The first volume of the Churchill trilogy by William Manchester covers the first 58 years of Churchill's life, and formed the leader that Churchill would become in the 1930's and beyond. Churchill was a neglected child and sought glory where he could find it, including in France during WWI. He famously said of this period, and the period covering 1932-1940 when being asked to form a government by King George VI that "At last I had the authority to give directions over the whole scene. I felt as though I was walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial". The first two books are important to understand the Churchill who became Prime Minister in May 1940.
