Winston Churchill

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Winston Churchill

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: 0736687556

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6 hours on 5 CDs. Unabridged production of John Keegan's masterpiece.

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political, not historical, biography
Good political essay
A Good but not Great Biography
LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS MEN
A complex political biography

Churchill
Roy Jenkins
Manufacturer: Macmillan Audio Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1405006579

Amazon.com

Winston Churchill was querulous, childish, self-indulgent, and difficult, writes English historian Roy Jenkins. But he was also brilliant, tenacious, and capable--in short, "the greatest human being ever to occupy 10 Downing Street." Jenkins's book stands as the best single-volume biography of Churchill in recent years.

Marked by the author's wide experience writing on British leaders such as Balfour and Gladstone and his tenure as a member of Parliament, his book adds much to the vast library of works on Churchill. While acknowledging his subject's prickly nature, Jenkins credits Churchill for, among other things, recognizing far earlier than his peers the dangers of Hitler's regime. He praises Churchill for his leadership during the war years, especially at the outset, when England stood alone and in imminent danger of defeat. He also examines Churchill's struggle to forge political consensus to meet that desperate crisis, and he sheds new light on Churchill's postwar decline. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

A brilliant new life of Britain's greatest modern prime minister

Winston Churchill is an icon of modern history, but even though he was at the forefront of the political scene for almost sixty years, he might be remembered only as a minor player in the drama of British government had it not been for World War II. In this magesterial book, Roy Jenkin's unparalleled command of the political history of Britain and his own high-level experience combine in a narrative account of Churchill's astounding career that is unmatched in its shrewd insights, its unforgettable anecdotes, the clarity of its overarching themes, and the author's nuanced appreciation of his extraordinary subject.

From a very young age, Churchill believed he was destined to play a great role in the life of his nation, and he determined to prepare himself. Jenkins shows in fascinating detail how Churchill educated himself for greatness, how he worked out his livelihood (writing) as well as his professional life (politics), how he situated himself at every major site or moment in British imperial and governmental life. His parliamentary career was like no other - with its changes of allegiance (from the Conservative to the Liberal and back to the Conservative Party), its troughs and humiliations, its triumphs and peaks - and for decades almost no one besides his wife discerned the greatness to come. Jenkins effortlessly evokes the spirit of Westminster through all these decades, especially the crisis years of the late 1930s and the terrifying 1940s, when at last it was clear how vital Churchill was to the very survival of England. He evaluates Churchill's other accomplishments, his writings, with equal authority.

Exceptional in its breadth of knowledge and distinguished in its stylish wit and penetrating intelligence, this is one of the finest political biographies of our time.

Customer Reviews:

political, not historical, biography.......2007-08-11

Think Robert Kosowsky's review is pretty much on the mark.

Historical events are not presented except in relation to timing and political positioning by Churchill and others. For example, if you don't know about the Dardenelles operation of WW1, this book will not help you. Despite the final line of the book, this is not uncritical of Churchill and at times makes him appear to be motivated by politics as much as anything else (the author was a MP and in the Cabinet so was a political animal too). This does not ring entirely false as it makes it easier to understand his switching of political parties. And this makes it a good counter to Churchill's own books which are at times clearly self-serving.

Good political essay.......2007-06-06

This was a fine biography on Churchill. At its heart, this book is a comprehensive political summary of one of the world's best politicians. Jenkins does a great job of surrounding the moment with context and analysis. His mastery of British politics is unreal.

With all that said, the book did have a few flaws. First, it was hard to grasp the ins and outs of the British political process which Jenkins discusses at great lengths (this could be my fault as I am an American). Second, there was not enough character development. Jenkins references countless people, but does not take the time to highlight, or bring about, who ultimately has a major role. To this end, I feel there was a certain extent of "name-dropping" in the tome. At times, this made the book harder to navigate through with ease. Finally, I don't know French or Afrikaans, or Latin. So those phrases in foreign languages fell upon deaf ears (or perhaps blind eyes is the more appropriate description).

Overall, a great book. I enjoyed Jenkins mastery of the subject matter, and his writing is fantastic. I have not read other Churchill bios before, but would certainly recommend this to a history buff.

