Leo Amery was a leading British Conservative politician and imperialist who played a pivotal role in the fall of Neville Chamberlain and the rise of Winston Churchill. In this highly-regarded account of Amery's career, the distinguished historian Wm. Roger Louis portrays his part in those great events as well as in the evolution of the British Empire and Commonwealth. Amery believed that the people of the Empire could not be held within the British Empire against their will. He helped, at first reluctantly, to prepare the way for the transfer of power in India and to advance the movements of national independence in Asia and Africa. Louis here traces the close association of Amery and Churchill from their school days at Harrow to the clashes over India that almost destroyed their friendship.