It is only appropriate to acknowledge the wide range of people who contributed to the writing of this book. The archival research required was extensive and only made possible by the outstanding archivists and archival assistants who not only made collections readily available but also lent their own expertise to my many queries. Namely, the staffs of the Hoover Institution; the Sam Houston Regional Library & Research Center in Liberty, Texas; the Wichita State University Library, Kansas; the Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge; the UK National Archives, and the National Archives of Scotland deserve special thanks.
A wide range of friends generously offered their time and knowledge to point me in the right direction at a number of points. Thomas Dunne and his team at Thomas Dunne Books did a wonderful job with the manuscript and offered many helpful suggestions along the way. My fantastic agent, Andy Ross, deserves thanks for making this project possible. Richard Carr took the time to read drafts and offer his subject matter expertise over an extraordinary number of coffees. Julia Boyd generously offered guidance and direction in a variety of areas even as she was finishing her own book. Allen Packwood, director of the Churchill Archives Centre, extended his own expertise and pointed me in a number of profitable directions. My former PhD supervisor, Richard J. Evans, offered his encouragement from the early stages of the project onward. Finally, Sidney Sussex College and Churchill College, Cambridge, were both generous in allowing me to stay in college accommodations during much of the research and writing process.
I am grateful to all who contributed to this effort. They are of course absolved from any errors that may remain.