A Good but not Great Biography.......2007-05-31

This biography is extremely interesting but also uneven. Roy Jenkins was a major British political figure himself, sitting in both the House of Commons and then later in the House of Lords as the Baron Jenkins of Hillhead of Pontypool in the County of Gwent. He was member of the Labour Party, and entered Parliament towards the end of Chruchill's career. He was a member of the Cabinet, having served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, a position Churchill once held, and came close to becoming Prime Minister himself. As a result, he certainly has a unique background and exceptionally rare expertise among Churchill biographers. In fact, the best parts of this book are when Lord Jenkins relates his own experiences to those of Churchill.

Jenkins also has some literary talent, having won the Whitbread Prize for his biography of William Gladstone, the legendary nineteenth century Prime Minister. This British book award is roughly equal to the Pulitzer Prize here in the United States.

The biography Jenkins produced is an easy read. He was clearly writing with an American audience in mind and explains some of the less obvious British political terms or how an individual with a title of nobility could be a member of the House of Commons. He also treats his subject with respect, despite their political differences.

That said, this book has a number of problems. The coverage Jenkins provides focuses primarily on Churchill's political career. Discussion of his personal life is there, but it is rather limited. His coverage of foreign policy and matters of strategy is adequate but only adequate. His explanation of some subjects is more shallow than Sir Martin Gilbert's one volume biography. The events surrounding the dukedom that Queen Elizabeth II offered Churchill, but which he eventually turned down, comes to mind immediately. Jenkins is also slipshod in his use of facts and quotes. I am writing a book in which Churchill is a central figure and I saw a number of good quotes that I thought would make my study a little more interesting. After consulting the original sources, I discovered that Jenkins had gotten it wrong. This misquoting happened time and time again.

So in short, you won't go wrong reading this biography but there are better Churchill books out there.

LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS MEN.......2007-02-14

Roy Jenkins was the son of a Welsh miner, both father and son becoming Labour MP's. He excelled academically, and from an early age assumed a famously grand manner of speaking. The Marquis of Salisbury said that Jenkins made him feel common, and Aneurin Bevan, on being told that the young Jenkins was brilliant but lazy, replied `Brilliant he may be, but a boy from Abersychan who talks like that? You can't tell me he's lazy.' Jenkins failed narrowly to become British prime minister, but he held the same two of the `three great offices of state' - Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer - as Churchill himself did, and there is something about the languid assurance of his narrative that suggests that he feels at home in such company. In particular, when I read his rather bald ex cathedra final assessment that Churchill rather than Gladstone was the greatest of prime ministers I almost sensed an unspoken `and I would know about that.'

President Kennedy said to Gore Vidal `But for the Civil War nobody would have heard of Lincoln.' Similarly, if Churchill had not become wartime prime minister, it is perfectly arguable that Jenkins might have had the more distinguished career. Churchill was not an outstanding Home Secretary, whereas Jenkins deserves immortality as the Home Secretary who put the weight of the government behind the abolition of the death penalty in Britain. As Chancellor Jenkins (Labour, remember) was named by none other than Mrs Thatcher as the best since the war, whereas Churchill's time at the Treasury is mainly notable for the disastrous adoption of the gold standard, albeit against his own better judgment.

The main focus of the narrative is political, in my opinion rightly. Asquith complained that Churchill not only talked too much but that it was all about politics. However politics is largely a matter of personalities, and Jenkins builds up a coherent picture of the aspects of his subject's character that led him to become what he became. Churchill's physical courage was apparent from his time in the Boer War, and his relentless driving energy strikes me as downright phenomenal - I am daunted even by the amount he ate, let alone by how much he drank, let alone how much he managed to do in spite of all that. He was undistracted by affairs or infidelities certainly, but he always had time for his family as well as his painting and bricklaying, to say nothing of his phenomenal literary output, something to which Jenkins, as another author, devotes considerable space.

