In this highly topical work in light of Brexit, Donald Trump’s Presidency and the rise of the alt-right, #1 New York Times bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas E. Ricks explains how Winston Churchill and George Orwell’s far-sighted vision and inspired action in the face of authoritarianism helped to preserve individual freedom and democracy for the world. They are perhaps the most important figures in modern British history: Orwell’s 1984 is the most set text in schools in the UK and Churchill is repeatedly named as the ‘Greatest Briton’. Both are widely recognised for their vision and courage to campaign tirelessly, in words and deeds, against the totalitarian threat from both the left and the right. In a crucial moment, they responded first by seeking the facts of the matter, seeing through the lies and obfuscations and then acted on their beliefs. Together they kept the Wests compass set toward freedom as its due north. However, in the late 1930s they occupied a lonely position: democracy was discredited in many circles and authoritarian rulers, fascist and communist, were everywhere in the ascent. Churchill and Orwell had the foresight to see clearly that the issue was human liberty - and that any government that denies its people basic rights is a totalitarian menace and has to be resisted. In the end, Churchill and Orwell proved their ages necessary men. The glorious climax of Churchill and Orwell is their drive in the 1940s to triumph over freedoms enemies. Churchill may have played the larger role in the defeat of Hitler and the Axis, but Orwells reckoning with the menace of authoritarian rule in Animal Farm and 1984 would define the stakes of the Cold War for its 50-year course and continues to inspire to this day.

About the Author

Thomas E. Ricks is the author of several books, including The Generals, The Gamble and the #1 New York Times bestseller Fiasco, which was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize. Ricks was a reporter at the Wall Street Journal for seventeen years until 1999, when he moved on to write for the Washington Post. A member of two Pulitzer Prize-winning teams, he covered U.S. military activities across the globe. He advises on national security at the New America Foundation, where he participates in its ‘Future of War’ project. He was previously a fellow at the Centre for a New American Security and is a contributing editor of Foreign Policy magazine, for which he writes the prizewinning blog The Best Defense.