"When he was 20, Winston Churchill met the man who, more than any other, was to shape him as a statesman. That man was Bourke Cockran, a charismatic Congressman from New York City, and, after the death of Lord Randolph, the lover of Churchill's beautiful American-born mother Jennie." "Today a forgotten figure, Cockran - one of the leading trial lawyers of his day and a close adviser to two American presidents - was acclaimed during his lifetime as America's greatest orator. Until now, the story of this crucial relationship he had with Churchill has not been told." "At one level, the story is about politics, exploring the ways the young Churchill was influenced by Cockran's political and economic views on individualism and free trade, issues that Churchill was to make his own." "On another level, the story is biographical, chronicling the meetings between the mentor and his protege and reproducing - for the first time in full - their private correspondence. It is the story of Churchill growing up." "On yet another level, it is historical, evoking the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, when Churchill's daring military exploits and battlefield reports made him a household name - all the while asking Cockran's advice and seeking his approval."--BOOK JACKET.