This book is biography, not history, but while the two are inseparable Jenkins doesn't force his own judgements on us. I started by regretting this, but gradually I came to prefer it. Jenkins is thorough, and we are taken methodically through who did what and said what. Churchill's more spectacular clangers -the Dardanelles in WWI, the Gold Standard, the Abdication, his ludicrous views on Indian independence - are set in context without preaching. Whatever made Churchill great, it wasn't consistency of judgment. What should make this book mandatory reading for those who take a simplistic view of the lead-up to WWII is Jenkins's flat account of the matter. I started by wanting him to take a view on what constituted `appeasement' (a slogan if there was ever one) but I prefer Jenkins's way. The trick with Churchill was to harness that volcano of energy to the right cause, and I guess we were lucky. Chamberlain, not Churchill, declared war on Germany. Munich was not very dignified, but Britain was rearming under Chamberlain and needed to play for time. Going to war when we did was none too overdue, and I wonder whether Churchill might not have blown it by bulldog-at-a-gate reaction.

What makes a politician `great'? Luck and PR for the most part, I'd say. Churchill was an outsize personality. He had a terrific gift of phrase, he could dominate, but above all he could talk everyone into acquiescence. That kind of acquiescence doesn't last long, and Jenkins's nicely-judged assessments of this or that speech are probably more significant to Jenkins as another speech-maker than to most of us. A lot of so-called `leadership' is really just a holding operation - don't fall flat on your face even once. Churchill had a job to do, it was a job he wanted, he had the energy for it, and could he ever talk. The British public were not overawed with his oratory, they just felt it was up to what the occasion called for. He didn't fight the war, they did. They felt they owed him nothing, and they owed him nothing.

The book is a bit of a marathon, I'm sorry to say. Jenkins was no mean talker, in particular he was a devastating parliamentary debater. He is an excellent biographer if this is anything to go by, he is probably a good historian, but he is a downright bad writer. I would not have expected occasional bad grammar, bad syntax and misuse of words from such an aesthete, but they're here. He has a tin ear for English, particularly adverbs - `possibly excessively' `friendlily' and (dear God) `deadenly'. Such adverbs read to me uglily and ungainlily. Would `an united...' or `an horrendous...' pass in an English exam? If I were the examiner, not, er, an hope. Use of nouns and names as adjectives is an Americanism that doesn't suit him, but he uses it ad nauseam, and when it comes to the like of `an appealing (to Churchill) Texan companion' or `the then only seven-year-old redbrick and brown terracotta Midland Hotel' the entire English-speaking community should rise up in revolt.

At Fulton MO Churchill proposed an English-speaking alliance to outweigh his so-called Iron Curtain that he had negotiated in the first place. Stalin's response was obvious, and mine would have been the same in Stalin's place. Even dictators can talk sense, and Churchill got inebriated with his own verbosity, yet this is one sort of thing that he is supposed to be `great' for. Jenkins was a liberal-minded social democrat and his calm view of what caused so much excitement and worse should be a corrective to much that we are seeing today. If only he had said it better.

A complex political biography.......2007-01-03

This is a book written by a British politician about a British politician and it assumes a good working knowledge of Parliament, British history 1880 onwards and the British Empire. As another reviewer has pointed out, it shouldn't be a first book about Churchill, but Roy Jenkins is an excellent, enthused writer and this comes through in the way he glorifies Winnie. Unfortunately, there is one criticism, which is the way the book simply peters out. At the start, RJ was dedicating pages and pages to certain events, some of which was guess-work, whereas in Churchill's later life there is precious little. In this sense the book cannot be called a comprehensive Churchill biog. But it is well-worth reading if you already know something about the subject and want to crawl deeper beneath the surface.

In a Pig's Eye: Reflections on the Police State, Repression, and Native America (AK Press Audio)

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napoleonedibuonaparte

In a Pig's Eye: Reflections on the Police State, Repression, and Native America (AK Press Audio)
Ward Churchill
Manufacturer: AK Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1902593502

Book Description

How did the Black Panthers go from a powerful grassroots movement to a drug and strife ridden organization with its best leaders dead? What happened to the American Indian Movement (AIM)? Answer: Counterinsurgency, American style. State financed, illegal methods of framing, blaming and murdering activists has quite a history. From anti-labor Pinkerton thugs, the Palmer raids on Anarchists, to infiltration of anti-globalization protests, Churchill sends activists a warning.

Ward Churchill is a spokesperson for AIM and the Peltier Defense Committee. His books include The Cointelpro Papers and Agents of Repression.

