Boston Athenæum

June 3, 2015 at the Boston Athenæum. Prize-winning historian Jonathan Schneer investigates Winston Churchill and the role his cabinet played during the war in his book, Ministers at War. Churchill depended on a team of powerful ministers to manage the war effort as he rallied a beleaguered nation. Selecting men from across the political spectrum—from fellow Conservative Anthony Eden to leaders of the opposing Labor Party such as Clement Atlee—Churchill assembled a War Cabinet that would balance competing interests and bolster support for his national coalition government. The group possessed a potent blend of talent, ambition, and egotism, but Churchill masterfully kept the ministers’ rivalries and political challenges in check, paving the way for Britain’s victory.