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- Never Question Your Sanity ,,, It's not You
- .......not a secret anymore......
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The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Visions of Glory
William Manchester
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ASIN: 0316545031 |
Customer Reviews:
The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-09-21
This is William Manchester at his best. This is fascinating reading and fascinating writing. Of course Winston Churchill was quite a character but to be honest I didn't know that fact until I read this book and its companion volume.
After reading this book I put it to my mind that I would read everything that Manchester wrote. I've got a couple more to go. You can't miss with this purchase. A great story, great writing, and good history. What more could you ask for?
Fantastic read.......2007-06-18
I am a little half way through the book, but it already is one of the best books I have ever read. The book deserves all the accolade. Manchester's approach to biography is a little different from many others in that he did not shy away from coloring the narrative with events that were yet to occur. He always hinted the historical significance of events in light of what happened later. I find this extremely helpful. For example: Churchill's fascination with early airplanes, his conception of tanks when dealing with a domestic riot are just two examples. These illuminated Churchill was indeed ahead of his peers in recognizing important trends.
The buildup to WWI is masterful. The book weaves Churchill's struggle with the Irish Home rule question together with the naval arms race with Germany in 1913. Since we know WWI started in 1914, the realization that Churchill and the British government were struggling with a domestic problem (which surely was exploited by the German Kaiser) enhances our understanding of the immediate pre-war times.
I knew the old US of A was not a world player before WWI. This book adds to that impression. Until the outbreak of the war, the US is just not on Churhill's radar: it does not show up much in his writing, travel, and speech. Yes, he did a book tour in the US, but that was before he started his political career.
Can't wait to read the second half of the book.
Never Question Your Sanity ,,, It's not You.......2006-12-22
This book should be read (before, after or with) The End of the World as We Know It. The scenarios are almost interchangable.
.......not a secret anymore.............2006-12-11
Actually it is very sad to mention this blunder against humanity:
When the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in October and November 1914, Britain's communications with India and the East via the Suez canal was immediately placed in jeopardy.
There was a secret agreement with Germany signed in August 1914 by the Young Turks that was troubling the Russians and taken as warning of the forthcoming trouble to The Tsar. The Russians regarded their Caucasian terrirories were also placed in jeopardy.
Consequently, the British and French, in order to protect their future `colonies' and bisect the `sick man of Europe', had to act forcefully. They opened another front in the South with the Gallipoli (1915) and Mesopotamian campaigns.
Anxious to score his first military encounter with `the enemy', Winston Churchill, in his capacity as Lord of Navy, prematurely urged a combined French and British naval incursion into Gallipoli. But the Turks were successful in repelling the British, French, and Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. and pushed their eventual withdrawal and evacuation.
((By contrast, in Mesopotamia - Iraq- after the disastrous Siege of Kut (1915-16), British Empire forces - mainly of Indian troops - reorganized and captured Baghdad (March 1917). Further to the west in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, initial British failures were overcome when Jerusalem was captured in December 1917, and the Egyptian Expeditionary Force under Field Marshal Edmund Allenby, broke the Ottoman forces at the Battle of Megiddo in September 1918))
Russia, the protector of the Greek Orthothox Armenian population, sent her best troops in the Caucasus. The Turkish, Vice-Generalissimo Enver Pasha, supreme commander of the ex Ottoman Empire armed forces, was a very ambitious man. His aim and everpresent dream was to conquer central Asia. Enver Pasha, like Winston Churchill, was not a practical soldier. He launched an offensive with 100,000 soldiers against the Russians in the Caucasus in December of 1914.
His main enemy was the severe Weather conditions.
Insisting on a frontal attack against Russian positions in the mountains , Enver lost over 80% of his troops at the Battle of Sarikamis, in the heart of the tough winter season.
In 1917, Russian Grand Duke Nicholas assumed senior control over the Caucasus front. Nicholas tried to have a railway built from Russia (Georgia) to the conquered territories with a view to bringing up more supplies for a new offensive. But, in March of 1917 (February in the pre-revolutionary Russian calendar), the Czar was overthrown in the February Revolution and the Russian army began to slowly fall apart.
Hence, the protector of the Armenians was gone.
Winston Churchill blunder in Gallipoli, opened patched over wounds and re-ignited animosities between the Turks and their Armenian neighbors. In 1915, the Armenians were the victims of his cowardice. The Turks committed a HOLOCAUST against the Armenians that immediately started after WC debacle in Gallipolis.
The mass murder of the Armenians was indeed the first Holocaust of the twentieth century.
A BRILLIANT BIOGRAPHY - WELL DONE!.......2006-07-27
This is a brilliantly written biography of one of the most fascinating characters in history. Like most of Mnchester's work (I must admit to being a big fan), this is a very readable biography, well researched and holds the reader's interest from page to page. We see so much of Churchhill in his role as a WWII leader that we tend to forget there was a young man, living, learning and growing before the back and white films we see today. It is good to be reminded of this from time to time. It is also, for those interested, to learn how a world leader of Churchill's calibre came into being, how he developed and why he was the way he was. This work gives us great insight to those questions. Cannot recommend this work highly enough.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliantly Written European History - 1932 to 1940.......2007-09-16
The Last Lion, Alone covers the history of Europe from the time Hitler first came to power in Germany to the time that Hitler invaded the Low Countries and World War II began. During this period Churchill, who continually fought against the appeasement policies of Chamberlain, rose from Back Bench irrelevance to become Brittan's Prime Minister.
The history of this period is a gripping saga of one man's malicious attempt to dominate Europe and another man's noble efforts to stop him - a classical case of good vs evil - told as an almost unbelievable story in the words of a master story teller.
Grab a bottle of Scotch and have at this book!.......2007-07-03
William Manchester informs and entertains in this excellent historical account of the critical years leading up to WWII, juxtaposing the appeasement practices of predecessors Baldwin and Chamberlain with the unwavering belief in the principles of freedom held by Churchill. The book (along with Manchester's first volume) gives terrific insight into the transition from the glory days of the British Empire to the Post WWI apathy that beset the British public. As well, the work provides delightful commentary on the characters surrounding Churhill's life including his colorful mother Jennie, his wife Clementine and his nemesis Adolf Hitler.
Churchill was begging...........2006-10-06
After the fall of France in June 1940, Winston Churchill was begging USA President Roosevelt for military aid (in fact, all sorts of support was then needed) as no one knew what would the 'fate' of the French fleet was going to be.
Churchill kept reminding the American president that Britain would not surrender even if left alone.
