Is it possible to offer a fresh perspective on a figure as familiar as Winston Churchill? Distinguished historian Peter Clarke shows the answer is yes. When Churchill received the Nobel Prize in 1953, it was not for his role as a world leader, but for his literature. In fact, Churchill was a gifted and successful writer long before he was a politician, publishing a stream of books and articles over the course of his life. In this engaging and revealing new narrative, Clarke traces the making of the magisterial work that occupied Churchill for a quarter century, his four-volume History of the English-Speaking Peoples.
Churchill signed the contract for History in 1932, at a time when his political career seemed over. His stunning return to power when the Nazis swept across Europe meant the book went uncompleted until the 1950s. But long before he took office, the massive project was shaping his worldview, his speeches, and his leadership: This was the work that defined the "special relationship" between Britain and America. In Mr. Churchill's Profession, Peter Clarke explores an untold chapter in history and offers an intimate new portrait of an iconic leader.

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Peter Clarke's many books include Keynes: The Rise, Fall, and Return of the 20th Century's Most Influential Economist; The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire; The Keynesian Revolution in the Making, 1924-1936; and the acclaimed final volume of the Penguin History of Britain, Hope and Glory, Britain 1900-2000.

“[A] delightful, informative, and worthy addition to the groaning shelf of Churchill biography” —Globe and Mail (Canada)
“In Mr. Churchill's Profession, an account of his career as an author, Peter Clarke argues that writing was not merely Churchill's vocation but the very center of his working life…” —Maya Jasonoff, Wall Street Journal
“Detailing Churchill's writing aids of whiskey and stenographers as well as his income, Clarke will interest many in Churchill's authorial career.” —Gilbert Taylor, Booklist
“Original, gap-filling, engagingly presented scholarship.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Clarke enhances his distinguished reputation as a scholar of modern Britain … with this original perspective on Winston Churchill.” —Publishers Weekly