These short pen portraits started life as lectures that I delivered to the New-York Historical Society as the Lehrman Institute Distinguished Lecturer between 2014 and 2018, thanks to the splendid generosity of Lewis E. Lehrman and his wife, Louise, to whom this book is dedicated. I would like to acknowledge their many great kindnesses to me both then and since, and also the hospitality and friendship of the New-York Historical Society’s chair Pam Schafler, president and CEO Louise Mirrer, staff members Dale Gregory and Alex Kassl, as well as many others in that wonderful place where I have hugely enjoyed so many evenings over the years, and continue to as their Lehrman Institute Distinguished Lecturer on Sir Winston Churchill.
Much of the additional work on this book was done at the Hoover Institution at Stanford in my capacity as a visiting research fellow, thanks to the great generosity of Roger and Martha Mertz. I would also like to acknowledge them with gratitude, as well as the diligence of Yasmin Samrai in tracking down all the endnote references.
Andrew Roberts
April 2019