Customer Reviews:

napoleonedibuonaparte.......2007-02-16

WARD CHURCHILL IS A PROPHET. HE EXPOSES THE EVIL OF A POLICE STATE IN THIS COUNTRY. TWO CRITICISM OF CHURCHILL IS HE FORGOT TO LECTURE ABOUT THE FOUNDATION OF AMERIKKKAN POLICE. THE FIRST POLICE WERE ENFORCERS OF THE SLAVE LAWS IN THE EARLY CENTURIES ON THE AMERIKKKAN PLANTATIONS AND INTO THE MODERN POLICE GANGS WHO STILL HUNT BLACK MALES IN THE BIG CITIES. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED LISTENING FOR WHITE PEOPLE.

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The Island Race (Classic Non-fiction)
Winston, Sir Churchill
Manufacturer: Naxos Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 9626340479
Release Date: 1999-05-11

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A receptacle for your pain
Despite the controversy, Ward is still a scholar
Self-righteous and racist
illuminating look into life in a still-occupied land

Life in Occupied America
Ward Churchill
Manufacturer: AK Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1902593723

Book Description

Why, despite still "owning" some of the most valuable land in North America (including most of the uranium reserves, 20% of the oil and natural gas, etc.), do the remaining 2 million Native inhabitants live in conditions of Third World poverty-a life expectancy averaging under 50; 60% unemployment; a per capita income on the Pine Ridge Reservation of $2000 a year? The systematic elimination of the American Indians didn't end with Columbus, or smallpox-laden blankets, or the scalp bounty. Here, the pre-eminent Native activist/scholar Ward Churchill passionately unveils the 500-year conquest and demonstrates its continuation -today.

Ward Churchill teaches at the University of Colorado/Boulder and is the author of numerous books and spoken-word CDs.

Customer Reviews:

A receptacle for your pain.......2007-08-15

This is just perfect. The only thing that would improve this bitter irony is a big weeping picture of the Italian actor that played the eco-friendly Indian in the litter commercials on the cover. Ward Churchill is the quintessential academic who has never really thought a thought through for himself. He is neither Indian nor scholar and he knows very little about history. If you agree you know this already and if you disagree you hate me and don't need to read his book. He spouts Pseudo-Sartre [someone said Chomsky] and the self-hate and fear just oozes. It is painful but almost entertaining to read a page or two. More just tires, and profits no one but him.

Despite the controversy, Ward is still a scholar.......2007-05-02

As a Native American, I've always loved Ward's writings. It does not matter to me whether he is an Indian or not. What he writes is scholarly, well-researched, and true of indigenous lives today.

Don't jump on the controversy band wagon. Read and decide for yourself.

Self-righteous and racist.......2005-07-23

Churchill's main thesis is that non-Indian Amerians, excluding "some" Latinos, namely those of mestizo (mixed European/Indigenous) descent and African-Americans (since they were brought here by force) are colonial settlers on this continent and should be expelled. Churchill writes in lengthy Chomsky-style paragraphs that fail to actually measure up to Chomsky and come as pointless.

Churchill is an interesting character. Regardless of whether he is actually Indian or not, he is undeniably majority white, so his rants come as self-hating diatribes being shouted into a mirror. Some of what he writes can be verified and is useful to know, though that is mainly constricted to life in Indian Reservations in contemporary times or in the 60, 70 or 80's.

illuminating look into life in a still-occupied land.......2004-06-27

From the beginning, Leonard Peltier as a symbol of Indigenous resistance, to the European Terrorism against Indigenous peoples in the form of biological warfare, Ward Churchill lets the reader-listener understand why this land is an occupied land, never disconnected from the disastrous colonoliasm which has killed off our people, languages and has bombarded our past and future. Genocide is applied as being a reality (and continuing)in this occupied land. This is a must to understand the effects of colonialism and terrorism on Indigenous peoples of this hemisphere. Tlazocamati.