Churchill was defiant despite the fact that the two 'key' American ambassadors, in France and Great Britain, were pro Hitler (or at least they were not anti-Nazi).
Joseph Kennedy (USA Ambassador to GB) openly cautioned his fellow Americans against entering the war because the 'allies' would soon be beaten.
However, I would have liked to see more comments about the position and reaction of the king - king George VI.
Was he indifferent?
We should remember that Hitler had been addressing the King as the man whom the British Government circles have loathed, and as the only 'hope' for a reconciliation between the Third Reich and GB.
In this context it is true that Churchill was indeed ALONE
absolutely a delight to read.......2006-01-26
I was adrift when I finished this volume.
grasping at pathetic things to read for a while - nothing satisfied - Manchester can set the stage, his historical background is so rich that you'll find yourself spouting about it to your friends.
You'll learn more from this book than a two semester course in 20th century history.
Churchill himself is the lead player in a panapoly of exciting elements. But manchester never lets the reader forget the place in history - the man was a masterful writer.
solitary courage.......2005-12-29
No better profile of Churchill 1932-40 exists. Whetted with acrimony and disdain, Churchill is ultimately proved right (and his real task commences).
This is a work of the first order. `The Last Lion' (1874-1932) is also worthy.
Gilbert (worth reading) pales in comparison.
Amazon.com
"After the end of the World War of 1914 there was a deep conviction and almost universal hope that peace would reign in the world. This heart's desire of all the peoples could easily have been gained by steadfastness in righteous convictions, and by reasonable common sense and prudence."
But we all know that's not what happened. As Britain's prime minister for most of the Second World War, Winston Churchill--whose career had to that point already encompassed the roles of military historian and civil servant with a proficiency in both that few others could claim--had a unique perspective on the conflict, and as soon as he left office in 1945, he began to set that perspective down on paper. To measure the importance of The Second World War, it is worth remembering that there are no parallel accounts from either of the other Allied leaders, Roosevelt and Stalin. We have in this multivolume work an account that contains both comprehensive sweep and intimate detail. Almost anybody who compiles a list of such works ranks it highly among the nonfiction books of the 20th century.
In the opening volume, The Gathering Storm, Churchill tracks the erosion of the shaky peace brokered at the end of the First World War, followed by the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis and their gradual spread from beyond Germany's borders to most of the European continent. Churchill foresaw the coming crisis and made his opinion known quite clearly throughout the latter '30s, and this book concludes on a vindicating note, with his appointment in May 1940 as prime minister, after which he recalls that "I felt as if I were walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial."
Their Finest Hour concerns itself with 1940. France falls, and England is left to face the German menace alone. Soon London is under siege from the air--and Churchill has a few stories of his own experiences during the Blitz to share--but they persevere to the end of what Churchill calls "the most splendid, as it was the most deadly, year in our long English and British history." They press on in The Grand Alliance, liberating Ethiopia from the Italians and lending support to Greece. Then, when Hitler reneges on his non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union (the very signing of which had proved Stalin and his commissars "the most completely outwitted bunglers of the Second World War"), the Allied team begins to coalesce. The bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese makes the participation of the United States in the war official, and this is of "the greatest joy" to Churchill: "How long the war would last or in what fashion it would end no man could tell, nor did I at that moment care. Once again in our long island history we should emerge, however mauled or mutilated, safe and victorious."
But as the fourth volume, The Hinge of Fate, reveals, success would not happen overnight. The Japanese military still held strong positions in the Pacific theater, and Rommel's tank corps were on the offensive in Africa. After a string of military defeats, Churchill's opponents in Parliament introduced a motion for a censure vote; this was handily defeated, and victory secured in Africa, then Italy. By this time, Churchill had met separately with both Roosevelt and Stalin; the second half of volume 5, Closing the Ring, brings the three of them together for the first time at the November 1943 conference in Teheran. This book closes on the eve of D-day: "All the ships were at sea. We had the mastery of the oceans and of the air. The Hitler tyranny was doomed."
And so, in the concluding volume, Triumph and Tragedy, the Allies push across Europe and take the fight to Berlin. President Roosevelt's death shortly before final victory against Germany affected Churchill deeply, "as if I had been struck a physical blow," and he would later regret not attending the funeral and meeting Harry Truman then, instead of at the Potsdam conference after Germany's defeat. Churchill himself would not be there for the conclusion to the war against Japan; in July of 1945, a general election in Britain brought in a Labor government (or, as he refers to them, "Socialists"), and he resigned immediately, for "the verdict of the electors had been so overwhelmingly expressed that I did not wish to remain even for an hour responsible for their affairs."
Book Description
Churchill's six-volume history of World War II -- the definitive work, remarkable both for its sweep and for its sense of personal involvement, universally acknowledged as a magnificent historical reconstruction and an enduring work of literature. From Britian's darkest and finest hour to the great alliance and ultimate victory, the Second World War remains the pivotal event in our century. Churchill was not only its greatest leader, but the free world's most eloquent voice of defiance in the face of Nazi tyranny. His epic account of those times, published in six volumes, won the Nobel Prize in 1953.
Customer Reviews:
The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-09-21
This book begins with the phrase "if ever there was a war that could have been prevented it was this one." or something to that effect. This I thought to be rather shocking when one understands that WWII is always held up as the world's most justified war; or the war that had to be fought. Winston goes on through this series of books to point out all the spots and circumstances where the proper world reaction could have prevented World War II.
I am one of those fortunate people who have this entire set in hardback. At one time I had two sets but I gave one to a friend. Admittedly, as Uncle Joe Stalin said, Winston can be a bit of a windbag. There are times where he goes on and on. But if you are a World War II history buff that is exactly what you want.
Winston was not only a politician but an intellectual and an historian. We have no ex-presidents who have ever accomplished anything comparable to this. I don't know of any other country or nation that does either.
If you learn to read Winston's style you will also find quite a bit of information in his historical output that you will have great difficulty finding any where else.
If you love books and history and you're not hurting for money this set is worth the investment. Do yourself a favor.
The Second World War (Six Volume Boxed Set).......2007-03-23
These are good books. Mr. Churchill wrote wonderful.
I marked it 4 stars because of printing quality.This edition has small font and paper is not good enough.
Not really comfortable to read.
I think it is better to buy books off-line ( in store) you may look at it first.
Churchill - brilliant writer and thinker.......2007-01-18
Churchill's excellently written magnum opus on WW2 is definitely worth while reading, and I recommend the box for all who want a detailed and insightful description of one of the most traumatic events in the history of man. His literary style is beautiful, sometimes even poetic and it is a long wonderful journey for the reader. Churchill must have been in his best mood when he wrote it, not least because of the many humourous anecdotes and comments. He is surely an outstanding scholar and for me, being an amateur historian, the books gave me all the necessary background for further explorations in the subjects.
