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Churchill's Empire: The World That Made Him and the World He Made

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Much of the white, English-speaking world has come to regard Winston Churchill with a reverence afforded few other leaders in the past century. A good deal of that praise was certainly earned by Churchill but Richard Toye's excellent new book, "Churchill's Empire", offers a broader look at the Prime Minister....his upbringing and early views...and his development as a leader and a forceful politician. It is a thoughtful and well-balanced book.

Toye explores the early years of Churchill's life and the remarkable thing about the youthful Winston was how agile he was as a politician. Modifying one's views is hardly a recipe for failure and Winston managed to charm, seduce, rail against and turn off many of his contemporaries, all the while forging a career that had more than a few starts and stops. The author really hits his stride when Churchill becomes Prime Minister and uses his experience to better direct the war effort. His warning against Hitler and Nazism helped to propel his reputation as he sought to guide Britain, and indeed the entire empire, through the war. How Churchill balanced all these competing interests is a tribute to his style and ability. One of the more fascinating aspects of Churchill during the war, by the way, is how he dealt with the "Dominions" and their respective leaders...something not covered in every reading of Churchill.

Having much personal dislike for Indians and other people of color, Churchill, nonetheless, had to deal with Gandhi and the many leaders of his far-flung empire. The closing sections of the book, wonderfully covered by Toye, have to do with the post-war breakup of the British Empire and Churchill's contributions to and feelings about them.

Winston Churchill led one of the more remarkable lives of the twentieth century and he landed in the right place at the right time for his rendezvous with history. Richard Toye reminds us that Churchill was far from perfect, but gives compelling reasons why this is so. "Churchill's Empire" is a fine book and I highly recommend it.

If it is true that Abraham Lincoln is the most written-about American president, then it seems logical to assume that Winston Churchill is the most-written about British prime minister. (Which is all the more impressive given that Britain has had an "official" prime minister since 1721.) Not only is the list of books written about (or by) Churchill seemingly inexhaustible, in recent years there has also been a rash of documentaries, films and biopics. Everything from his epic career in the public arena to what he ate (or drank) for breakfast, the way he treated his valet and rehearsed his "impromptu" parliamentary statements, seems to have been covered. So why would we need yet another book?

In fairness to the author, Richard Toye, he does not lay claim to writing an original work. As the author of a previous work on Churchill ("LLoyd George and Churchill: Rivals for Greatness") he knows he treads on well-traveled ground. He even states in the prologue that "this is the first attempt to provide a comprehensive treatment of Churchill's relationship with the Empire within a single volume." Does this mean that if one is too pressed for time to read Martin Gilbert or Churchill himself, that this book (at 300 pages, with 100 pages of notes and bibliography) will suffice?

The short answer to that question is "yes". The book is tightly-written (maybe a little too much so) and if it had been a PhD thesis, would have to have been awarded an A for organization and thorough research. No statement Churchill ever made on the topic seems to be too trivial to be analyzed, and other influential people's views on Churchill's opinions are also comprehensively laid out. Toye does a really solid job of dissecting what Churchill said vs what he did, and showing how his complex way of dealing with an extraordinarily complex topic at a complicated time in history changed the course of the Empire.

There are also, and I happen to think too few, marvelous anecdotes and "humanizing" episodes (Churchill's detention by the Boers during the Boer War being one of them)of Churchill's personal and professional life, but that would not be a reason to pick up this book when so many others about Churchill the Man are available. The reason to read this book is, as the author stated himself, to get the condensed version of Churchill's views and attitudes to his rapidly changing world.

I have read several books and seen documentaries about Winston Churchill.
In CHURCHUILL'S EMPIRE, Richard Toye, the author, does not pretend to be writing an original work; it is nevertheless a fascinating work. He elaborates and helps to understand the complex personality of Churchill the man, the politician, the writer, and the Statesman, in a rapidly changing world. The well researched (107 pages of Notes) book provides a comprehensive description of Churchill's relationship with the British Empire; his contribution to the consolidation of that Empire and its dismantling. Churchill's alternating attitudes are attributed to his conscience and political conformity. Balancing these characteristics is a tribute to his ability. Richard Toye skillfully analyzes Churchill the contradictory man.

It is disappointing to read that Churchill did not believe in racial equality. He disliked "African savages" and Asians. He characterized Mahatma Gandhi as a subversive fanatic. Churchill's financial extravagance or smoking and drinking habits were disgraceful. Still, Churchill' moral rectitude surpassed his prejudicial views; his virtues outweighed his shortcomings. In 1941, Churchill co-signed with Roosevelt the Atlantic Charter, reaffirming faith in the dignity of each human being and propagating a host of democratic principles. Winston Churchill understood- more than any other leader in the democratic world - the menace of Nazism. He believed that war is sometimes unavoidable and he would not accept anything less than victory over fascism, the forces of evil. In May 1940, Churchill confronted a cabinet revolt led by Lord Halifax, who wanted him to get out of the war and make a deal with Hitler in the wake of Dunkirk debacle and the crumbling of the French and Belgian armies. Churchill told the British people "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat!" History proved him to be right in his determination to defeat Nazi Germany despite the opposition of many and the limited resources at his command. To quote Shakespeare, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them." All may be attributed to Churchill.

