Churchill's Hour. [Paperback]

The third historical novel by Michael Dobbs in the Winston Churchill series following WINSTON'S WAR and NEVER SURRENDER, CHURCHILL'S HOUR delivers a pre-Christmas present to Winston in early December 1941 - the United States is sucked into the war against Germany.

Here, the time frame is Christmas Day 1940 to December 11, 1941. In that period, John Winant replaces Joseph Kennedy as U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James, Averell Harriman arrives in Britain as America's Lend-Lease administrator, London is blitzed, HMS Hood is traded for the KMS Bismarck, Churchill has his first summit with FDR, Deputy Fuehrer Rudolf Hess crash lands his plane in Scotland, Rommel debarks in North Africa, Germany assaults Russia, Japan attacks Pearl Harbor and sinks HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, and America and Britain declare war on Japan. Finally, Hitler declares war against the former and Winston can sleep more easily. All through 1940, England has barely been able to hang on and Churchill is desperate for America to enter the conflict; Roosevelt is infuriatingly elusive on the subject.

Students of Churchill and his leadership role up to and during WWII will find CHURCHILL'S HOUR, and the entire series, an engrossing read; those who aren't will likely be bored to tears. While much of the narrative concerns factual events, the fictionalized filler is given commendable credence by the author's version of the Prime Minister, who stays consistent with his historical persona throughout, even when dealing with the messy marriages of his son Randolph and his daughter Sarah. Indeed, Dobbs takes the opportunity to introduce the reader to one of the more intriguing women of the twentieth century, Pamela Digby Churchill, Randolph's wife. History records that Pamela, after divorcing the wretched Randolph, went on to occupy the beds of several prominent and wealthy men, and eventually married Averell Harriman thirty years after having an affair with him in 1941. A courtesan in the most positive sense of the word, Pamela was eventually named U.S. Ambassador to France by President Bill Clinton (how apt!) in 1993. When she died in Paris in 1997, French President Jacques Chirac posthumously awarded her the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor.

The humor in CHURCHILL'S HOUR is provided by Winston's loyal manservant, Frank Sawyers, a real person, apparently, who disappeared from history after leaving his master's household in 1947. The "twist" in the book comes via Winston's Machiavellian connivance (?) in the Japanese sneak attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet and Germany's subsequent declaration of war against America by the clever dissemination of disinformation through an Axis spy. Did he, or didn't he? If he did, then he was only following Admiral Lord Nelson's famous order at Trafalgar, "England expects every man to do his duty", and the Empire's demise was postponed until another time.

I was attracted to this book by a review I read in one of the British Sunday newspapers and grabbed it for an airline flight. My only irritation was that I still hadn't finished it by the time we touched down! This book is great. Churchill comes across as if he is real flesh and blood, and some of the other characters are magnificent. I've always had an interest in Pearl Harbour, but mostly on the military side. I had no idea how much passion and deception went into the story. It wasn't just bombs and battleships, but bedtime sorties in Downing Street too! Huge fun.

This is the third book in the Churchill series.

The Battle of Britain has just about brought Britain to its knees and the bombing of major British cities has begun to an extent to demoralise the British people and further problems occur when Japan is set to begin attacks.

The United States are reluctant to become involved in a war in Europe and then there is the unexpected attack on Pearl Harbour which alters the course of events dramatically.

Churchill's own personal problems have worsened to such an extent that they are starting to overshadow and also put in jeopardy his professional position.

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