The Second World War by Windston S. Churchill.......2007-01-05
Bought this set for a friend who absolutely thinks it is the best. He has been reading Churchill biographies and now to hear everything from his point of view has been very informative. Recommend this set highly.
A mile-high pile of stinking propaganda...........2006-10-04
...from the incompetent drunkard who destroyed the British Empire. This is a worthless series of phony history, valued only by myopic, hero-worshipping American neocons. Churchill was a prime actor in the events he was describing and as such, wrote a self-justifying history designed to make himself look like Pericles, Jesus and Alexander the Great rolled into one. Objective history is written by objective historians, and Churchill was not one.
Look- Churchill was an amusing alcoholic who made some witty remarks when he was plastered, and the man wasn't without a certain rat-like cunning, especially in the way that he manipulated America into violating its neutrality and skillfully turned world opinion against German "barbarism" (even though it was the British who were the first to bomb German civilians, in the hope that the Germans would retaliate in kind, thereby solidifying British support for an unpopular war.) But to say that Churchill is the apotheosis of political leadership and wisdom is a sad joke. He was a drunkard who sometimes got so pickled that he had to hire an impersonator to deliver some of his most famous speeches over the radio. He was a war criminal whose monomaniacal hatred of Hitler worked against his own people's interests and ended up bankrupting his country, destroying the British Empire and allowing half of Europe to be taken over the Soviets. What a victory! If any business or political leader today says he wants to emulate Churchill, he should be fired or impeached because either Chapter 11 or national ruin is just around the corner. But hey, if you're into long-winded, dishonest self-aggrandizement, then I highly recommend it.
Book Description
An extremely entertaining compendium of bon mots, anecdotes, and trivia about Winston Churchill from a leading Churchill lecturer and performer -- useful for speakers, students, of history, and World War II buffs, as well as general readers.
Customer Reviews:
Must Read!.......2007-08-10
Have if you're like me and have a lot of friends that don't read (but love Blue Collar Comedy Tour...) then you can start using quotes right out of this book and they will think you just came down from the mountain of knowledge and wisdom. Hey you can even use this for those fun quotes at the bottom of your email! Look how global you can become, yes you!
Great book, very well organized and really a lot of fun to read. Winston Churchill was truly a clever man and would be on my top 10 list of Dudes I would like to have a Newcastle with.
Robb Boyd from Cisco's TechWiseTV is number one on the beer list...
Entertainment.......2007-06-08
A delightful book. I thought the author a little too sycophantic for my taste (I am an Australian after all) but the contents are very entertaining. You can dip into it at any place and read for two minutes or two hours and have a good chuckle.
review of wit and wisdom of Winston Churchill.......2005-09-12
The book is entertaining. It's the kind of book you don't just read through, but pick it up read a few sections at a time.
Utterly Delightful.......2004-10-23
A compact book with more than 1,000 quotations and anecdotes you can enjoy at any time.
Here are just a few:
Violet Asquith, the irrepressible daughter of Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, found a kindred spirit in Churchill, who served in her father's Cabinet.
Once, in a flight of philosophical gloom, she turned to her dinner partner and said, "Winston, in terms of infinity, we are cosmic dust - we are just worms."
"Perhaps, Violet", Churchill replied, "but I am a glowworm."
* * *
If "Franglais" has been only recently coined to describe the bastardizing of the French language by English words, Churchill may have been the sire of this hybrid argot. Sometimes his additions to the noble Gallic tongue were even more attrocious than his accent.
During some delicate negotions at Casablanca, the stubborn Charles de Gaulle denounced an Allied plan to fuse him and his rival, French general Henri Giraud. Churchill, glaring at the Gaulle, delivered this concoction: "Si vous m'obstaclerez, je vous liquiderai!" (If you obstacle me, I will liquidate you!) A bewildered de Gaulle backed off.
* * *
In 1900, the twenty-six-year-old Churchill, after just being elected to Parliament, made a speaking tour of America. In Washington, he was introduced to a majestically endowed woman from Richmond, Virginia, who prided herself upon her devotion to the "lost cause of the Confederacy." Her family were Democrats who had opposed the Repubican policy of Reconstruction.
Anxious that Churchill should know her sentiments, she remarked as she gave him her hand, "Mr. Churchill, you see before you a rebel who has not been Reconstructed."
"Madam," he replied with a deep bow that surveyed her decolletage, "reconstruction in your case would be blasphemous."
Power of Words in the Majestic Battle of Ideas.......2003-11-04
In this book, James C. Humes gives his audience an excellent opportunity to conjure up a mental picture of Winston Churchill and his legacy. As a renaissance man, Churchill was more than a skilled politician and a gifted soldier. Perhaps more importantly, Churchill was a man of inspired words, whose work was ultimately crown by the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. Churchill often was far from politically correct and did not hesitate to say, write and do what he thought was right. Churchill's bluntness did not make him dear to everybody.
Humes first brings to light many of the great thoughts of Churchill in "Observations and Opinions." Humes classifies key words alphabetically without giving context so that readers can easily find a quote of their liking about a specific subject. Some readers might get frustrated about it if they are not familiar with the key milestones in the life and career of Churchill. These readers can read books such as "Churchill a Life", "Churchill a Study in Greatness", "Clementine Churchill The Biography of a Marriage" or "Winston and Clementine The Personal Letters of the Churchills" to fill in the gaps in their knowledge of Churchill for that purpose.
Humes forges ahead in a similar way in "Orations and Perorations", "Coiners of Phrases", "Saints and Sinners" and "Escapades and Encounters." In these sections, Humes is usually very good at giving his audience the context so that readers better understand where Churchill was coming from. Hours of fun and laughter are virtually guaranteed, especially in "Escapades and Encounters."
Churchill's witticism, wisdom and oratory probably reached their climax in the faithful summer of 1940 when Britain stood alone against the Nazi monster. Churchill galvanized by his words and actions the civilized world to soldier on when the horizon seemed hopelessly bleak. As President Franklin Roosevelt said to his aide Harry Hopkins after listening to one of Churchill's radio broadcasts during that period: "As long as that old bastard is in charge, Britain will never surrender." The words of Churchill will continue to resonate for a long time in the heart and soul of humanity. Churchill's words will further shine like diamonds in the night when humanity loses hope from time to time.
