Never Give In: The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches [Hardcover]

Winston S. Churchill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 2003

inston Churchill was the most eloquent and expressive statesman of his time. It was as an orator that Churchill became most completely alive, and it was through his oratory that his words made their greatest and most enduring impact. While the definitive collection of Churchill's speeches fills eight volumes, here for the first time, his grandson, Winston S. Churchill, has put together a personal selection of his favorite speeches in a single, indispensable volume. He has chosen from his grandfather's entire output and thoughtfully introduces each selection. The book covers the whole of Churchill's life, from the very first speech he made to those of his last days. It includes some of Churchill's best-known speeches as well as some that have never before been published in popular form. Today, Sir Winston Churchill is revered as an indomitable figure and his wisdom is called upon again and again. Reading these speeches, from the perspective of a new century, we can once again see Sir Winston Churchill's genius and be moved and inspired by his words.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Who can forget the words "We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!" They were uttered in 1940 by one of the 20th century's greatest orators, Winston Churchill, eager to spur on his countrymen in their fight against Nazi Germany. Now the great man's grandson has gathered Churchill's most memorable words, spanning more than half a century, in times of war and in times of peace. Part of Churchill's gift, his grandson writes, was his ability to address his radio listeners "not as unseen masses but as individuals-he envisioned his audience as a couple and their family gathered around their coal fire in the cottage-home." Churchill the editor introduces each speech with a bit of historical context and scene-setting. Any admirer of Churchill's will want to add this volume to their library.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Here's an economical alternative to the eight-volume collection of Winston Churchill's public speeches published in 1974. This one-volume condensation of the great man's declamations, done by his namesake and descendant, arranges the oratory according to Churchill's career path: those delivered as a parvenu politician before World War I; as the singed scapegoat for the Dardanelles fiasco; as a government minister in the 1920s; while out of office in the 1930s, when his warnings of the Nazi menace went unheeded. This edition's focus is inevitably the defiant Churchill of 1940, promising naught but blood, toil, tears, and sweat; vowing never to surrender; and apostrophizing the few in the Battle of Britain. Although the editor pays homage to Churchill through his selections and commentary, he also makes sure to include unflattering, controversial speeches. The whole provides context for the Churchillian phrases most see only in excerpts. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 560 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1 edition (October 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401300561
• ISBN-13: 978-1401300562
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #506,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( C ) > Churchill, Winston
  • #96 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > U.K. Prime Ministers

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Needed today, November 26, 2003

By 

Susan Norton (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Never Give In: The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches (Hardcover)

As a politician Churchill made some mistakes, and he was not always consistant, but he was right pretty often, and right on most of the big things. Today we need the qualities of courage and determination against all odds that he projected, as well as his great vision of history. One can imagine how decisively he would have dealt with the war on terrorism had he been alive today. He combined valour and a high romantic vision of nobility and of the worth of our civilization's heritage with (most of the time) a firm foundation and framework of common sense and appreciation of what was and was not possible. Though he loved military pageantry he cared for humanity and did much more than most to save it in a dark Century. These speeches are an important part of the heritage of the besieged West, and a tool-kit to aid clear and decisive thinking in toubled and confusing times. The book deserves its high place on Amazon's sales list. Reading it is a tonic for the spirit.

Finally, reading great chunks of Churchill is the best thing for improving one's own English style that I know. His prose is a delight to read, and a painless lesson in the effective use of words.

79 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not great, November 5, 2003

By 

Seth J. Frantzman (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Never Give In: The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches (Hardcover)

Originally this book seemed to have high hopes. Churchill was simply the best, most eloquent moving speaker of the 20ths century. Anyone who has listened to his speeches on tape will agree that his metered tone, angry growl and twisting of words like Nazi into 'Nazziiii' will move you to tears and to want to follow him. This book is a compilation of his `greatest speeches'. Unfortunately the volume does not emphasize his BEST speeches, namely the ones he made from 1938-1941. The author, his grandson, should have spent more time introducing the really famous speeches and spent less time and space on the more marginal speeches which took place in 1942-44.

Churchill has always been remembered for three things; Warning Britain of impending war in the 30s, rallying the country when all seemed lost in 1940 and finally for warning the world of communism in the `iron curtain' speech. Although these important speeches are in this book its not easy to find them and they are jumbled in with speeches that are easily forgettable.

Its almost impossible to locate the `Never give in, never surrender' speech for which the book is named. Its even harder to locate the `fight on the beaches, fight in the hills' speech. Not quite as hard to find is the `finest hour' speech. Also hard to locate though is the `if a large part of our island should be occupied we shall retreat to our empire and our navy' portion of his famous 1940 speech. This essential line occurs in the end of a speech that is not introduced as being important, and yet this line was important in seeing Churchill's unending hatred and indomitable will to defeat Hitler, no matter the cost, a personality trait which probably saved western civilization from the Huns.

An important book, a great reference and a good gift. Its downfall is that the author didn't want to add much commentary. He must have figured readers would find the important speeches and statements themselves. But to someone who enjoys Churchill but is not familiar with when exactly his famous speeches occurred it will be hard to find his best one liners.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars courage and vision, November 19, 2003

By A Customer

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This review is from: Never Give In: The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches (Hardcover)

What strikes the reader most is this: WSC saw the moral dimension of political and economic events. I expected the eloquence and the courage; I didn't expect the insight and moral depth. So this becomes more than a collection of great speeches; more than a demonstration of the power of words used well; it shines as an example of the importance of the moral dimension of everyday events. Churchill saw that, and shared it with us all. This is a terrific book.