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"Never Be Separated from the Americans"
Churchill and America Review
Another Fine Churchill Volume by Martin Gilbert
Gilbert's Notes
Churchill, with the passing of years, becomes ever larger

Churchill and America
Martin Gilbert
Manufacturer: Tantor Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 140010193X

Book Description

In this stirring book, Martin Gilbert tells the intensely human story of Winston Churchill's profound connection to America, a relationship that resulted in an Anglo-American alliance that has stood at the center of international relations for more than a century. Winston Churchill, whose mother, Jennie Jerome, the daughter of a leading American entrepreneur, was born in Brooklyn in 1854, spent much of his seventy adult years in close contact with the United States. In two world wars, his was the main British voice urging the closest possible cooperation with the United States. From before the First World War, he understood the power of the United States, the "gigantic boiler," which, once lit, would drive the great engine forward. During the First World War, Churchill was Britain's Minister of Munitions, working closely with his American counterpart Bernard Baruch to secure the material needed for the joint war effort, and argued with his colleagues that it would be a grave mistake to launch a renewed assault before the Americans arrived. Churchill's historic alliance with Franklin Roosevelt during the Second World War is brilliantly portrayed here with much new material, as are his subsequent ties with President Truman, which contributed to the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. In his final words to his Cabinet in 1955, on the eve of his retirement as Prime Minister, Churchill gave his colleagues this advice: "Never be separated from the Americans." In Churchill and America, Gilbert explores how Churchill's intense rapport with this country resulted in no less than the liberation of Europe and the preservation of European democracy and freedom. It also set the stage for theongoing alliance that has survived into the twenty-first century.

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"In this stirring book, Martin Gilbert tells the intensely human story of Winston Churchill's profound connection to America, a relationship that resulted in an Anglo-American alliance that has stood at the center of international relations for more than a century. Winston Churchill, whose mother, Jennie Jerome, the daughter of a leading American entrepreneur, was born in Brooklyn in 1854, spent much of his seventy adult years in close contact with the United States. In two world wars, his was the main British voice urging the closest possible cooperation with the United States. From before the First World War, he understood the power of the United States, the ""gigantic boiler,"" which, once lit, would drive the great engine forward. Sir Martin Gilbert was appointed Churchill's official biographer in 1968 and has ever since been collecting archival and personal documentation that explores every twist and turn of Churchill's relationship with the United States, revealing the golden thread running through it of friendship and understanding despite many setbacks and disappointments. Drawing on this extensive store of Churchill's own words -- in his private letters, his articles and speeches, and press conferences and interviews given to American journalists on his numerous journeys throughout the United States -- Gilbert paints a rich portrait of the Anglo-American relationship that began at the turn of the last century. Churchill first visited the United States in 1895, when he was twenty-one. During that first visit, he was invited to West Point and was fascinated by New York City. ""What an extraordinary people the Americans are!"" he wrote to his mother. ""This is a very great country, my dear Jack,"" he told his brother. During three subsequent visits before the Second World War, he traveled widely and formed a clear understanding of both the physical and moral strength of Americans. During the First World War, Churchill was Britain's Minister of Munitions, working closely with his American counterpart Bernard Baruch to secure the material needed for the joint war effort, and argued with his colleagues that it would be a grave mistake to launch a renewed assault before the Americans arrived. Churchill's historic alliance with Franklin Roosevelt during the Second World War is brilliantly portrayed here with much new material, as are his subsequent ties with President Truman, which contributed to the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. In his final words to his Cabinet in 1955, on the eve of his retirement as Prime Minister, Churchill gave his colleagues this advice: ""Never be separated from the Americans."" In Churchill and America, Gilbert explores how Churchill's intense rapport with this country resulted in no less than the liberation of Europe and the preservation of European democracy and freedom. It also set the stage for the ongoing alliance that has survived into the twenty-first century. "

Customer Reviews:

"Never Be Separated from the Americans".......2006-08-11

This is a brilliant book!

I love well-written history, especially about Winston Churchill, one of history's great and truly interesting figures.

In "Churchill and America" Martin Gilbert, Churchill's official biographer, proves himself, once again, a tremendously talented historian and writer. He describes Churchill and the British leader's love affair with America with passion and skill. He highlights Churchill's American roots (his mother was American) and his growing affection with the United States over the course of a life time.

No interesting detail is overlooked. George Washington was part of Churchill's family pedigree. Three of his ancestors fought against the British in the American Revolution. And Churchill himself was an honorary American citizen, an honor of which he was immensely proud.