Amazon.com
It is impossible to understand the Second World War without understanding Winston Churchill, the bold British Prime Minister who showed himself to be one of the greatest statesmen any nation has ever known. This lengthy biography is a single-volume abridgment of a massive, eight-volume work that took a quarter-century to write. It covers Churchill's entire life, highlighting not only his exploits during the Second World War, but also his early belief in technology and how it would revolutionize warfare in the 20th century. Churchill learned how to fly a plane before the First World War, and was also involved in the development of both the tank and anti-aircraft defense. But he truly showed his unmatched mettle during his country's darkest moments: "His finest hour was the leadership of Britain when it was most isolated, most threatened, and most weak; when his own courage, determination, and belief in democracy became at one with the nation," writes Gilbert. There are several wonderful books available on Churchill, but this is probably the best place to start.
Book Description
Distilled from years of meticulous research and documentation, filled with material unavailable when the earliest books of the official biography's eight volumes went to press, Churchill is a brilliant marriage of the hard facts of the public life and the intimate details of the private man. The result is a vital portrait of one of the most remarkable men of any age as well as a revealing depiction of a man of extraordinary courage and imagination.
Customer Reviews:
Churchill to the MAX!.......2007-08-10
If you like Churchill and would like to know a on of info about him, more then just clever and witty quotes, then this is the book for you! Great book!!
A great work on a great life.......2007-07-28
An excellent biography of a most fantastic life. The book gives a very good outline of all major events in Churchill's life as an officer, a journalist, an author and above all: maybe the most important politician in Western Europe ever.
Churchill's early years, at school and in wars in India, Cuba, Sudan and South Africa are well covered. His career as a Member of Parliament, as well as Cabinet positions up to WWI are also very interesting. Churchill had very modern reflections on the principles of welfare states in 1905, which caused him to leave the Conservatives for the Liberals.
Churchill's finest hour is of course his early (from 1932) and consistent warning about German rearmament before WWII, and his leadership as British Prime Minister from 1940. The book's finest hour, in my opinion, is the last chapters. After the war, Churchill is 70 years old. His health is quite bad. He refuses to give in, and clings to power. From time to time, he decides to quit, but every time changes his mind. Just like the rest of us.
The book has some serious flaws. Churchill made many mistakes during the interwar years, but Gilbert runs to his defence at every one. One example: Churchill took a major stance against Indian independence. According to Gilbert, this was because Churchill was concerned about the minorities of the sub-continent.
Read and enjoy the book, as long as you are aware that Gilbert has done what many other biographers have done before him: fallen in love with his object.
Knights of the Realm.......2007-07-09
If you are only going to read one book on Sir Winston Churchill this is the one to read. Sir Martin Gilbert is Sir Winston's official biographer and that project took roughly 30 years to complete and produced an eight volume account. Gilbert even wrote a memoir of his experiences writing the biography _In Search of Churchill_, and received a knighthood of his own for his work on this project.
This book is the condensed version of the eight volumes that Gilbert took so long to write. Gilbert's account is authoritative, but the majority of it focuses, understandably, on the 1939-1945 period. Gilbert prefers to write with an unrelenting chronological narrative, an approach that works perfectly in biography. Sir Martin is a talented writer and even through this book is over 950 pages long it reads quite well. Gilbert has also quoted a lot from Churchill's own writings and speeches and it is clear the man had mastered the English language.
Many Americans are not that familiar with geography of Churchill's life and Gilbert has included 28 maps that allow the reader to track the great man's life graphically. These maps are particularly interesting because they range from the obvious like political maps of Europe in both World Wars, but also places where Churchill lived in England and a very detailed rendering of Whitehall--the region of London where all the government offices are located.
No book is perfect. In condensing eight volumes into one, Gilbert has skipped a little on developing a full human portrait of his subject. One also gets the impression that at times it was possible to just show up at 10 Downing Street and have a meeting with whoever happened to be the Prime Minister at the time. Gilbert also clearly likes his subject and takes his side in the many disputes he faced. This focus is understandable, but the author never really examines the legitimate points that Churchill critics had to make. Before the war, as far as the public was concerned, Churchill had been wrong on the abdication crisis, wrong on India, and, yes, wrong on the Nazis. It was only after the Britain came to blows with Germany that people came to reassess his position on Germany. Even during the war his formulation of strategy was suspect on more than one occasion. Gilbert does not avoid these issues, but his coverage of the other point of view could be better.
All in all, though, these complaints should not blind readers to the fact that this is an exceptionally good book by the foremost authority in the field. Buy it, you will like it.
Very good one volume biography.......2007-06-02
Overall I really enjoyed Martin Gilbert's Churchill biography, and would recommend it to others. I found it an enjoyable read, and overall I thought it did a good job covering a remarkable man.
I did think there was some room for improvement though:
- The book didn't spend as much time on the WW2 years as I would have liked. I felt Gilbert's chapters here were a little rushed and sparse, and that they mostly recited the basic facts without a lot of new insight. I would have preferred more coverage of the weeks immediately after Churchill took office (when some in the cabinet debated whether to open negotations with the Germans, and which might have come to pass had it been someone other than Churchill in office). I would have also liked to have seen more coverage of Churchill's (at times very complex) relationship with Roosevelt, as well as more about his relationship with Alan Brooke and the rest of his cabinet.
- Churchill's relationship with his family was also not covered in much depth. Clementine seemed to be continually away in Gilbert's text, and her relationship with Winston felt strained. I would have liked to have understood Gilbert's take on this more - since it is a little different from what I have read in other books.
I think I still prefer the William Manchester volumes on Churchill over this book when covering Churchill's early years - they felt a little more textured and deeper. Unfortunately Manchester was unable to complete his third volume before he died, so the WW2 years are not covered there at all.
I would still also recommend this book as well.
Why Didn't I Read This Years Ago?.......2007-02-17
The first third of this book is dry as can be and I'm beginning to think, "From this a portrait of the man will never emerge." But those who persevere eventually collect their reward. The dryness begins to evaporate with the advent of the First World War. Churchill was tested to the breaking point with the disastrous Gallipoli campaign. He lost his job with the admiralty. At age 40 Churchill thought we was washed up. By happy accident he discovers painting, a pastime that will see him through even darker days to come (see also "Sir Winston Churchill: His Life and His Paintings" by David Coombs).
The edge-of-your-seat chapters begin with the emergence of Hitler. Churchill issues Casandra-like warnings, spelling out with remarkable clairvoyance what will happen if the growing menace goes unchallenged. The world reacts with a yawn. And Hitler catches an unprepared world by surprise. Suddenly Churchill is the man of the hour. The wartime chapters drive home just how scarily-close the Nazis came to victory.
