| Cohen, Ronald I. Bibliography of the works by Sir Winston Churchill. Continuum International Publishers Group , 2006. 3v indexes afp ISBN 0-8264-7235-4, $990.00 . Reviewed in 2006oct CHOICE. |
| In this superb three-volume bibliography, Cohen (a lawyer and film producer) meticulously examines the Churchill canon from Churchill's earliest publications as a student at Harrow to the most recent new editions of his books. Arranged in seven sections, the exhaustive bibliography covers books, pamphlets, and leaflets (including every edition, printing, and issue for each title); contributions to other works (including forewords, prefaces, chapters); articles, reviews, and news reports; Churchill's published speeches in book and serial publications respectively; and works by other authors that include other forms of a Churchill contribution (including letters, quoted conversations, letters to the editor). Government documents and memoranda written by Churchill are excluded. Within each section the entries are arranged chronologically. For each entry Cohen provides full bibliographic detail including extensive annotations and notes. The three indexes to the bibliography are arranged by volume title, article title, and subject. Cohen's work will supplant Frederick Woods's A Bibliography of the Works of Sir Winston Churchill (2nd rev. ed., CH, May'70) as the standard in the field. While extremely expensive, this bibliography is nonetheless crucial for all libraries with specialized Winston Churchill collections. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. -- B. P. Tolppanen, Eastern Illinois University |
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Choice )
From the foreword:
"a high point -and surely a peak- of Churchill bibliographic research...in every way the Mount Everest of the subject."
(Sir Martin Gilbert )
"Bibliographer Cohen does not just update Frederick Woods' Bibliography of the Workds of Winston Churchill, the standared reference work for collectors, dealers and scholars since its first edition in 1963: he makes Woods obsolete... Ronald Cohen is the first scholar to capture the full scope of Churchill's literary activities--not only his many books, speeches, and articles, but the thousands of letters, war despatched, memoranda, and lesser items he produced during his long lifetime. This is a model of how a bibliography should be written: with meticulous attention to detail, exhaustive research, a deep respect for the subject, and a literary flair of its own. It was a long time in the making, but it was worth the wait."
-The Finest Hour
(Christopher Bell )
"A cumulative assessment of this work must conclude that it is a monument to bibliographic documentation and an indispensable source of bibliographic resources for those desiring detailed study and analysis of Churchill's life and career...This work is highly recommended."
(
American Reference Books Annual )
"The first of three volumes begins with tributes from the two people living who are most closely associated with Churchill, a foreword by the official biographer Sir Martin Gilbert and a brief introduction by The Lady Soames [Sir Winston Churchill's daughter, Mary]. Gilbert refers to his experience with the predecessors of Cohen's bibliography (those of Frederick Woods and Bernard Farmer) and he generously, if a little ruefully, acknowledges the value of documents that had eluded his own tenacious archival research but not that of Ronald Cohen...Ronald Cohen's achievement is magnificent." —Leslie Howsam, Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada, Fall 2007
(Leslie Howsam )
From the foreword:
"a high point -and surely a peak- of Churchill bibliographic research...in every way the Mount Everest of the subject."
(, )
"Bibliographer Cohen does not just update Frederick Woods' Bibliography of the Workds of Winston Churchill, the standared reference work for collectors, dealers and scholars since its first edition in 1963: he makes Woods obsolete... Ronald Cohen is the first scholar to capture the full scope of Churchill's literary activities--not only his many books, speeches, and articles, but the thousands of letters, war despatched, memoranda, and lesser items he produced during his long lifetime. This is a model of how a bibliography should be written: with meticulous attention to detail, exhaustive research, a deep respect for the subject, and a literary flair of its own. It was a long time in the making, but it was worth the wait."
-The Finest Hour
(, )
“A cumulative assessment of this work must conclude that it is a monument to bibliographic documentation and an indispensable source of bibliographic resources for those desiring detailed study and analysis of Churchill’s life and career…This work is highly recommended.”
(, )
"The first of three volumes begins with tributes from the two people living who are most closely associated with Churchill, a foreword by the official biographer Sir Martin Gilbert and a brief introduction by The Lady Soames [Sir Winston Churchill’s daughter, Mary]. Gilbert refers to his experience with the predecessors of Cohen's bibliography (those of Frederick Woods and Bernard Farmer) and he generously, if a little ruefully, acknowledges the value of documents that had eluded his own tenacious archival research but not that of Ronald Cohen…Ronald Cohen's achievement is magnificent." —Leslie Howsam, Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada, Fall 2007
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