The Great Republic: A History of America (Modern Library Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Winston S. Churchill (Author)

Book Description

Series: Modern Library Paperbacks | Publication Date: November 7, 2000

Sir Winston Churchill's The Great Republic consists in large part of a magnificent narrative history of America, culled by his grandson and namesake from the Nobel Prize-winning, four-volume A History of the English Speaking People. Historian and journalist Winston S. Churchill has added his grandfather's noteworthy speeches and essays on twentieth-century America, so that The Great Republic stands as the definitive state-ment of Churchill's thoughts on the history of the country he so admired and fondly called the "Great Republic." Arguably as gifted a historian as he was a statesman, only Sir Winston Churchill could have written a book that captures America's history, destiny, and character with such brilliance.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Drawn from uncollected speeches and articles as well as from the author's four-volume History of the English-Speaking Peoples, this anthology of the great statesman Winston Churchill's writings on American history highlights both its author's vigorous prose style and his commitment to the idea that the United States and the United Kingdom shared not only a common past but a common destiny.

As a young man, writes his namesake and grandson in his introduction, Churchill toured some of the battlefields of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and it is in writing of these two epochs and the expansionist years between them that Churchill is strongest. Of particular interest are his remarks on the ideological origins of the colonial revolution in such documents as the Magna Carta and the teachings of the Puritan elders, although, as an eminently practical politician, Churchill gives attention to less lofty causes of dissent--for instance, the English crown's logistical difficulty in governing an overseas empire with ideas of governance and resources of its own. Churchill's reflections on the Second World War are also of much value, and he provides an insider's view of the defeat of Nazism and the birth of the cold war.

Devotees of Churchill's work will not find much new here, but readers approaching him for the first time will find this volume to be a fine introduction to Churchill's writing and thought. --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up-Embedded in the four volumes and 2000-odd pages of Winston Churchill's Nobel Prize for Literature-winning A History of the English Speaking Peoples is a magnificent narrative history of the United States. Churchill's grandson, has brought together and connected the American material.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Modern Library; 2001 Modern Library pbk. ed edition (November 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375754407
• ISBN-13: 978-0375754401
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #566,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The country of the century, by the man of the century!, October 6, 1999

By 

John Bilboquet (Las Vegas, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Republic: A History of America (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book on the Greatest Country of the century by the Greatest Man of the Century. I really enjoyed this book as it gave me an in depth account in one volume of the struggles and conflicts Americans had to go through to get to where they are today.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Is The Great Republic Great?, October 17, 2000

By 

Proxlie (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Republic: A History of America (Hardcover)

The Great Republic is essentially Churchill's historical overview of America contained within his History of the English-Speaking Peoples. Normally acknowledged as one of the great political statesman of his, perhaps any, age, Churchill was also quite the historian. His complete works span over 50 volumes of material. These excerpts of his larger work provide us with a unique perspective on American history from an alternative vantage point, although not entirely foreign. Churchill was, in fact, intimately connected with Amercia. As the introduction provided by his grandson (appropriately named) Winston S. Churchill reveals, three of Churchill's ancestors were actually passengers on the Mayflower. He had even more recent connections through his mother who was an American. Churchill was a great admirer of what he affectionately called 'the Great Republic' (thus, the title), and so his endearment of our country is also the result of embracing his own heritage.

Only half of this edition is taken from Churchill's original history. Obviously, the work has a Euro-centrist perspective of America and its events. But this is part of its unique charm, added with the fact of the man who had written it is highly regarded world-wide. The span of history covered begins with the Europlean effort to find alternative routes to the East Indies, resulting in America's discovery. It ends at the beginning of the twentieth century having little to say of these times. Because American history was not the focus of the original work, much history must be expected by the reader to be left out. The themes discussed are almost entirely political, as one would expect. The central focus of our history it turns out is our Civil War. It seems that it is not only historians in America who have such a fascination with this epic. More emphasis is given this historic confrontation than that of our Revolutionary War (after all, what Englishman would glory in that story). Nevertheless, the greatness of Churchill as an historian is fully evident here.

The latter half is a collection of Churchill's writings and speeches regarding America covering a span of over 50 years. Here we find how America was viewed by the prominent politian. He is certainly credible enough to have formed an opinion of our American customs and habits considering his background and his numerous trips to the New World. The topics vary covering our eating habits and social customs to our landscapes to our common language and heritage to opinoins on Prohibition and War. These, or course, act as a history of America in the first half of this last century. On the whole, The Great Republic is an exceptional and brief read in American history.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Great Republic is great fun., April 7, 2000

By 

JOHN GODFREY (Milwaukee ,WI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Great Republic: A History of the United States (Audio Cassette)

The best part of the audio was the telling of The Revolutionary War from the losers without bitterness but with humor. The coming together of the United States & Britain was excellent. Great Britain, at the end of the 19th century was the greatest power on earth yet had no alliances with any major power. It really didn"t take long for the two most powerful English speaking nations in the world to warm to each other. It is an important subject that has not been covered entensively in American History books.