Gilbert's biography becomes anti-climatic as it becomes clear that the Good Guys will prevail. But there's still fire left in the old Prime Minister. Churchill recognizes the Hitlerian threat posed by Stalin in Post-WWII Europe. Churchill's final major life contribution comes with his Fulton, Missouri, "Iron Curtain" speech.
What's the most important aspect of this read? Churchill embodies the power of the spoken word. In 1940 words were about all besieged Brits had cling to. Our world would be a very different place (read "barbaric") had the rallying call been voiced by a lesser man. Well, it's been a long review. It was a long book.
Book Description
From the Allied landings in Normandy in June 1944 the Second World War had only fourteen months to run. This final volume of the account covers events right up to the unconditional surrender of Japan. Churchill's six-volume history of World War II - the definitive work, remarkable both for its sweep and for its sense of personal involvement, universally acknowledged as a magnificent historical reconstruction and an enduring work of literature.
Download Description
The end of World War II, the crushing of Germany and the devastating bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.and the entrance into an uneasy and clouded peace as Churchill is dismissed from his office and the Allies embark upon a tragic, misguided and atomic-haunted Cold War. The concluding volume of Churchill's great chronicle of the War which was responsible for his winning the Noble Prize in Literature.
Customer Reviews:
Churchill comes full circle.......2007-08-13
Volume 6 "Triumph and Tragedy" covers the time frame of June 6, 1944 to July 26, 1945 and closes Churchill's account. The war is moving towards its' climax as the Allies land and push forward towards Paris and then on towards Berlin. Failure in Italy to pursue the Germans was reached as `Anvil', Riviera landing Southern France, reduced troop strength and was one of the factors that change the future of Poland and the rest of the Balkans. The Moscow conference has Churchill and Stalin discussing percentages of influence. At Quebec Churchill was very anxious to forestall the Russians in certain area of Central Europe. Unfortunately Churchill's influence consisted mainly in a warning voice. He was caught between a rock and a hard spot as he tries to appease Stalin and also not to sever England's life line with FDR and America. Yalta brought hopes and promises to a war weary world. Perhaps if Roosevelt had lived maybe these could have been achieved but his death left many agreements open ended and unfulfilled. Truman steps into office and the problems of `Unconditional Surrender' surface as surrender with Germany and Japan becomes eminent. Poland, one of the main reason for England's entering the War, is once again on stage for their sacrifice. The future of Europe and the World is being decided and the Cold War stands in the wings.
Churchill's and England's influence has waned. Even as Potsdam was failing all he can find is a concerned voice. England was deep in debt and tired of War. With Germany surrendering, there was no more desire to fight another battle especially with Russia. The Atomic bomb is dropped on Japan's two cities and Churchill finds that he has been voted out of office. On July 26, 1945 he bids farewell to the Nation that he served and steps out of what he considered as an unfinished office. He states that the "power to shape the future would be denied him". He wished he could have stayed to help with the needed peace but out of office all he could do was speak. He was not to return again for another 6 years and by then it was to late for another coalition government.
This is an important volume and series in understanding a great deal about WWII history and the start of the Cold War. The volume is well name. Victory blocked Nazism and then unleashed the power of the atom. The World would never again be the same. Old fears were replaced with new ones and national hegemony reared its' ugly head. The peace that Churchill wanted was not to be. Well worth reading and adding to the history shelf.
The End.......2007-05-10
This is the final volume of Churchill's war memoires, telling the story of the war from D-Day until its conclusion. The ending is somewhat curtailed due to the fact that the Conservatives lost the 1945 General Election, with the result that Churchill ceased to be Prime Minister before the end of the war with Japan.
Churchill's account is at its best when he relates the problems with the fate of Greece and Poland, also when he tells of the deteriorating relationships with the USSR. What does become apparent is that Great Britain was by now a part-player in the end of the war, tolerated at the top table only because of her efforts in the war. The country, and its influence, was near exhaustion.
The problems with Churchill's previous volumes persist in this one. For example, an inadequate account of the bombing campaign: Dresden is dealt with in one sentence, and the assessment of the campaign as a whole is brief and uneasy. The Final Solution is accorded the briefest of mentions. The development of the atom bomb is hardly referred to until the success of the first test explosion.
These "faults" do not detract totally from the interesting parts of the book. But what is already good could have been far better. In the end, all six volumes are a fascinating account of the war from one of its key figures.
G Rodgers
The abrupt conclusion leaves unanswered questions.......2007-01-08
The sixth and final volume of Churchill's Second World War sees us through from D Day to victory. While the progression of the war itself is covered in much the same fashion as the first five volumes, it is here more than anywhere that Churchill starts looking forward to the post war world and the final disposition of power in Europe. Well before the actual end of the conflict, with victory certain, we see how the Soviet Union began closing off its regions of control from Allied scrutiny despite all efforts at openness and fairness from Britain and America. In particular, the Polish question weighed heavily on Churchill's mind and he devotes several chapters entirely to that problem. We see that Poland was the standard example of how Communist puppet governments were set up behind closed doors, while Stalin maintained an entirely straight face in claiming only a desire for peace and security. Churchill ends by noting the irony that as the war closed it was thought that The United States would possibly serve as a political buffer between the British and Soviet governments.
One can sense the frustration Churchill had as events were increasingly out of his control. By war's end Britain was decisively third ranked in terms of troops in action. After leading the only significant resistance to German war making for two full years, he found himself in disagreement with both major allies on various issues, major in the case of the Soviets and considerably less significant with regard to the U.S., but his feeling of encroaching loss is felt in this volume. Though he would later return to the Prime Minister's office, he ends the narrative as abruptly as he did his period of leadership (though he does skip ahead to the end of the Pacific war), with the great post-war questions unanswered.
Winni; as he was known to the British during WW11.......2005-03-14
I was born toward the end of world war two, and I'll never forget how this brilliant and intrepid man, through his daily, radio speaches, made the British people feel that they would never be defeated by Hitler. Winston Churchill, saw, before anyone else in England, that Germany would invade the rest of Europe and Great Britian in his iniquitous bid to conquer, control and kill millions of innocent people, without a thought of anything else but his evil ideas of what he, a mad-man, wanted at any cost.
