In this fascinating and meticulously researched book, bestselling historian Arthur Herman sheds new light on two of the most universally recognizable icons of the twentieth century, and reveals how their forty-year rivalry sealed the fate of India and the British Empire.

They were born worlds apart: Winston Churchill to Britain’s most glamorous aristocratic family, Mohandas Gandhi to a pious middle-class household in a provincial town in India. Yet Arthur Herman reveals how their lives and careers became intertwined as the twentieth century unfolded. Both men would go on to lead their nations through harrowing trials and two world wars—and become locked in a fierce contest of wills that would decide the fates of countries, continents, and ultimately an empire. Here is a sweeping epic with a fascinating supporting cast, and a brilliant narrative parable of two men whose great successes were always haunted by personal failure—and whose final moments of triumph were overshadowed by the loss of what they held most dear.

阿瑟·赫尔曼（Arthur Herman），美国著名历史学家、畅销书作家。霍普金斯大学史学博士，曾在苏格兰爱丁堡大学访学。1980年代至1990年代在美国天主教大学、乔治城大学、乔治梅森大学等多所大学任教，现任哈德逊研究所高级研究员。2007年至2009年，他作为第一个非英籍人士被任命为苏格兰文化艺术委员会委员。赫尔曼的著作主题宏大、史料扎实、文笔生动，学术性与可读性兼具，畅销不衰，深受各界人士的推崇。