Dr Andrew Norman approaches Churchill's state of mind from an entirely new medical angle, disproving the commonly held views of medical experts.
Lord Moran, Winston's doctor, who was a physician not a psychiatrist, admitted to being powerless to help his patient, who understood all was not well, not understanding his mental condition. The book also looks at the relationship between Winston and his father, Lord Randolph, and sheds new light on his Lordship's death and the attached controversy.
Winston Churchill was an extraordinary person – a politician, a statesman, a man of letters and a soldier, but it was for his wartime leadership during the Second World War that he is chiefly remembered. In a study of his life, certain bizarre character traits become discernible. He had excessive energy and required little sleep. His mind would either flit from one idea to another with
bewildering speed, or focus obsessively on one particular goal. He was impulsive, and his attention was easily drawn to irrelevant or unimportant matters. He enjoyed taking risks almost to the point of self-destruction. He lacked inhibition and was eccentric in the extreme. Yet at other times, when he was afflicted with what he called his 'Black Dog', he became depressed, irritable, aggressive, and preoccupied with death and thoughts of suicide.
By closely and painstakingly examining the statements of Churchill's doctor, of Winston himself, his family, his friends and acquaintances, Dr Norman, as a medical man, has been able to ascertain the true nature of Winston's disorder. The diagnosis having been made it is now possible, for the very first time, to understand the man himself and what made him 'tick'.

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Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill is known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War Two. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, writer and artist. To date, he is the only British Prime Minister to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature, and the second person to be recognized as an Honorary Citizen of the United States. During his army career, Churchill saw military action in India, the Sudan and the Second Boer War. He gained fame and notoriety as a war correspondent and through contemporary books he wrote describing the campaigns. He also served briefly in the British Army on the Western Front in World War One, commanding the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. At the forefront of the political scene for almost fifty years, he held many political and cabinet positions. After losing the 1945 election, he became Leader of the Opposition. In 1951 he again became Prime Minister, before finally retiring in 1955. Upon his death, the Queen granted him the honor of a state funeral, which saw one of the largest assemblies of statesmen in the world.This unique images title contains many rare and unpublished photographs of Churchill throughout his military and political career.