“丘吉尔从他的祖先马尔伯勒那里汲取灵感，没有这个典范人物的鼓舞，就难以想象他会对自己的行为那么自信。马尔伯勒认为莎士比亚在他的教育中起了非常重要的作用，而莎士比亚则从普鲁塔克那里学到了不少治国方略。这就是现代英雄的知识谱系。精神领域的民主革命清除了这种古老的思想传承，用决策理论取而代之，它既没有治国方略，更没有英雄。”

John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough (1644-1722), was one of the greatest military commanders and statesmen in the history of England. Victorious in the Battles of Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), and countless other campaigns, Marlborough, whose political intrigues were almost as legendary as his military skill, never fought a battle he didn't win. Although he helped James II crush the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth, Marlborough later supported William of Orange against James II in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and brilliantly managed England's diplomatic triumphs during the War of the Spanish Succession. Marlborough also bequeathed the world another great British military strategist and diplomat - his descendant, Winston S. Churchill, who wrote this book to redeem Marlborough's reputation from Macaulay's smears. One million words long and ten years in the making, Churchill's Marlborough stands as both a literary and historical masterpiece, giving us unique insights into the Churchill of World War II, for just as Churchill's literary skill helps us understand the complexities of Marlborough's life, so too did his writing of Marlborough help Churchill master the arts of military strategy and diplomacy. This two-volume edition includes the entire text and almost all the original maps.