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MR. CHURCHILL IN THE WHITE HOUSE

Robert Schmuhl

The Untold Story of a Prime Minister and Two Presidents

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. Robert Schmuhl is the Walter H. AnnenbergEdmund 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.
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Published 2024-07-02 by Liveright Publishing Corporation

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Robert Schmuhl admirably captures the vitality and cunning of Churchill's D.C. residency with consummate skill, colorful anecdotes, and crisp historical analysis.

Historian Schmuhl (The Glory and the Burden) takes a novel approach to exploring mid-20th-century diplomatic relations between America and Britain in this winning history... The character portraits Schmuhl draws are vivid and transfixing as the leaders by turns cozy up and butt heads. WWII history buffs will be delighted.

Robert Schmuhl, author of Mr. Churchill in the White House, has annoyed me. What was meant to be a casual week-long read transformed into a captivating all-nighter flipping through the pages of a book I never knew I needed.

A story to enjoy on a rainy day Robert Schmuhl tells this hidden-in-plain-sight story with the kind of charm and humor you don't expect in a book on the War. This is a story to enjoy on a rainy day or if it's too hot to go outside. Indeed, "Mr. Churchill in the White House" is a book worth fishing for. Read more...

A cursory online search suggests that 1,150 books have been written about Winston Churchill. He wrote 42 books himself, published in 70 volumes. Which raises the awkward questions: One more? Really? To which Robert Schmuhl's cheeky answer is "Yes!" And you know what? Mr. Churchill in the White House is both charming and provocative. What did Churchill really say when FDR rolled his wheelchair into the British prime minister's bathroom to find him in the pink and white altogether? Did these two brilliant and manipulative politicians ever permit friendship to overwhelm British or American national interest? It was a complex and meaningful relationship. Worth another book? This one? Absolutely.

The Prime Minister who came to stay There are anecdotes in here that ardent war historians will vacuum up and information that will make biography lovers happy, but readers who like a bit of dirty linen with their books will be gleeful at what Schmuhl shares, too. Trust this and speaking of politics: you'll absolutely want to know about the exchange between Nixon and Churchill, and how it portended the future...This is a story to enjoy on a rainy day or if it's too hot to go outside. Indeed, "Mr. Churchill in the White House" is a book worth fishing for. Read more...

Churchill's time at the White House became legendary, and no foreign leader has captivated the American people in the same way since.

Bob Schmuhl, Emeritus Professor of American Studies at the University of Notre Dame Read more...

This well-researched book... adds up to a fresh approach to an important piece of history

Mr. Churchill in the White House showcases an essential point about the great Englishman's visits to the United States. Common history and shared interests will move nations in the same direction. Yet sometimes it takes the force of personality to bind them together. Mr. Schmuhl, an emeritus professor of American studies and journalism at the University of Notre Dame, "has found a fresh angle by focusing on the White House visits themselves, from the intimacies of the close quarters to the tensions hiding behind smiling pictures. Read more...

The Sunday Sitdown: Robert Schmuhl Meet the Hoosier author, professor and the man who was almost Eugene McCarthy's running mate. Read more...

Episode 338: Mr. Churchill in the White House Read more...

Robert Schmuhl's Mr. Churchill in the White House?is a lively, deeply researched and important contribution to our understanding of how large personalities confronting large challenges can change history.

Antares (Armenian)

This is an informative, entertaining, and fast-paced account of Anglo-American summitry at the highest level, based on the accounts of those who were there.

If you know very little about the strategic issues surrounding World War 2 and the geopolitic world at the time, then this book is a must read for you. If you want to see what life is like when prying eyes are not on famous people, then this is your book. A tremendous amount of research went into creating this book. A companion to the classic, One Christmas In Washington.