Churchill first visited the United States in 1895, when he was twenty-one. "What an extraordinary people the Americans are!" he wrote to his mother. During both the First and Second World Wars he worked closely and effectively with his American counterparts to defeat Germany. His love and understanding of the United States and its people helped to ensure that the Allies emerged victorious, especially in WWII. His close relationship with FDR was seminal to that victory. He sought to ensure that Great Britain and America remained friends forever and cautioned his colleagues upon his retirement as Prime Minister: "Never be separated from the Americans."

Churchill and America Review.......2006-06-26

I am an avid reader of history. Martin Gilbert is an excellent writer who is the preeminent Churchill historian. As with all Gilbert books on Churchill, he adds new details to an extraordinary life for us normal folk. Churchill loved America and was anxious to see the US enter WWII for obvious reasons. Gilbert goes far beyond that period in this excellent history of Churchill. I recommend this book to anyone who loves history and enjoys the history of Churchill.

Another Fine Churchill Volume by Martin Gilbert.......2005-12-07

I don't think it would be possible for Sir Martin to write other than a superb book about Churchill if he tried. And this latest volume is no exception. The only thing better than reading it is to hear the author, as I did recently at the National Archives, speak about the book and take questions. One of the most remarkable things about Gilbert is that despite the fact he has written so extensively on WC, he still manages to add something new or a novel perspective.

I think if a single theme dominates the book, it is that WC fought a life-long battle against British anti-Americanism. In the mid-1930's, WC began using the expression "English-speaking Peoples," which was another device to build unity between the two countries. I had assumed the book would begin with WWI, but I was very wrong in that regard. Rather, Gilbert begins by looking at WC's parents, and particularly the American connections of his mother, Jenny Jerome. WC makes his first visit to America in 1895. Each visit thereafter (some 17 or so) is discussed, and an important bonus feature is an appendix containing maps of WC's various U.S. travels.

But the book is about far more than visits. It is about the manifold way WC interacted with Americans over nearly 70 years, sometimes to his benefit, other times resulting in frustration. For example, WC always maintained that the U.S. refusal to enter the League of Nations played a major role in the rise of Nazism and the need to fight a second great war. There were also constant negotiations during and after both wars relative to British debt and the means of repayment. Gilbert is particularly effective in discussing the 1930's period when the European war was about to commence and how WC interacted with FDR in trying to secure necessary materials and induce the U.S. to join in the battle. The discussion of the "special link" between FDR and WC is acutely perceptive and much attention is devoted to it. A relationship full of affection and joint success, but also marred by fundamental disagreements, such as the priority of the cross-Channel invasion and whether Ike should race to beat the Russians to Berlin.

The points of increasing stress between WC and the U.S. are interesting to say the least. Among the most pressing issues were: (a) how to treat Stalin; (b) intervening in Greece; (c) the puzzle of Poland; and (d) the priority of taking Prague. Always, there are disputes about the enormous wartime and postwar British debt and whether the Americans were trying to "skin" the Brits. There is no doubt that Churchill paid a steep price at home for his heavy reliance upon the "special relationship," and he also exasperated subsequent presidents Truman and Ike. Nonetheless, this is almost a love story--Churchill and his dedication to Anglo-American interests and dominance.

Gilbert's Notes.......2005-12-03

Not a book for the person seeking to investigate the sweep of Winston Churchill's grand and worthy life. Instead, it is a plodding factual history of almost every aspect of his interaction with the United States. Sir Martin does not provide much in the way of interpretation nor does he very often cite the views of others towards Mr. Churchill's pro-American policies; almost all is mined directly from the written articles, letters, cables, or speeches of Winston Churchill.

If he ever mentioned America, it is likely in this book. I can not imagine people from other countries enjoying this particular effort. And, I think a great many here will find this book, with its repetitious statements of the vital need for a close relationship between the two countries, deadening after a full reading.

Churchill, with the passing of years, becomes ever larger.......2005-11-18

Winston Churchill was a remarkable man and Martin Gilbert, Churchill's official biographer, has spent at least thirty-six years chronicling the great man's life.

Recounting the connection(s) between a British citizen and the United States might make thin gruel for anyone other than Churchill. But it was Churchill's perceptions and obvious love for America that may have saved the world or at least Europe from generations of tyranny.

Churchill's first visit to the United States occurred in 1895. Even at 21, because of his family, Churchill was introduced to the powerful of the day. Five years later Churchill was being handsomely compensated for lecturing across the United States. In an era before broadcast radio and television, Churchill was a celebrity known for his reporting and heroism.

