Sir Martin Gilbert

Sir Martin Gilbert was born in London in 1936. As a schoolboy he witnessed a city once ravaged by war slowly return to the pink of health. The leadership and wit of Winston Churchill, Britain's Last Lion, left an indelible impression on him, and after spending two compulsory years in the British Army he studied history-notably Churchill's impact-at Oxford University. In 1968 he was appointed the quintessential Churchill biographer, a mantle he holds to this day, having published six volumes of Churchill's story, 11 books of Churchill documents, and the demi-epic Churchill: A Life.

Monitoring a gathering storm watcher. Gilbert has lectured about Churchill's life and upbringing, his leadership, and his relationship with America and the world at large. These discussions have been held at the White House, the Ottawa House of Commons, the Academy of Sciences in Moscow and Kiev, and at universities and public forums throughout the United States. Gilbert is exclusively represented by Leading Authorities; his orations brims with expertise and aplomb.

Over the course of his Churchill work , beginning in 1962, Gilbert got to know an extraordinary range of people, among them Churchill's widow Clementine, his four children, some of his closest First- and Second World War advisers, the pilots who taught him to fly before World War One, the soldiers who fought with him in the trenches on the Western Front in 1916, Churchill's secretaries, his civil servants, the men who brought him secret information about Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and his political allies and opponents in times of peace and times of war.

A man of honors and letters. Gilbert was knighted in 1995, having spent two years assisting the British Prime Minister, John Major. This included accompanying him during official visits to Washington, Jerusalem, Gaza, and Amman. Gilbert also aided two other Prime Ministers, Harold Wilson and Margaret Thatcher.

He has written 79 books. His histories of the First World War and Second World war are best-selling classics. Whether writing a book or speaking before an audience, Gilbert focuses on the individuals-on the people-those active on the high plateau of policymaking, or on the low ground (and sea and air) of combat and courage. His aim has always been to write history from the human perspective, never to neglect the person known as "the common" man, woman, or child, and to remember that when Winston Churchill was asked by him why the Twentieth Century was called the century of the common man, his reply was simple but mighty: "It is called the century of the common man because in it the common man has suffered most."

Sir Martin Gilbert is a storyteller and a primary source whose experiences and personal interviews excavate the humanity of figures and events long since wrapped in a blanket of history. He speaks with grace about the legacy of Winston Churchill and the impact true leadership can make during war-torn times.