As I grew older, my family told me more about the war. An uncle, who was in the Royal Air force, had his plane shot down and he spent nearly five years in a German P.O.W camp. My mother, when the dreaded dozzel bug bombs bombarded London day and night, had one drop very near her. She was pushing a pram with my twin sister and me in it, two older sisters were with her as she heard the engine stop and watched it fall; it was a dud and never exploded or we wouldn't be alive today. What terror she must have felt; I can not imagine. But Winston Churchill's daily radio addresses made her and so many other people gather their courage and continue on despite the very real danger of living in London.
Winston Churchill was a hero, beyond compare, to the people of Great Britain, during its time of greatest peril.
So many brave Americans went to fly for the Royal Air Force before America had entered the war. And so many of them perished -- such heros!!! To fight and die for England and freedom before they had to: brave crusaders!!
Then America also was at war with Germany and brought so much hope to the British people. They fought and so many of them died.
I read so much about this time in history. And these books, although definately not light reading, tell about a time when not only the men, but the women and even the children did whatever they could to rid this world of such evil. And so much of the braveness, the will to go on, despite everything, of the British people was because of this great man: Winston Churchill, who told them, and made them believe, every night by his radio speaches, that they could and would beat the Nazi threat.
Missing the point.......2003-11-22
I just had to add my two cents after finishing the sixth volume all of about 15 minutes ago. I ask my fellow reviewers who accuse Churchill of a completely selfish designation of "tragedy" on his loss of power in Britain to make sure they have actually read the right book; I can't see how it can be anything other than incredibly obvious that the "tragedy" he refers to is the inability of the Allies to halt Russian encroachment and lay the foundation for a peace which wouldn't be eventually and unavoidably interrupted by the potential for World War Three. This conclusion to Churchill's brilliant series is once again fantastic in scope and offers invaluable perspective. Most importantly, it is also incredibly prescient, as shown by 30 years of Cold War which we only escaped a decade ago.
Amazon.com
Winston Churchill was not only a statesman and leader of historic proportions, he also possessed substantial literary talents. These two factors combine to make The Gathering Storm a unique work. The first volume of Churchill's memoirs, this selection is broken into two parts. The first, "From War to War," consists of Churchill's critical observations on the settlement of World War I and its place in the causes of the Second World War. The second volume contains letters and memoranda from the British government--of which Churchill was part--as the country plunged unprepared into war. This stands as the best of history: written as it was made, by the man who made it.
Book Description
The step-by-step decline into war, with Churchill becoming prime minister as "the tocsin was about to sound."
Download Description
The first volume of Churchill's Noble-Prize winning six-part chronicle of World War II. THE GATHERING STORM depicts the rise of Hitler and the indifference of the leaders of the European democracies to the clouds of the gathering storm. Churchill incorporate contemporary documentation and his own reminiscence in this opening memoir.
Customer Reviews:
A unique work with a message for us in today's world.......2006-12-20
This is the first volume of Churchill's Noble Prize winning six part chronicle of World War II. The Gathering Storm depicts the rise of Hitler and the indifference of the leaders of the European democracies to the clouds of the gathering storm. Churchill incorporates contemporary documentation and his own reminiscence in this opening memoir. Churchill was a great statesman with great literary ability - a winning combination. The Gathering Storm a unique work and has a message for us in today's world.
Read and reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler
"We were to learn what total war means".......2006-10-05
Churchill gathered his researchers and secretaries and wrote an account of the events of World War II. These memoirs would span a work of six volumes, and added with his other literary achievements win for him the Noble Prize in Literature. The 'Gathering Storm', Volume I, starts with the end of World War I..the war to end all wars..and concludes on May 10,1940 with Germany's invasion of the Low Countries(Holland/Belgium) and France. May 10 was also the day that Neville Chamberlain resigned as Prime Minister and Churchill was asked, by the King, to form a new Government...in effect becoming the new head of Government or Prime Minister.
This is a work that is well worth reading. The contents and wisdom are just as relevant today as then. Churchill was relentless in his opinions, good and not-so-good, and did all in his power to try and stem the coming war. He had the advantage of being in the early government as First Lord of the Admiralty from 1911 to 1915. Driven into the wilderness years by forcing the Darnanelles,..a plan he still maintained would have worked if not for the 'timid observationists'..he would still keep active in governmental affairs and had enough connections to keep up-to-date with current events. Chamberlain, in 1939, would put him back into the Admiralty as First Lord..ironically going full circle back to his old office. Now with victory and hindsight, he was in the enviable position to see and write about the events that took place, and what could have happened if certain plans had or hadn't been implemented.
Churchill states that all the trials he went through prepared him for the great task of war. Had he remained in office, the position of Prime Minister would never have come his way. He would have been swept out of office with the failed administration. Those 'invisible wings' of fate were watching out for him. He was freed from party antagonisms and with six years of warning, about the oncoming events, no one could reproach him. What he had warned about was now real and the future was not certain. Churchill felt he knew a great deal about it all and was sure he could not fail. As Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, he now had the power to direct the whole scene. That was one of the areas I felt he craved more than any. The power to move the action forward on the offensive instead of always on the defensive.
Churchill wrote of the events that were transpiring with Germany's disregard for the Treaty of Versailles, Locarno and the failure at Munich. The rise of Hilter and his ascension to Chancellor, the absorption of Austria, the neutralization of Czechoslovakia, and the fall of Poland. The timidity of England and France to respond to the treaties and strike a blow for freedom in retaliation. He doesn't hold back his opinions and what he felt should have been done. As First Lord of the Admiralty he pushed for taking the port at Narvik Norway and found this plan changed from a sea strike to a failed pincer attack. He watched with frustration the failed, yet fortunate, attempt to tangle and embed the war on the Norwegian front. It was fortunate because shortly the war was to break full upon the Western Front and all was needed there. Norway ended the twilight or false war and moved the events forward into an all out compaign of total war.
The face and technology of war has changed over these many years. I doubt we'll ever see countries signing peace documents on battleships again. Unfortunately the reality is that war is still very much alive and with us. These facts alone make these volumes important reading. Possibly the most important aspect is that we can learn from a great man's experiences and hopefully not repeat the past. Well worth adding to the library.
"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.".......2006-09-04
And he did. This compulisively readable account of Europe between the wars and from 09/39 to 05/40 covers European diplomatic history, shifts in British politics, Britian's unwillingness to prepare for war, Hitler's rise to power and German re-armament. It ends with the invasion of France/the Low Countries and Chuchill's ascent to Prime Minister of a National Government. For all it's readablity and heavy use of documentation and primary sources, this is still a memior and sometimes self-serving.
