Each book in the series contains ten linked biographies of key pioneers, achievers and notable figures in different fields of endeavour. The life links between entries reveal surprising and often overlooked chains of influence, giving each biography a fresh and eye-opening twist.This title in the series includes ten riveting, in-depth biographies of pioneering world leaders of the last century, including Churchill, Roosevelt and Gorbachev. Fast-paced text is enhanced by punchy, Manga-style artworks to create the look and feel of a graphic novel that will hook the most reluctant of readers. These are gripping stories, innovatively told."Mohandas Gandhi to Winston Churchill" - Gandhi, one of the architects of Indian independence, was bitterly opposed by Winston Churchill. The British prime minister even proposed to let Gandhi starve to death when he was on hunger strike. The Indian leader was detained in 1942 by the British government, but was released in 1944 because of fears that his failing health meant he could die in British custody.Winston Churchill to Charles de Gaulle - During World War II, Churchill went against the advice of the British government to support de Gaulle as the new leader of the Free French. He gave de Gaulle access to the BBC, from where the Frenchman made his famous broadcast of 18 June 1940. The two had a stormy wartime relationship but shared a moment of triumph when they paraded along the Champs-Elysees in Paris on 11 November 1944."Charles de Gaulle to Franklin Delano Roosevelt" - De Gaulle and Roosevelt clashed often during World War II. Roosevelt initially supported the Vichy government, not de Gaulle's Free French movement. He even tried to bully de Gaulle into joining forces with the Vichy regime. Following the liberation of France, however, Roosevelt welcomed de Gaulle to Washington."Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Mao Zedong" - Under Roosevelt's presidency and beyond, the USA funded and armed the republican Chiang Kai-shek in his conflict with Mao Zedong's communist forces. Mao did not forget the US support for his enemy, and it was not until 1972 that he met an American head of state (Richard Nixon). Chiang Kai-shek's governing of Formosa/Taiwan until his death in 1975 was a major sticking point in US-Chinese relations, and remains so today." Mao Zedong to Joseph Stalin" - Mao enjoyed the support of Joseph Stalin from the 1930s onwards - for example, Stalin sheltered three of Mao's sons in the USSR while Mao fought Chiang Kai-shek. Stalin met Mao in 1949 and recognized Mao's People's Republic of China. Mao spent two months in Moscow at the end of 1949, attended the celebrations for Stalin's 70th birthday and forged trade and aid deals with the Soviet leader."Joseph Stalin to Adolf Hitler" - Stalin and the Soviet Union were instrumental in Adolf Hitler's defeat in World War II. Having signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact in 1939, Hitler assured his people that the war would be fought on only one front. But the German leader changed tack in 1941, masterminding the Operation Barbarossa assault on Stalin's forces. Soviet resistance was much stiffer than Hitler expected, and the invasion failed, fatally overstretching and weakening Germany's military resources."Adolf Hitler to Mikhail Gorbachev" - In 1945, Hitler's corpse was captured by the Soviet Army. It was buried in a SMERSH (Soviet counter-intelligence organization) building in East Berlin. In 1970, that facility was about to be handed over to East Germany. Yuri Andropov, head of the KGB, feared that Hitler's body would be discovered by neo-Nazi supporters, so he ordered that the corpse be dug up, burned and thrown into the River Spree. At the end of the 1970s, Andropov took Mikhail Gorbachev under his wing and later had him promoted to leader of the Communist party."Mikhail Gorbachev to Fidel Castro" - The reforms introduced by Gorbachev led to a breakdown in the friendly relations between the USSR and Cuba, led by the communist Fidel Castro. Castro's regime had relied heavily on Soviet aid since the 1960s. Even though Castro was critical of Gorbachev's policies, the two men met in Cuba in 1989. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 pushed Cuba into a severe economic crisis."Fidel Castro to Nelson Mandela" - Castro's overthrow of the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959 had a direct influence on Nelson Mandela's opposition to apartheid. Since Mandela's release from prison, the men have met several times and become allies - Mandela visited Cuba in 1991, while Castro visited South Africa in 1998, when Mandela gave South Africa's highest civilian award for foreigners, the Order of Good Hope, to the Cuban leader.

 

There are 64 pages in this book. This book was published 2008 by Pan Macmillan .

Clive Gifford is a writer and editor of many bestselling quiz books.

This book has the following chapters: 04-09 Mohandas Gandhi; 10-15 Winston Churchill; 16-19 Charles de Gaulle; 20-25 FD Roosevelt; 26-31 Mao Zedong; 32-37 Joseph Stalin; 38-43 Adolf Hitler; 44-47 Mikhail Gorbachev; 48-53 Fidel Castro; 54-59 Nelson Mandela; 60-61 Other famous world leaders; 62-63 Glossary and resources; 64 Index.