In this history, Winston Churchill (1874-1965) offers biographical profiles and descriptions of major events from the reign of Julius Caesar through 1900. One of Churchill's purposes in writing the book was to stress the common heritage of Great Britain and the US, with much material devoted to American history, but the British abridgement of the four-volume history left this material out. This American edition of the one-volume abridgement now brings back Churchill's perspectives on the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War. Battle details have been left out (or provided in an appendix) in favor of Churchill's analysis of these conflicts. An introduction by editor Christopher Lee outlines Churchill's beliefs on the importance of the relationship with the US, and an editor's note describes the origins of the book. The editor's footnotes explain and expand Churchill's text. The original, four-volume history was published in 1956. Churchill, prime minister of Great Britain during WWII, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. Information on editor Christopher Lee is not given. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)