Customer Reviews

Churchill's Military Histories: A Rhetorical Study

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Winston S. Churchill was a prolific writer, and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1953. According to the official Web site for the Nobel Prize, the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Winston Churchill "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values." This book takes a detailed look at Churchill's military histories.

In addition to a brief introductory chapter (Chapter 1) and a concluding chapter (Chapter 7), the book contains five chapters on Churchill's military histories. Chapter 2 deals with Churchill's early works on wars during the reign of Queen Victoria ("The Story of the Malakand Field Force"; "The River War"; and "The Boer War"). Chapter 3 deals with "The World Crisis," Churchill's history about the First World War. Chapter 4 deals with "Marlborough: His Life and Times," Churchill's history about his famous ancestor, John Churchill, Lord Marlborough, who fought successfully against the armies of King Louis XIV of France. Chapter 5 deals with "A History of the English-Speaking Peoples," Churchill's history of England and the United States. Chapter 6 deals with "The Second World War," Churchill's six-volume history of the World War II.

The author contends that Churchill's military histories contain recurring themes about self-government, political leadership, military virtues, heroism, sacrifice, and perseverance in the face of adversity. The author supports his thesis with numerous quotes from various works by Churchill, an interesting analysis of Churchill's writings, and references to some historical works by authors other than Churchill. Although the author examines Churchill's use of rhetoric, he does not make any discernable comparison between classical rhetoric and Churchill's use of rhetoric.

This is a scholarly book, but it is written in a fairly readable style. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Winston Churchill, British and European history, military history, or historiography.