A few years later, Churchill was a member of the British government, working closely with his American counterparts on aspects of strategy against the common WWI enemy.

America, always America. Churchill correctly foresaw and understood the growing power and influence of the United States in the world. He cultivated his relationships with powerful Americans and was a frequent visitor to the US. During the 1930s, Churchill was one of the few who saw the need to confront Hitler, a stance that left him a political outcast until the opportunity for peace had passed by and Churchill became a wartime Prime Minister.

It is during this period that the fullness of Churchill's love for the United States and his belief in its power and capabililities becomes clear. Churchill knew that Britain could not survive without US involvement in the European war. America, at the time, manifested the same political blindness it would evidence again over Vietnam and Iraq: a refusal to confront evil. Churchill's popularity in America, built over the previous four decades; his writings; his outright appeals to the decency of the American people and, of course, his capacity for establishing productive relationships with Americans such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bernard Baruch. Gen. George Marshall all helped to bring the United States around to Churchill's thinking.

Churchill was far more than a merely decent man. He believed in freedom, though his idea of freedom had more than a bit to do withd nationality: some people simply weren't fully ready for freedom in Churchill's eyes. But America and the United Kingdom shared a special relationship and should, because of their common beliefs, essentially rule the world in order to make it a better place for all. Churchill was an idealist and this shows in his voluminous correspondence with various Americans.

There is a huge amount of detail in this volume. In lesser hands than Gilbert's, there might be a risk of boredom or lost direction. But Gilbert never fails. He paints what is a love story between Churchill and America, of a man whose love for freedom had him standing against legions of detractors. To read Churchill's correspondence with Americans and his discussions about America and Americans is moving. Fortunately we have a few politicians who, not as literate as Churchill, still walk in his footsteps, though they are mere shadows of the man.

Gilbert's "Churchill And America" is indispensable for any admirer of Churchill, student of history, those we want to know we have arrived where we are --- or those who simply want to read of an important aspect in the live of one of the greatest men to have ever walked the face of the Earth.

Jerry

The Road to Victory: the Voices of World War II 1939 to VE Day, 1945

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THE ROAD TO VICTORY- CBC unheard Classic

The Road to Victory: the Voices of World War II 1939 to VE Day, 1945
Gerald Noxon , Franklin D. Roosevelt , and Winston Churchill
Manufacturer: Scenario Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1894003365

Book Description

THE ROAD TO VICTORY
A Dramatized Documentary of World War II
Originally Broadcast May 8, 1945 on the CBC

This radio program is the story of W.W. II. Utilizing a mixture of excerpts of actual speeches and dramatizations it brings to life the attitudes of that time.

During World War II, one of the strongest threads that connected every citizen to global events was their radio. With this one-hour documentary, listeners are treated to some of the most stirring speeches of the day.

Listen to Roosevelt's speech that includes, "The Hand that held the dagger stuck it into the back of its neighbour….", Neville Chamberlain announcing war with Germany, Winston Churchill stating "…this was their finest hour…" plus many other prominent people of that era. The dramatized segments of this docudrama add elements that uniquely convey the feelings of civilians and soldiers during the tumultuous times leading up to and during the war.

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THE ROAD TO VICTORY- CBC unheard Classic.......2003-10-12

THE ROAD TO VICTORY
A Dramatized Documentary of World War II
Originally Broadcast May 8, 1945 on CBC
This radio program is the story of W.W. II. Utilizing a mixture of excerpts of actual speeches and dramatizations it brings to life the attitudes of that time.
During World War II, one of the strongest threads that connected every citizen to global events was their radio. With this one-hour documentary, listeners are treated to some of the most stirring speeches of the day.
Listen to Roosevelt's speech that includes, "The Hand that held the dagger stuck it into the back of its neighbour....", Neville Chamberlain announcing war with Germany, Winston Churchill stating "...this was their finest hour..." plus many other prominent people of that era. The dramatized segments of this docudrama add elements that uniquely convey the feelings of civilians and soldiers during the tumultuous times leading up to and during the war.
Producer : Andrew Allan
Writer: Gerald Noxon
Conductor/ Composer : Lucio Agostini
Actors : John Drainie, Headly Rainnie, Lorne Greene, Alan King
Speakers : H.D.G. Crerar, Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, King George VI, Matthew Halton

