Would it have been possible for the First World War to be avoided? Steve Cliffe, author of Churchill, Kitchener and Lloyd George: First World Warlords, believes so as did David Lloyd George, Britain’s wartime prime minister. In a bloody act of annihilation that killed over half a million young British men, George was one of three powerful personalities who indelibly stamped their authority and influence on the conduct and final outcome of ‘the war to end all wars’. Of the other two, Winston Churchill became better known for his role in the Second World War, and Lord Kitchener was arguably the greatest instigator of Britain’s war effort. With his image stamped on the iconic ‘Your country needs you’ enlistment poster during the war, Kitchener exerted tremendous influence on both politicians and a lost generation of British youth. Those who start wars seldom finish them, and Kitchener, tragically, was no exception to this grim rule. Illustrations: 40 black-and-white photographs

Would it have been possible for the First World War to be avoided? Steve Cliffe, author of Churchill, Kitchener and Lloyd George: First World Warlords, believes so, as did David Lloyd George, Britain's wartime prime minister. In a bloody act of annihilation that killed over half a million young British men, Lloyd George was one of three powerful personalities who indelibly stamped their authority and influence on the conduct and final outcome of the war to end all wars'. Of the other two, Winston Churchill became better known for his role in the Second World War, although his role in the earlier conflict was considerable firstly as First Lord of the Admiralty and later outside the government. Lord Kitchener was arguably the greatest instigator of Britain's war effort.

The two most significant British political figures of the twentieth-century, Churchill and Lloyd George were political rivals but personal friends. Between them their ministerial careers spanned seventy years and two world wars. Althought they could not have been more different temperamentally, and often disagreed violently about politics, theirs was 'the longest political friendship in the life of Great Britain' and Churchill was the only person outside his family to call Lloyd George 'David'. Richard Toye's book is a dynamic account of their relationship. Drawing on diaries and letters, some never before published, (there are more than 1,000 pieces of correspondence between the two men), he explores their long-standing friendship and rivalry, the impact they had on each other's careers, and the fate of their respective reputations, arguing that Lloyd George's major achievements have been undeservedly overshadowed, in part as a consequence of Churchill's later mythmaking. It is a major work from a brilliant young historian.

A vivid study of the politics and stress of high command, this book describes the decisive roles of young Winston Churchill as political head of the Admiralty during the First World War. Churchill was locked together in a perilous destiny with the ageing British Admiral 'Jacky' Fisher, the professional master of the British Navy and the creator of the enormous battleships known as Dreadnoughts. Upon these 'Titans at the Admiralty' rested British command of the sea at the moment of its supreme test — the challenge presented by the Kaiser's navy under the dangerous Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz. Churchill and Fisher had vision, genius, and energy, but the war unfolded in unexpected ways. There were no Trafalgars, no Nelsons. Press and Parliament became battlegrounds for a public expecting decisive victory at sea. An ill-fated Dardanelles adventure, 'by ships alone' as Churchill determined, on top of the Zeppelin raids on Britain brought about Fisher's departure from the Admiralty, in turn bringing down Churchill. They spent the balance of the war in the virtual wilderness. This dual biography, based on fresh and thorough appraisal of the Churchill and Fisher papers, is a story for any military history buff. It is about Churchill's and Fisher's war — how each fought it, how they waged it together, and how they fought against each other, face to face or behind the scenes. It reveals a strange and unique pairing of sea lords who found themselves facing Armageddon and seeking to maintain the primacy of the Royal Navy, the guardian of trade, the succour of the British peoples, and the shield of Empire.

The frustrating stalemate on the western front with its unprecedented casualties provoked a furious debate in London between the civil and military authorities over the best way to defeat Germany. The passions aroused continued to the present day. The mercurial and dynamic David Lloyd George stood at the centre of this controversy throughout the war. His intervention in military questions and determination to redirect strategy put him at odds with the leading soldiers and admirals of his day. Professor Woodward, a student of the Great War for some four decades, explores the at times Byzantine atmosphere at Whitehall by exhaustive archival research in official and private papers. The focus is on Lloyd George and his adversaries such as Lord Kitchener, General Sir William Robertson, and Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig. The result is a fresh, compelling and detailed account of the interaction between civil and military authorities in total war.

Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes his feature directorial debut with this funny yet earnest psychological comedy-drama about a womanizer named Jon Martello (Gordon-Levitt) who earns the nickname "Don Jon" for his ability to charm beautiful women, but remains unable to forge a meaningful connection with the opposite sex due to his all-consuming Internet porn addiction. Meanwhile, as Jon struggles to free himself from the realm of virtual debauchery, he connects with two disparate women (Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore), who separately try to teach him the true value of intimacy. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi