Gandhi & Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age
by: Arthur Herman
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In this fascinating and meticulously researched book, bestselling historian Arthur Herman sheds new light on two of the most universally recognizable icons of the twentieth century, and reveals how their forty-year rivalry sealed the fate of India and the British Empire.
They were born worlds apart: Winston Churchill to Britain’s most glamorous aristocratic family, Mohandas Gandhi to a pious middle-class household in a provincial town in India. Yet Arthur Herman reveals how their lives and careers became intertwined as the twentieth century unfolded. Both men would go on to lead their nations through harrowing trials and two world wars—and become locked in a fierce contest of wills that would decide the fate of countries, continents, and ultimately an empire.
Gandhi & Churchill reveals how both men were more alike than different, and yet became bitter enemies over the future of India, a land of 250 million people with 147 languages and dialects and 15 distinct religions—the jewel in the crown of Britain’s overseas empire for 200 years.
Over the course of a long career, Churchill would do whatever was necessary to ensure that India remain British—including a fateful redrawing of the entire map of the Middle East and even risking his alliance with the United States during World War Two.
Mohandas Gandhi, by contrast, would dedicate his life to India’s liberation, defy death and imprisonment, and create an entirely new kind of political movement: satyagraha, or civil disobedience. His campaigns of nonviolence in defiance of Churchill and the British, including his famous Salt March, would become the blueprint not only for the independence of India but for the civil rights movement in the U.S. and struggles for freedom across the world.
Now master storyteller Arthur Herman cuts through the legends and myths about these two powerful, charismatic figures and reveals their flaws as well as their strengths. The result is a sweeping epic of empire and insurrection, war and political intrigue, with a fascinating supporting cast, including General Kitchener, Rabindranath Tagore, Franklin Roosevelt, Lord Mountbatten, and Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. It is also a brilliant narrative parable of two men whose great successes were always haunted by personal failure, and whose final moments of triumph were overshadowed by the loss of what they held most dear.
In this fascinating and meticulously researched book, bestselling historian Arthur Herman sheds new light on two of the most universally recognizable icons of the twentieth century, and reveals how their forty-year rivalry sealed the fate of India and the British Empire.
They were born worlds apart: Winston Churchill to Britain’s most glamorous aristocratic family, Mohandas Gandhi to a pious middle-class household in a provincial town in India. Yet Arthur Herman reveals how their lives and careers became intertwined as the twentieth century unfolded. Both men would go on to lead their nations through harrowing trials and two world wars—and become locked in a fierce contest of wills that would decide the fate of countries, continents, and ultimately an empire.
Gandhi & Churchill reveals how both men were more alike than different, and yet became bitter enemies over the future of India, a land of 250 million people with 147 languages and dialects and 15 distinct religions—the jewel in the crown of Britain’s overseas empire for 200 years.
Over the course of a long career, Churchill would do whatever was necessary to ensure that India remain British—including a fateful redrawing of the entire map of the Middle East and even risking his alliance with the United States during World War Two.
Mohandas Gandhi, by contrast, would dedicate his life to India’s liberation, defy death and imprisonment, and create an entirely new kind of political movement: satyagraha, or civil disobedience. His campaigns of nonviolence in defiance of Churchill and the British, including his famous Salt March, would become the blueprint not only for the independence of India but for the civil rights movement in the U.S. and struggles for freedom across the world.
Now master storyteller Arthur Herman cuts through the legends and myths about these two powerful, charismatic figures and reveals their flaws as well as their strengths. The result is a sweeping epic of empire and insurrection, war and political intrigue, with a fascinating supporting cast, including General Kitchener, Rabindranath Tagore, Franklin Roosevelt, Lord Mountbatten, and Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. It is also a brilliant narrative parable of two men whose great successes were always haunted by personal failure, and whose final moments of triumph were overshadowed by the loss of what they held most dear.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- A Saga of a Humanist and an Imperialist:
(I am a fan of biographical and historical books. I received this as a gift.)
This book makes compelling reading, and I enjoyed reading it. I had the benefit of having read several books about these two men, although none of the previous books I had read explored them jointly as this book does.
Although this book is well researched and well written, in my opinion it has a significant flaw. The author goes out of his way to find faults with Gandhi and his close political ... Read More
Rating: 
- Highly Readable Portrait of Two Influential But Flawed Characters
Arthur Herman has written a detailed look at the intersection in the lives of two of the most remarkable and influential characters in the 20th century. Both men were products of the Victorian era who through personal experience and differing backgrounds came to quite opposite conclusions regarding the future of India , the "jewel in the crown" of the British empire.
Their lives span a period in history that was astounding for the changes in society as well as the intensity of the historical ... Read More
Rating: - An intelligent comparison between two men and two civilizations
I'm Italian. It is the first big English book that I read. I choose well.
The idea is inspired by Plutarco (Vite Parallele) and the result is very good. The writing is fluent and clear. The links are correct and keen. The characters with their different goals and ways of life show the greatness of two cultures, so far but so deeply connected.
For lovers of history it is a book to read with passion!
Rating: - Walking contradiction partly truth and partly fiction
This book changed my image of both men. I belive it removed the polish and made them human. Their strength was in the fact that both men could fall so far down and climb back to the top over and over again.
Rating: - Explains so much of what is going on in the world even today
This is a critical history book in explaining not just the past but casting light on present conflicts in different regions in the world. From the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, to the war in Iraq, "Churchill and Gandhi" will help readers gain additional insights. Churchill is arguably the most important individual who shaped events in the British empire. Gandhi is a figure who is widely respected perhaps more so in the west than India. Obama names Gandhi along with Lincoln and MLK as his favorite historic ... Read More
- A Saga of a Humanist and an Imperialist:(I am a fan of biographical and historical books. I received this as a gift.)
This book makes compelling reading, and I enjoyed reading it. I had the benefit of having read several books about these two men, although none of the previous books I had read explored them jointly as this book does.
Although this book is well researched and well written, in my opinion it has a significant flaw. The author goes out of his way to find faults with Gandhi and his close political ... Read More
- Highly Readable Portrait of Two Influential But Flawed CharactersArthur Herman has written a detailed look at the intersection in the lives of two of the most remarkable and influential characters in the 20th century. Both men were products of the Victorian era who through personal experience and differing backgrounds came to quite opposite conclusions regarding the future of India , the "jewel in the crown" of the British empire.
Their lives span a period in history that was astounding for the changes in society as well as the intensity of the historical ... Read More
- An intelligent comparison between two men and two civilizationsI'm Italian. It is the first big English book that I read. I choose well.
The idea is inspired by Plutarco (Vite Parallele) and the result is very good. The writing is fluent and clear. The links are correct and keen. The characters with their different goals and ways of life show the greatness of two cultures, so far but so deeply connected.
For lovers of history it is a book to read with passion!
- Walking contradiction partly truth and partly fictionThis book changed my image of both men. I belive it removed the polish and made them human. Their strength was in the fact that both men could fall so far down and climb back to the top over and over again.
- Explains so much of what is going on in the world even todayThis is a critical history book in explaining not just the past but casting light on present conflicts in different regions in the world. From the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, to the war in Iraq, "Churchill and Gandhi" will help readers gain additional insights. Churchill is arguably the most important individual who shaped events in the British empire. Gandhi is a figure who is widely respected perhaps more so in the west than India. Obama names Gandhi along with Lincoln and MLK as his favorite historic ... Read More
