A friend once said of Churchill He is a man of simple tastes; he is quite easily satisfied with the best of everything.

But dinners for Churchill were about more than good food, excellent champagnes and Havana cigars. Everything included the opportunity to use the dinner table both as a stage on which to display his brilliant conversational talents, and an intimate setting in which to glean gossip and diplomatic insights, and to argue for the many policies he espoused over a long life.

In this riveting, informative and entertaining book, Stelzer draws on previously untapped...

A friend once said of Churchill "He is a man of simple tastes; he is quite easily satisfied with the best of everything."

But dinners for Churchill were about more than good food, excellent champagnes, and Havana cigars. "Everything" included the opportunity to use the dinner table both as a stage on which to display his brilliant conversational talents and to argue for the many policies he espoused over a long life.

In this entertaining book, Stelzer draws on previously untapped material, diaries of guests, and a wide variety of other sources to tell of some of the key...