As featured on World War II Today

WW2 Today

This is the definitive study of the illnesses that affected Churchill. So much has been written about Churchill but this is the first extensive account of the illnesses he suffered from and the doctors who attended him – Most Highly Recommended

Read the full review here

Firetrench

Vale and Scadding have published a book which is both readable and informative. You do not need to be medically trained to appreciate this book, but if you are then appended to each chapter is a short in-depth medical analysis. As the story of each of Churchill’s illnesses unfolds, in passing the reader gleans many interesting details of history; for instance, we have all heard of his 1945 conference in Yalta with F.D. Roosevelt and Stalin. How many of us know that Churchill flew via Malta for a pre-meeting with the Americans, and that a second aeroplane carrying more of our officials crashed near Sicily on the way ?
I must congratulate the authors for writing a remarkable book which readers will find quite fascinating.

WalnutWizard, Amazon Reviewer

It's a brilliantly written book. A page turner. Very readable and understandable for a non medical person.

Maureen Clark-Darby, Amazon Reviewer

I thought this would be a narrative, but actually is a case by case narrative, with detailed chronology and dramatist personae. The depth of detail it gives is simply phenomenal and it is a real go-to reference book for any aspect of WSC’s health. There is an enormous amount in the book that is new and worthwhile and the writing is crisp and readable, though each section tends to end with abstruse medical analysis, using specialist medical terminology. A truly excellent work, a cleverly assembled book and massively informative.

Phil R, Amazon Reviewer

The book is very interesting and an insight into a different aspect of the great man's life (and the clinicians who kept him going !). It is chronological and clearly written with a medical summary at the end of each section which is also well prepared and well explained for a general audience.

Crocodilian, Amazon Reviewer

"Tremendously important contribution to Churchillian studies."

Claremont Review of Books, Spring 2021

Review by Arpan K. Banerjee

Churchill’s illnesses are placed in a political and historical context in this volume, providing readers with fresh insights into this remarkable twentieth-century political giant. The authors have produced a fine work of scholarship and deserve to be congratulated for their herculean efforts in writing this volume.

Click here for the full review

Hektoen International Journal

Mr Churchill, the doctor will see you now: New book reveals wartime PM's medical records detailing his various ailments from pneumonia in office to providing a skin graft to fellow soldier injured in famous 1898 Battle of Omdurman

Daily Mail Online 18/02/21

The authors make excellent use of primary sources, including the medical notes and clinical records of the physicians who attended on Churchill. Vale and Scadding are both themselves physicians and their training and experience is evident in the interpretations and judgements made on the medical issues discussed in the volume. Based on their series of journal articles on Churchill’s medical history, the book is extensively researched and well-written.

Winston Churchill’s Illnesses 1886-1965 is the authoritative account of the widely discussed subject of Churchill’s medical history.

Read the full review here

Winston Churchill Blog

I should say here that this is the second Winston Churchill book that I‘ve read recently, but this book is actually taking a look at another part of Churchill’s life, his illnesses. This book is not just for those into medicine and issues as the medical information is wrapped in with historical events and it’s good to judge what illnesses were being suffered by Churchill with historical events. This book is very informed and comprehensively written, the book is very well balanced to enable both the history reader and the reader on the medical side. It was also interesting to read from a personal viewpoint having suffered a stroke myself, it was revealing to see how his strokes affected him like myself. Although the book takes a different angle it was nice to read rather than the usual Churchill book, a book I enjoyed with interest.

Read the full review here

UK Historian

A book which will appeal to historians, readers with historical antennae and doctors who appreciate the interplay between diseases and their patient’s lives. And what a life.

Read the full review here

BMJ Blogs

As featured by

Churchill Society of Tennessee, Summer 2020

Much has been written about Churchill’s health and much has been rumour and speculation. This is the definitive work on the subject, written by experts and grounded in the evidence.

Allen Packwood, author of How Churchill Waged War

In this meticulously researched volume, Allister Vale and John Scadding provide a uniquely comprehensive and readable account of Churchill’s many medical problems, from childhood to his terminal illness, set in the context of his life as one of the greatest statesmen of the twentieth century. Pneumonia threatened Churchill’s life on several occasions and in his later decades he suffered multiple strokes; his ability to continue in high office during these illnesses was exceptional, aided by some of the most distinguished specialists of their time. Drawing on many medical and non-medical sources, the clinical, political and personal aspects of his many illnesses are woven seamlessly together. A superbly rounded account of the great man emerges in a most engaging narrative.

Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill, Walking with Destiny