Winston Churchill must have been one of the most dazzlingly complex figures in history. In his long political career he wandered from the Conservatives to the Liberals then back to the Conservatives again, aggravating the leadership of both parties with contradictory stances on most of the important issues, while maintaining an inward consistency based on the belief that he was acting for the best for the British people. Nowhere is the complexity better seen than in Churchill's attitude towards the British Empire. Richard Toye ably examines this brilliant and contradictory man in this new and fascinating work.

Churchill was born in the heyday of the Victorian Era into a semi-dysfunctional family that held both political and social leadership within Britain. He trained as an army officer because his father didn't think him smart enough for University, and launched himself on a career in journalism and politics in his early twenties. His first foray onto the public stage came as a result of his newspaper descriptions of a military campaign in Africa. Using the notoriety this gave him to enter politics, within a few years Churchill was one of the leaders of the Liberal Government before and during World War I. In the 1920s he jumped ship to the Conservatives, holding high office for a time before being sidelined during the 1930s. Then in 1939 he was recalled to office and led the British through World War II.

Churchill's views on the British Empire tended towards the romantic and reflected the Victorian age in which he had been born. But he could also be realistic and hardnosed about sacrificing Imperial concerns if they seemed to threaten British interests. His racial attitudes were typical for a British man of his time and station, but he could also be surprisingly tolerant and open minded at times. Certain issues dogged him throughout his long career, like the question of how to deal with Ireland and above all what to do about India. At the end of his career he had to deal with a rising tide of demands for freedom for Britain's African and Asian colonies, and while he didn't care for the idea at all he acceded to it with a surprising amount of grace.

Richard Toye writes well and is able to render the most complicated issues of pre-World War I British diplomacy clear to modern readers. He does a wonderful job of presenting the policies of British, American, and colonial leaders and Churchill's reactions to them. As a result the reader finishes the book freshly aware of what a mercurial, idiosyncratic, but highly impressive leader Churchill was.

At some point in 1942,Churchill declared that he did not become a prime minister to preside over the dismantling of the British Empire. His views about the many peoples that were living under the British were well-known. Racist and derogatory terms about the "African savages", Asians and Indians made up his many speeches. For him,Gandhi was a subversive fanatic,while the white man was superior to any other race on earth,thus his Anglo-Saxon superiority mode of thinking.
Although his greatness,Churchill was also a racist who thought that the British Empire was destined to live forever. Mackenzie King,the Canadian prime minister,wrote that the "British Empire and the Commonwealth are a religion to him". Churchill dismissed the notion of Indian independence,claiming that the Indians were not a nation at all.
Toye has written a balanced book about a controversial leader, and does not condemn or praise him. He lets the reader pass the final judgement.

Throughout Winston Churchill's long life and career, the British Empire remained front and center in his mind. He was a son of the Empire, a defender of the Empire and a product of the Empire. This book tells the story of Churchill's life from the perspective of his involvement with the Empire as a soldier and politician.

As a young army officer, Churchill served in India. As a newspaper correspondent he spent time in South Africa during the Boer War during which he was taken prisoner. His daring escape made him a British national hero. His reporting on the Cuban rebellion shaped his view of the rebels as well as that of his readers. Upon turning to politics Churchill soon held ministerial positions that involved other members of the Empire, especially his service as First Lord of the Admiralty. His responsibility for sending Anzac forces to the disaster at Gallipoli would remain an irritation in the Antipodes for the rest of his career. During his World War II prime ministership he was in constant negotiations with Dominions leaders, including his friend Jan Smuts of South Africa, Mackenzie King of Canada and John Curtin of Australia. Vowing not to preside over the dissolution of the British Empire, Churchill was in opposition when the crucial issues over independence for India were resolved. Upon return to power in 1951 he did preside over evolving relationships between Britain, the Dominions and colonies.

Through this work author Richard Toye provides the reader with surveys of multiple fields. We learn much about Churchill, but also gain perspectives on the Boer War, the development of South Africa, World Wars I and II, the evolving relations between Britain, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, the rise of Israel and tensions between the Mother Country and Third World nations pursuing their own destinies. Not an unmitigated paean, it calls Churchill for his shortcomings while crediting his vision and accomplishments. The writing holds the reader's interest from start to finish. For one with a familiarity with Churchill, this is just the work to broaden and deepen understanding of Churchill and his world.

Most disappointing review of Churchill's life & works. Presumes far too much prior knowledge of the subtleties of British politics and local history. I know little more after finishing it than when I started.

A quick overview of Winston Churchill's long career with the focus on his interactions with the lands that were once part of the British Empire.

The British professor Richard Toye's book seems accurate but somewhat superficial when one considers the complexities of such big issues as home rule for Ireland, the Jewish state in Palestine, the racial divide in South Africa, and the eventual partition of India. A first time reader about Winston Churchill or one lacking in last century's historical background may feel somewhat lost. However, other readers, especially those more familiar with Mr. Churchill's life story, may be inspired to do further in-depth reading about any number of the issues touched upon that still reverberate in today's world.

(One Hollywood story on p. 307/308 with foul language seems to me a pointless addition to the epilogue of this book.)

Mr. Churchill was a great man, but a man of his times--especially in his attitude toward those other than white and less than civilized.

i did not become her majesty prime minister to see the brekout of the empire . churchill said . his refusal to grant dominion status in the thirties is typical . nevertheless he had to give way this book explain the story of a man who saw the empire at his zenith , and saw it fades away. informative book .

I have read most of the war stories about the leaders. Churchill rates up on top with Eisenhauer.