Doing Time: The Politics of Imprisonment (AK Press Audio)

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Doing Time: The Politics of Imprisonment (AK Press Audio)
Ward Churchill
Manufacturer: AK Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1902593472
Release Date: 2005-04-12

Product Description

Greetings
Prisons and the Emergence of the State
Law serves order
Order and Race
State Reponse to Resistance
A Case Study: LAPD, Ramparts Division
The Politicization of Street Organizations
Counter Intelligence Program: Illegal Inception
COINTELPRO and Politically Objectionable Citizens
The Key Agitator Index
The Inventory of Techniques: Methods of Neutralization
Superfluous Humans and A Culture of Imprisonment
Rates of Incarceration
A Slave Economy
Our Common Enemy: The State

Format: CD

One Christmas in Washington: Roosevelt And Churchill Forge the Grand Alliance

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TEN DAYS IN HISTORY VIVIDLY RECALLED

One Christmas in Washington: Roosevelt And Churchill Forge the Grand Alliance
David J. Bercuson , and Holger H. Herwig
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0786176288

Product Description

One Christmas in Washington is a fascinating, in-depth look at one of the most crucial periods in modern history: the Washington war conference of 1941, when two proud and accomplished statesmen struggled to overcome biases, suspicion, and hubris to create what turned out to be the war-winning alliance.

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TEN DAYS IN HISTORY VIVIDLY RECALLED.......2005-12-12

With his opening words, "Christmas Eve 1941 broke cloudy and rainy in Washington, D.C. Since the dastardly Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor seventeen days earlier.....," listeners became privy to, no, almost a party to the momentous meeting between Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. It lasted only ten days, but those were days that gave birth to the Grand Alliance and paved the way to victory in war some four years later.

Voice performer Lloyd James narrates the story crisply and distinctly. His voice is unaccented, pleasant to hear. There is no need for the slightest bit of theatricality on his part as the events and the personalities involved provide more than enough drama. It is as if he is an observer, removed from the fears and emotions of those days, simply telling listeners what occurred. And, that is as it should be.

History has well recorded the results of this conference, which went by the code name ARCADIA, yet listeners will be fascinated by the intimate details of those days in the White House as unearthed by Bercuson and Herwig through diaries, meeting notes, letters and minutes.

We're reminded that a meeting between Roosevelt and Churchill might be subtitled "The clash of the titans." Both were world leaders with healthy egos and wary of one another, yet they worked together to hammer out this agreement despite the posturing of other officials in attendance and a less than warm relationship between Churchill and Eleanor Roosevelt.

It will come as scant surprise to most that Churchill could be a challenging house guest. We hear, "The White House was a changed place with Churchill in residence. Simply put, he turned it into the staff headquarters of the British Empire." Opinions of him among the White House staff were divided. Mrs. Nesbitt, reputedly the worst cook in White House history, had done little to please FDR. However, she took great pleasure and pains to serve special meals during Churchill's visit determining that their guest had a "poor-colored and hungry" appearance.

On the other hand, Lillian Rogers Parks, a maid, caused a ruckus upon learning that Churchill always needed a hot water bottle in bed, and had his Scotland Yard bodyguard inject mice with samples from his cigars. If the mouse didn't fall over dead, Churchill would smoke them.

It is such observations that make "One Christmas In Washington"vivid and colorful, it's a remarkable piece of history related in intimate detail. Don't miss it!

- Gail Cooke

Pacifism and Pathology in the American Left (AK Press Audio)

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Pacifism and Pathology in the American Left (AK Press Audio)
Ward Churchill
Manufacturer: AK Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1902593588

Book Description

Liberal activism often embraces non-violent resistance in response to state-sponsored terrorism at home and abroad. In this emotional critique, Churchill urges activists to support any and all tactics in order to stop the tyranny of the state. Churchill argues that the terrorist attack of 9/11 disrupted U.S. global capitalism more radically than any peaceful protest the Left has been able to organize. Recorded at a packed and fired up AK Press warehouse in Oakland.

Ward Churchill is professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Colorado/Boulder, co-director of the American Indian Movement of Colorado, and a National Spokesperson for the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee.

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