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Lynne Olson

Troublesome Young Men: The Rebels Who Brought Churchill to Power and Helped Save England Paperback – April 29, 2008

by Lynne Olson (Author)

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A riveting history of the daring politicians who challenged the disastrous policies of the British government on the eve of World War II

On May 7, 1940, the House of Commons began perhaps the most crucial debate in British parliamentary history. On its outcome hung the future of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's government and also of Britain―indeed, perhaps, the world. Troublesome Young Men is Lynne Olson's fascinating account of how a small group of rebellious Tory MPs defied the Chamberlain government's defeatist policies that aimed to appease Europe's tyrants and eventually forced the prime minister's resignation.

Some historians dismiss the "phony war" that preceded this turning point―from September 1939, when Britain and France declared war on Germany, to May 1940, when Winston Churchill became prime minister―as a time of waiting and inaction, but Olson makes no such mistake, and describes in dramatic detail the public unrest that spread through Britain then, as people realized how poorly prepared the nation was to confront Hitler, how their basic civil liberties were being jeopardized, and also that there were intrepid politicians willing to risk political suicide to spearhead the opposition to Chamberlain―Harold Macmillan, Robert Boothby, Leo Amery, Ronald Cartland, and Lord Robert Cranborne among them. The political and personal dramas that played out in Parliament and in the nation as Britain faced the threat of fascism virtually on its own are extraordinary―and, in Olson's hands, downright inspiring.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A well-written, fast-paced book that reads like a political thriller . . . Troublesome Young Men is an extraordinary tale of political courage in perilous times–and a wonderfully written book.” ―Terry Hartle, Christian Science Monitor

“[A] riveting book . . . Olson tells her story with verve, never letting the reader forget what was really at risk--and what might have happened if these particular troublemakers hadn't been so willing to stir the political pot.” ―The Atlantic Monthly

“During the 1930s, as the rise of Nazism threatened western civilization, Winston Churchill's was a lonely voice warning of the coming danger, opposing the British government's policy of appeasement and urging immediate rearmament. Lonely, but not entirely alone. For a few younger Tory members of Parliament held similar views about the German threat, though they did not necessarily agree with Churchill on other issues. The odds were against them, and in attacking their own party's leaders they put their careers at risk, but in the end they and their allies prevailed: Neville Chamberlain and his defeatist government were overthrown, opening up the room at the top that Churchill so famously filled. Lynne Olson has seized upon their wonderful but neglected story and has told it with verve. It is a riveting tale, immensely readable, that brings to history the excitement of a novel.” ―David Fromkin, author of Europe's Last Summer

About the Author

Lynne Olson, former White House correspondent for The Sun (Baltimore), is the author of Freedom's Daughters, and co-author, with her husband, Stanley Cloud, of A Question of Honor and The Murrow Boys. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; First edition (April 29, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0374531331
ISBN-13: 978-0374531331
Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1.3 x 8.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Customer Reviews: 159 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #475,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1190 in Historical British Biographies
- #76 in U.K. Prime Minister Biographies
- #1166 in England History

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159 customer reviews

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Alma Fox

Events leading up to World War !! Remembered by a 90 year old woman!

October 1, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I saw the book reviewed on C-Span. It read like Fiction and I went through it in two days! It was particularly relevant to me because I was 12 years old when the war began - I do not remember the names of all the participants except for Neville Chamberlain, Churchill and Anthony Eden. But I have a vivid memory of all the dramatic newsreels in the movie houses and the evacuation at Dunkirk. I lived in Cape Town in South Africa then and I remember the dozens of convoys of soldiers who came in to the port. Amazingly, at the time there was no security at the docks and anyone could visit the ships and were taken on board sightseeing!

10 people found this helpful

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Reader in the rain

Another masterpiece from Lynne Olson

April 11, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I will commence this review by expressing a very strong personal prejudice; if Lynne Olson wrote it is worth reading. I have read several versions of this particular tale from Churchill's point of view, both from his own writings as well as from Violet Bonham-Carter's and William Manchester's biographies of this great but very human and flawed character, but another book from Chruchill's point of view is not what this book is about. "Troublesome Young Men" is about both the slowly growing revolt in the Conservative Party during Chamberlain's Appeasement years and early years of the War and the men who risked their political careers by putting country ahead of ambition to bring that revolt about.

