until a 'winning team' of army commanders was found.Until that time, Churchill's relations with the top military command was always astringent and often turbulent.In the wake of the arguments and discord that resulted,the careers of many leading professional soldiers were abruptly curtailed.Ironside, Gort,Dill,Wavelland Auchinleck all found themselves,often unjustly,the targets of Churchillian anger,of his ruthless pursuit of victory for the country he loved,and the cause of freedom which he embodied. Then in 1942,guided by the one soldier in whom he had placed confidence from their first encounter,Sir Alan Brooke,he gave command of the vital Middle East theatre to that epitome of aristocratic charm and grace,Lieutenant-General the Hon. Harold Alexander.His commander in the field,in charge of the famous Eighth Army,was Lieutenant-General Bernard Law Montgomery - of whose personal and social behaviour up to that time the kindest epithet which can be found says that 'he could be difficult'.But both Alexander and Montgomery were thoroughly professional, and after their appointment Churchill could say - not entirely accurately - 'Before Alamein we never had a victory, after Alamein we never had a defeat.' This is the story of Churchill's relations with his generals,told in the context of the battles and campaigns in which those relationships developed,by one of Britain's most successful writers on military affairs. Since April 2013,and again in March 2015, the UK Post Office has altered it's Pricing in Proportion template,altering its weight allowances,dimensions and lowered its qualifying compensation rates too! So,please contact seller,because of the value of this item,for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!

UK,8vo HB+protected dw/dj,1st edn.
'To Peter & Bernice (?),With all good wishes Barrie Pitt 5th Aug,1981.'

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