The Tragedy.......2006-07-22
In his preface Churchill states that one day president Roosevelt asked him for suggestions as to what the war should be called. He replied at once " the Unnecessary War "
While hindsight is always 20-20, it is impossible to read this brilliant account without coming to the conclusion that Churchill was giving way to understatement. The absurd idiocies of the governments of the victorious Allies of The Great War from 1918 to 1939 were so blatantly appalling as to be beyond belief.
To name just one, there was strong pressure in the British Parliament and Press to have France, in the interest of fair play (?) reduce its army by half and allow Germany to double its own.-- As Hitler was rallying millions to his banner.
The chapter on Hitler is perhaps the best. To quote Churchill again: " When eventually he came to power there was no book (Mein Kempf) which deserved more careful study from the rulers, political and military , of the Allied powers. All was there . . . "
But the Allies, embroiled with their own party strifes, took little notice.
Juncture after juncture, The Second World War could have easily been avoided. Repeat, easily.
For readers only familiar with Churchill's reputation as an orator, this is a chance to get to know why so many justly regard him as one of the greatest prose writers of the 20th century.
Furthermore, neither Hitler, Roosevelt, nor Stalin had the means or inclination to give an insider's first rate account of the war. Here you will see it from the summit, blow by blow.
It is indeed a tragedy, but one superbly told.
Drift to disaster.......2006-07-03
This is the first volume in a six-part work covering World War Two. It's best looked upon as Churchill's war memoirs rather than an attempt at a definitive history of the conflict. Of course, Churchill was a major figure in the war, and therefore cannot be regarded as a dispassionate analyst: he was far too close to the events and lacked the research that subsequent years have provided. All these observations are truisms, but it's worth stating that the reader should expect a very personal and Anglo-centric account.
This first volume covers the period from 1919 to the fall of the Chamberlain Government following the disasterous campaign in Norway in 1940. A major chunk of the book is taken up by Churchill's account of the faults and consequences of the Versailles Treaty, the rise of Nazi Germany and the growing threat to peace. There is very little on events in the Far East. There's not much either to throw doubt upon Churchill's role as the unheeded herald of the menace posed by the dictators, but he does have the grace to concede that the trials of World War One and the horrendous losses suffered in that war had scarred deeply the collective psyche. The reluctance to re-militarise can be better understood in that context.
Events have since shown of course that few politicians have the courage either to act contrary to what they perceive as public sentiment, or to clear their minds of preconceptions when all the evidence does not suit them. Either of these traits on their own are problematic, but it seemed that both were working at the same time in the inter-war period, to disasterous effect. As Churchill points out, few (including those on the Left) demurred from the prevailing wisdom: this must be borne in mind when British politicians of all types during the post-war period posed as implacable pre-war anti-appeasers.
Of course, few of the democracies were without these traits, and few come out of Churchill's account with total absolution - barring perhaps Czechoslovakia. Even Poland took part in the post-Munich dismemberment of that country. Churchill's account is of a tragedy, but not one which started in 1919. Rather the "peace" between the two World Wars was nothing more than a pause in the greater tragedy of twentieth-century history.
His account is passionate, lively and accessibly written. As I stated above, not one for a student wanting a definitive story, but is nonetheless gripping.
G Rodgers
Book Description
Sir Winston Churchill was the greatest orator of his day, the greatest statesman of his age, and the greatest Englishman of the twentieth century. This enchanting collection gathers hundreds of his funniest and wickedest quips in tribute to the exhilarating wit of this great-hearted, infuriatingly conceited, wildly funny, and brilliantly talented Englishman.
Customer Reviews:
I just like old Winston!.......2006-11-11
You do have to think about many of his quips, most are very funny in a dry, perhaps a bit cynical manner. It is sometimes difficult to place his statements in the context of WW-II (I was born in 1944 and I do have a memory of that era because it was the biggest event in my parents lives - they talked about it all the time).
After a session with Mr. Churchill, I often wish American politicians had a bit of his prespective (though I reall doubt they would ever get elected).
It's one thing to know the right words,but another when and how to use them........2006-02-05
The wise and witty words of Winston Churchill ring throughout the 20th Century.Any that knew him personally or had anything to do with him must have waited with anticipation of hearing what he would say anytime he opened his mouth.This held true for Kings,Presidents,Generals and yes even for his family,including his grandaughter.At times, his use of silence could be as cutting
a reply as anything he could say.No doubt, he took as much enjoyment in his words as anyone he was aiming them at.It wasn't all one way either,he seemed to love a well delivered line,even if he was the object.
He neither claimed to be nor in fact was an'educated man',he
was similar to Mark Twain,in that he could cut to pieces,people of much greater formal education,if they tried to engage him in 'a battle of words'.
In his book "My Early Life" he said."It's a good thing for an
uneducated man to read books of quotations" and described how he read "Bartlett's Quotations".It is obvious that he often used and modified others quotations.
His friend Lord Brinkenhead quipped,"Winston has devoted the best years of his life to preparing his impromptu speeches."
"One of Churchill's most famous speeches is that of June
1940:'We shall fight on the beaches,we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,we shall fight in the hills...' It is said that,as he paused in the great uproar that greeted these words,Churchill muttered to a colleague next to him,'And We'll fight them with the butt ends of broken beer bottles because that's bloody well all we've got!"
A great little book reminding us of the words of one of the great voices of the 20th Century.
Wit Beyond Comparison.......2005-07-12
I received this book as a birthday gift from my lovely wife. I loved this book so much I bought is twice more as a gift for a departing superior and for a friend of 10 years. Anyone who has a love of history (particularly this era) will love this book, anyone in possession of a sense of humor will appreciate this book as well.
Recommended for a quick, witty read and as a gift for anyone you know with an 'off' sense of humor. We all know someone like that, are related or married to them, or publicly disavow any association with them. Regardless, buy them or yourself (ii case its you who is openly disowned) this book.
Very Enjoyable.......2004-10-23
This relatively small book is divided into several sections with slices from Churchill's life and quotations related to politics, speaches, friends, animals, family, etc.
Here are few excerpts:
While campaigning in 1900, it is said that the young Churchill was doing a spot of canvassing when one of those he approached exclaimed:
"Vote for you? Why, I'd rather vote for the Devil!"
"I understand", Churchill answered, "But in case your friend is not running, may I count on your support?"
* * *
When passed a very long but turgidly written memorandum on some worthy but uninspiring subject, the elderly Prime Minister weighed the thick wad of paper in his hands and commented, "This paper by its very length defends itself against the risk of being read."
