"This book explores Churchill's predilection for direct diplomatic action from his first tentative involvement in 1908 until his retirement as prime minister in 1955. Its principal focus is the period 1945-55, during which the full force of Churchill's personal diplomacy was directed at sustaining Britain's great power status - in relation to the Soviet Union and the United States - at a time when its own economic strength was declining.

It shows that, as an elderly prime minister in his final term after October 1951, Churchill sought to revive with US President Eisenhower and with Stalin's successors in Soviet Russia the 'Big Three' summitry he saw as the most effective means of forestalling a nuclear holocaust and achieving a lasting peace.".

"This is the first time that Churchill's personal political style has been explored at this level of detail. Based on a scrutiny of official documents and private archives in Europe and the United States, it breaks new ground both in terms of Churchill scholarship and the international history of the Cold War."--BOOK JACKET.