Olson has that rare talent in the popular historian wherein she does copious research that makes her books rich and full of details and points of view that other writers omitted and yet does not bore her readers (Like Kerns Godwin) by including each and every little tidbit and fact she researched just to prove she did the work. Her subjects are well fleshed out and very real but we never learn what they regularly eat for breakfast or what color tie they wore unless that point gives us insight into their character or is pertinent to the story. Yet at the same time the reader feels as if they are there in Parliament, the English Public School, the battlefield in France, and/or the streets of London. it does not matter how much you think you know about this story (and I knew a lot before reading Troublesome Young Men) read the book because, as she always does Lynne Olson will tell you things, take you places, and give you points of view you never knew of, saw, or considered before.

11 people found this helpful

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Pradip Khaladkar

Fascinating account of political intrigue.

November 2, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is a great book which details all the scheming and plotting to get Churchill to replace Chamberlain. It is however more than just that. It is also a commentary on the English society, its mores and its abhorrence of war until the very last minute. It is also a portrayal of Churchill as a very brilliant but seriously flawed individual, one whose only purpose on earth was to see the country safely through the war. What is also striking is his misplaced loyalty in Chamberlain and his cabal before and after he became Prime Minister. One wonders whether that prolonged the war unnecessarily. Perhaps this was inevitable given the English Harrow/Eaton culture which put a heavy premium on loyalty at the time. Leo Amery comes out as a far superior individual both for his steadfastness resistance to Churchill when required but also his acceptance of Churchill as THE man to lead the country through the war. The book also reinforces the historical understanding of Europe at the time that communism was a bigger bogey than fascism. Although this was known to be the case in Spain, Vichy France and Italy the book points out that it was just as virulent in Britain including the King George. If one is familiar with the players and the general history of the time this is a fast read. Highly recommended.

6 people found this helpful

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Richard C. Geschke

A Twist of History

July 17, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

As a devote Churchillian I found this book revealing in facts and depth of purpose. Lynne Olson has dug deep to find the closet cabinet who thrust Winston Spencer Churchill to the Prime Mininistership during Great Britain’s most desperate times.
Every student of Churchill knows and understands the Wilderness Years where as a back bencher Churchill warned the government of the growing militarism of Germany. He was the lone lighthouse whose beacon shined a warning to all that trouble which loomed on the continent of Europe and that Great Britain must be prepared militarily to deal with this threat from Adolph Hitler
How Churchill as a rather old man with much against him was foisted into the top political office in Great Britain is a story of young men who risked their political lives to bring the leader who in all reality became the foremost person in the 20th century. The story is filled with both intrigues and political practices which were crucial to the survival of the British Isle.
Such young back benchers as Ronald Cortland, Anthony Eden, Leo Amery and Harold Macmillan brought forth a long and sustaining battle with the appeasing Prime Minister Chamberlain. Lynne Olson weaves a complex and moving scenario which explains how Churchill will finally land the office of Prime Minister. It was through the efforts of these brash young men who instigated an actual coup d’etat and saved the Union Jack and in fact all of the Western democratic identities.
As Olson explains the intricacies of this grand dispute we find the true political feeling and above all the feelings of Churchill. Olson shows Churchill’s foibles warts and all as how he handled the young troublesome men who risked their careers to see him to 10 Downey Street.
Ms. Olson has brought fresh and meaningful material to this crucial time of World history.

8 people found this helpful

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bruce lee

The true story of the men who saved England from Hitler

May 26, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The research behind this book is spectacular and accurate, The narrative is unvarnished in portraying the strengths and weaknesses of Chamberlin, Churchill, Boothby, Eden, Macmillan and their associates, wives and mistresses. It is also an impeccable account of prewar England, the problems within its society and the Tory party, exposing the many who supported the Nazi party, plus the lesson that appeasement can lead to national disaster.

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5 star		78%
4 star		14%
3 star		4%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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