* * *
Churchill liked animals; sometimes he found this difficult to reconcile with his fondness for rich food. Anthony Montague Brown recalled that 'One Christmas he was about to carve a goost. Learning it was one of his own, he put down the knife and fork and said, "I could not possibly eat a bird that I have known socially."
* * *
A BBC broadcaster described once sitting next to Churchill as he gave a speech, keeping his audience hanging on to his every word. The boradcaster noticed, howver, that what appeared to be notes in Churchill's hand was only a laundry slip, and he later remarked upon this to Churchill. "Yes", said Churchill. "It gave confidence to my audience."
Excellent! A must for all who study the man and the language.......2003-11-03
The title of my review had simply told what I wanna say. Churchill is such a famous person of wit and words. That's beyond argument. Therefore it's not a difficult job for the editor-author to pick and pack Churchill's words, with some short sentences telling the background of each, into a thin book. Anyway, he did it alright.
I would like to pick some of my favorite quotes for your reference. Hope you like them and can share my feelings of how brilliant Churchill. and also indirectly, this book is.
1. "Trying to maintain good relations with a Communist is like wooing a crocodile. You do not know whether to tickle it under the chin or beat it over the head. When it opens its mouth, you cannot tell whether it is trying to smile or preparing to eat you up."
2. "No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeeed, it has been said that Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."
3. "You will never get to the end of the journey if you stop to buy a stone at every dog that barks."
4. "Virtuous motives, trammelled by inertia and timidity, are no match for armed and resolute wickedness."
5. "What if I had said, instead of "We shall fight on the beaches", "Hostilities will be engaged with our adversary on the coastal perimeter?".
and......many other invaluable quotes. In short, a must buy.
From the Publisher
Winston Churchill is one of the most extraordinary leaders the tumultuous twentieth century produced. Why did he see so clearly when those around him acted so blindly? What enabled him to stand steadfastly when those around him vacillated? How was he able to inspire whole nations to endure the unendurable and to achieve the unachievable when those around him surrendered all hope? In this remarkable new study of Churchill's legacy, Stephen Mansfield addresses these questions and shows us what lay at the core of Churchill's extraordinary character. The result is an inspiring portrait of a truly great leader.
Customer Reviews:
Nicely done.......2007-07-31
Mr. Mansfield has done a very nice job. He writes with the presupposition that history is the outworking of the providence and plan of God, a presupposition I accept, and which I believe is overwhelmingly confirmed by history itself. We all view the world through our presuppositions, and none of us can claim "neutrality." Those who "ding" Mansfield for his Christianity or for illuminating the Christian faith of his subject miss the point of the book. Would you have us all live in the ghetto where the only view allowed is secular humanism? Thankfully, we still live in a country where one is allowed to have Christian presuppositions. It was Mansfield's purpose to write from this point of view. If you "ding" him for having that purpose, then are you not saying that there should no freedom to express opinions different from your own? I am most amused by the reviewer who implies that Mansfield cannot understand England because of that country's current spiritual condition. Surely Churchill's England was different from today's England. England's decline (and our own here in America) can be directly traced to abandoning the Author of our lives and freedoms. Mansfield makes the point that Churchill understood England's place in preserving the freedoms of its Christian heritage, not only for itself but also for the western civilization, against the Nazi threats (definitely not the forces of goodness and light).
This history is written by a Christian (Mansfield) about a Christian (Churchill). If Churchill was, indeed, someone who experienced true conversion to Christianity, then his faith would have permeated all that he was and did. It would and did give him the necessary heart and spirit to persevere under severe trial. Conversion is not a matter which has no impact upon the personal and professional life of a man - it will govern all that he is - his thinking and life.
What a great little book! I am also delighted to discover that Churchill, when asked whom he should like to be if he could not be himself, thought about it and answered "Mrs. Churchill's second husband." All of his manly achievements notwithstanding, that aspect of his character put him over the top in my estimation.
Riveting biography and writing.......2007-05-13
I'd recommend this book not "only" because of the great information on Churchill's life struggles and events. I'm recommending this book mainly due to the writer's superb writing. I never thought I'd read a biography in one sit. You just can't stop reading, your eyes roll through the text with so much ease and pleasure. You feel Churchill's hardships, his courage, his character. Great book.
provoking, intelligent, and sophisticated........2007-02-10
This book challenges you and tests your knowledge and paradigms.
I found it thought provoking, intelligent, and sophisticated.
This should be a must read for everyone who seeks truth and meaning.
Way to go Mr. Mansfield!!!
Diamonds Refined.......2005-12-04
Delight is an expected find when reading works on or about Winston Spencer Churchill. Joy is a confirmation when these works attain to the stature and measure of the man. Refreshment is the derivative when joy and delight meet in a polished offering such as 'Never Give In.'
Stephen Mansfield has once again done well and served all parties equally in dispensing this gleaned narrative of the Twentieth Century's self-recognized 'Great Man.'
A man's man for all seasons, highlights of the legendary Churchill are brought forth in a parade of honed chapters refined like glistening diamonds. Those seeking heavyweight analysis will even so finish the book satisfied, while newcomers will be impressed especially in these breathtaking times.
Mr. Mansfield wisely moves through Churchill's life subject by subject, examining deftly moments which shaped the Character that so helped weld the first half of this century just gone. Superlatives tax the description of this work that may, in the field of Churchillian retrospectives, become the essential tome for both those initiating study, as well as we who yearn for one more look at a superb man under fire.
The most excellent aspect of the work is Mansfield's examination of Churchill's testimony regarding Jesus, a subject far too long neglected. As is the practice learned from the Master, the best is always saved till last.
TL Farley,
author,
When Now Becomes Too Late {prophecy}
Distant Reaches {adventure}
For Leaders, not avid Historians.......2004-05-31
In reading the reviews under this section, I find that a reader either loves this book or hates it - there is very little middle ground.
I believe those who discount this book are looking for an objective work on the history of Churchill. While this is a very fascinating subject, the market is saturated with such works, so if that is what you are looking for, go elsewhere...
Those who love the book don't seem to place such emphasis on its historical precision; rather on the value of the information as it pertains to their own lives and leadership styles.
I found this book to contain many great nuggets of wisdom and my highlighter saw much action as I poured through the pages.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their leadership qualities. If you are looking for a historical masterpiece, this isn't it nor did the author intend it to be...
Customer Reviews:
History at its best!.......2007-02-08
Churchill's Second World War is an amazing work about an even more amazing time in our nation's history. This is the "Lord of the Rings" only real and a much longer story. Nonetheless, it is every bit as interesting and exciting (more so, I dare say). Time flies while reading as every page is riveting. I am in awe.
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