Description

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Winston Churchill’s frequent stays at the White House inform this illuminating account of America and Britain’s “Special Relationship” during World War II and the 1950s.

Scores of biographies have been written about Winston Churchill, yet none examine his frequent, sometimes furtive, trips to the White House, where he resided for weeks on end—the (often unclothed) visitor who “dropped out of the sky.” These extended visits during his two terms as prime minister were spirited, even entertaining, occasions. Yet, in retrospect, they take on a new level of diplomatic significance, demonstrating just how influential a foreign leader can become in shaping American foreign policy. Drawing on years of research, Robert Schmuhl not only contextualizes the days Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower spent together, but also vividly portrays the individual characters, from Churchill himself—a devoted fisherman who never stopped “angling”—to a resentful Eleanor Roosevelt. Evoking an era far different from today, Mr. Churchill in the White House becomes an insightful work for our own fractious times.

About the Author

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Robert Schmuhl is the Walter H. Annenberg–Edmund P. Joyce Chair Emeritus in American Studies and Journalism at the University of Notre Dame. He’s the author or editor of fifteen books, including The Glory and the Burden about the US presidency.