'This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues - its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country's past.' The Daily Telegraph

Spanning Caesar's invasion of Britain to the birth of the twentieth century, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston S. Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history, and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history.

This one-volume abridged edition of Churchill's major work makes accessible to readers the full sweep of his magisterial chronicle of the history of Britain. It combines Churchill's intriguing, closely observed biographical profiles of a succession of leaders - including Alfred the Great, Henry Plantagenet, Henry V, Richard III, Charles I, William Pitt and Queen Victoria - with the key events and developments that were to shape the course of history. Restored to this edition is the abridged version of the American history from the individual volumes, covering the War of American Independence and the American Civil War, each introduced by the editor.

Sir Winston S. Churchill (1874-1965) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on two occasions, from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Celebrated as one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century, he was also a gifted orator, statesman and historian. The author of more than 40 books, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953 and in 1963 was made an honorary citizen of the United States.

Christopher Lee is a British writer, historian and broadcaster. A former BBC defence and foreign affairs correspondent and Quatercentenary Fellow in Contemporary History and sometime Gomes lecturer at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, UK, he is author or editor of 26 books and is the originator and writer of the BBC Radio 4 trilogy This Sceptred Isle. His recent books include the three accompanying volumes of This Sceptred Isle and in 2011 he published the single-volume abridgment of Winston Churchill's four-volume A History of the English-Speaking Peoples.