Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery Wednesday, February 22 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon

Or fastest delivery Friday, February 17. Order within 21 hrs 55 mins

Only 5 left in stock (more on the way)

[{"displayPrice":"$15.95","priceAmount":15.95,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"15","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"95","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"4LRtK4wIH3fpOX9y60Y2nTrCZ4Q4qRCtOIKauPgnKu92vhL8B43yyZ4bOgZobtfmfwoEHgmjDF1SPZuxwHbQxwTpeN1%2F5W8zfBx3KEAkM3nL7lzvU7d6%2FlXvlqoLZid7Q9T4xjDY3qs%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW"},{"displayPrice":"$10.99","priceAmount":10.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"10","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"SdHQqnaEgO9GB2otF%2FVrnuoaDNwgweWPtrJu1NonhCPLQwj2%2B%2FhrzEdej31beq2T0ATb%2BP3bX52YWgrQZprYTr80PPZKudqMkWzOYF%2BH%2FaINDu2%2BdXYBOwYgQmhoFctumubPhR7ouqC9Ld4BrQyhgWYp3SXea5M4NLWku4koS4HsTfIWp69XhgX%2BdOYp42o9","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]

$$15.95 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Secure transaction

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Gift options

Add at checkout

Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.

Read full return policy

Gift options

Add at checkout

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Tuesday, February 21 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon

Or fastest delivery Friday, February 17. Order within 21 hrs 55 mins

Select delivery location

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Mitten State Picker

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$15.75
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: Book Depository US

Added

Not added

$17.13
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: Prime Deals, USA

Added

Not added

$18.18
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: SuperBookDeals---

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 3 images

Winston Churchill by his Personal Secretary: Recollections of The Great Man by A Woman Who Worked for Him Paperback – September 17, 2007

by Elizabeth Nel (Author)

143 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Paperback

"Please retry"

$15.95

$15.75

$6.99

Paperback
$15.95

17 Used from $6.99 13 New from $15.75

Enhance your purchase

Elizabeth Nel served as Winston Churchills personal secretary during World War II. The vivid and human details of her experiences, of her impressions and memories of the irascible and loveable war hero, take up the story of Churchills life at No. 10 where the BBCs impressive drama, The Gathering Storm, leaves offwhen Churchill took over the reins of Government at the outset of the war. Finally, the author, Elizabeth Nel, at 90 years of age, looks back across the years. Mrs Nel was Mr Churchills secretary from 1941 to 1945 and her experiences, from the first day of inevitable blunders to the wartime meetings in Canada, the United States, Moscow, Yalta and Casablanca to which she accompanied him, are told with a modest restraint.The Times Literary Supplement She was by his side when Germany attacked Russia; when Pearl Harbour, the fall of Tobruk and Arnhem occurred. But somehow the distant roar of guns is dimmed by the sweat of being Mr Churchills secretary.Daily Express It is a personal book, but one that shows the great admiration Churchill was able to inspire in those who worked with him.New York Herald Tribune

Print length

178 pages
Language

English
Publisher

iUniverse, Inc.
Publication date

September 17, 2007
Dimensions

6 x 0.45 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0595468527
ISBN-13

978-0595468522
See all details

Frequently bought together

+

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

One of these items ships sooner than the other.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

by Elizabeth Nel Paperback
$15.95
Only 5 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Get it as soon as Wednesday, Feb 22
by Susan Elia MacNeal Paperback
$14.99
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Feb 21

Susan Elia MacNeal
2,015
Paperback
211 offers from $1.36

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Elizabeth Nel served as Winston Churchills personal secretary during World War II. The vivid and human details of her experiences, of her impressions and memories of that great man at the height of the conflict against Hitler, make this compelling reading. An epilogue about the subsequent life of Elizabeth Nel over the past 60 years brings the book up to date.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ iUniverse, Inc.; 0 edition (September 17, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 178 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0595468527
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0595468522
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.45 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,012,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #14,066 in Historical Biographies (Books)
- #39,200 in Politics & Government (Books)

Customer Reviews:
143 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

143 global ratings

5 star		73%
4 star		18%
3 star		6%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Doug R Johns

Churchill's Private Secretary

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 14, 2023

Verified Purchase

Very good read. Well done from a different perspective on Churchill and the war effort.

Helpful

Richard C. Geschke

Winston as Observed Through Common Eyes

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 25, 2014

Verified Purchase

This is the third memoir written by secretaries who served for the major leaders of WWII that I have read. I had read the memoir Hitler’s Last Secretary written by Traudl Junge and He Was My Chief by Christa Schroeder which had detail the day to day existence of Adolph Hitler. Unlike the two books written by Hitler’s secretaries, the book written by Elizabeth Nel goes not only into the daily routines of this great leader it tells us of a more personable and human side of a demanding and tireless leader.
The leadership styles as told by these secretaries varied widely. Hitler became more reclusive as the War evolved from a series of stunning victories to a long stream of military reversals. As the War grinded to its ultimate tragic ending, Hitler became increasingly estranged from his people and even his general staff. Ms. Junge and Ms. Schroeder give straightforward observations of a man who conducted a war without traveling to the areas of concern. Hitler as seen by these women lived in an increasingly unrealistic world basing his thoughts and actions only as theories which would never be put to practical use. Most of the time Hitler spent in Prussia at the Wolf’s Liar and his retreat at The Eagles Nest in Bavaria. He was not a well-travelled man who was not a hands on type of leader.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have a world leader who was very well travelled and on top of all the situations regarding the conduct of the War. Churchill was the most travelled leader of all the leaders. Winston was indeed hands on whether it be with his beloved box or in his construction of speeches and memo demanding Action This Day. Elizabeth Layton Nel tells her story of working in direct contact with Churchill. She tells of Churchill’s demanding personality and his odd work habits along with his long hours which would have stopped a younger man dead in his tracks.
What makes this book so good is that we really do see the warmth and personality of a demanding and tough leader. She shows us a leader for all ages. Mrs. Nel tells a compelling and frankly warm story which leads us into stories not heard of before. The book is well done and a true page turner.
Think you know everything about Churchill. Well even a true Churchillian can learn from this well done memoir.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Interesting insight

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 22, 2014

Verified Purchase

“Winston Churchill by his personal secretary” Elizabeth Nel is a reprinting (2007) with additional note by author and her family of the 1958 book “Mr. Churchill’s Secretary. Nel tells the story of her working for WSC from 1941 to 1942. She also briefly goes into to her life leading up to being hired by Churchill at Number 10 Downing Street. Her last name at the time was Leyton and she said Mr. Churchill always addressed her as Miss Leyton. She noted that Churchill always used formal address for everyone that worked for him or he met. The author goes into great depth about her work day and what was expected of her. She also indicates some of the misspelling she made and the remarks Churchill responded to her with. She indicated he was an exacting boss but also had sense of humor and cared about his staff. She said he would dictate and she would type and as soon as she typed the last word he would grab the sheet of paper, proof it and sign it. He wanted it correct the first time, of course on some reports or on speeches he would dictate, change and rewrite many times before the final write was done. I noted in passing she wrote about having to type up the guest lists and menus for the weekends at Chequers. I had just read “Dinner with Churchill” by Cita Seltzer who went into detail about these dinner meetings. As the war progressed and the male secretaries left the women took on more and more responsibilities and toward the end of the war she traveled with him to do the dictation the men use to do. After the war ended she married a South African Soldier she met in London, Frans Nel and moved to Port Elizabeth in Cape Province she had two daughters and a son. I was fascinated to read about how Churchill went about writing his speeches and how he paced the room, waving his hands as he dictated the speech. He spends a lot of effort on his speeches, writing and rewriting as well as practicing his delivery. Nel said he was exhausted after the many hours of work on a speech more so than other writings. I read this as an e-book on my iPad via the Kindle app.

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

Roy W. Latham

A literate and charming account of how a great man worked

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 1, 2017

Verified Purchase

What is it about Churchill that made him a great leader? This book doesn't tell us about what he did, but rather how he organized his life and his work. It's written by his secretary, so we are not going to hear about military tactics or strategic diplomacy, but rather about his speeches. The message is that an essential part of leading a democracy is inspiring and informing the public, and the work Churchill put into that task. The ability and willingness to work while tired is another attribute that the book describes. Not only Churchill, but his staff. He had three personal secretaries, needed to work three shifts seven days a week. I learned that whatever it is I am doing, I'm not working hard enough at it!

Ms. Nel's recollections include some charming stories. She ended up in a cramped air raid shelter with Churchill, senior military officers, and the King of England. The King told jokes. She went to wartime Washington with Churchill and was impressed by the shops actually having goods for sale, unlike England. She took a taxi back to the White House during a fierce rainstorm, sharing the cab with strangers as was the practice during the war. She showed her credentials to the guard who, since it was raining, let the cab go right to the front door of the White House, strangers and all.

The writing is clear and unaffected. It's not primary history, but it is insightful and a pleasure to read.

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Mr M C Bromberg

A different view of Churchill by someone who actually worked for him.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 17, 2021

Verified Purchase

This was an autobiography written in quite friendly, chatty style. While no great secrets are revealed it does give a refreshing look at what Churchill was like when not "performing". Very enjoyable read.

WN

I really liked this book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 6, 2019

Verified Purchase

Lovely book which really describes a Great Man and what made the man great. A lovely honest and respectful account from one of his loyal staff. An absolute delight to read and it conveyed a wonderful insight to the working practices of the era that were so needed to overcome such insurmountable odds. The author did her job diligently and professionally and this book is as much a tribute to the author as to it's subject.

Amazon Customer

Very enjoyable read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is a very good read and has given me a good ideal of the working of Mr Churchill's and how he worked with people close to him, a very interesting book, and I did enjoy it, my wife is now reading it.

Katie

Fascinating insight into difficult times for our ancestors.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 12, 2018

Verified Purchase

Great to read about this particular episode of WW2, and to find out a little more about another of Churchill's Secretaries (a 2nd Cousin, once removed), who is also mentioned in a coupe of chapters of the book.

One person found this helpful

Mrs Y

Absorbing read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 29, 2019

Verified Purchase

This was an extremely interesting and informative book which gave an excellent first hand account of the authors time as Churchill’s secretary during WW2. Absorbing and a pleasure to read.

See all reviews

Buy new: $15.95$15.95 FREE delivery: Wednesday, Feb 22 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com

Buy used: $10.99

Other Sellers on Amazon

Winston Churchill by his Personal Secretary: Recollections of The Great Man by A Woman Who Worked for Him Paperback – September 17, 2007

Enhance your purchase

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Product details

Videos

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy new:

$15.95

FREE delivery: Wednesday, Feb 22 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Ships from: Amazon.com

Sold by: Amazon.com

Buy used:

$10.99