The River War [Paperback]

Sir Winston S. Churchill (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1598184253 | ISBN-13: 978-1598184259 | Publication Date: June 1, 2005

Here Sir Winston S. Churchill -- the same man who would go on to lead the free world through its darkest hours during the second world war -- tells the tale of the Anglo-Egyptian reconquest of the Sudan. It isn't just an account of the battles and the politics; it's the story of the destiny of the people of the region: Churchill with his powerful insight tells how the war changed the fates of England, Egypt, and the Arabian peoples in northeast Africa.

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: Alan Rodgers Books (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598184253
• ISBN-13: 978-1598184259
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #126,061 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > History > Africa > North Africa

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A timeless book, about a war against Islam, April 11, 2010

By 

Dalton C. Rocha (Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The River War (Paperback)

I read online this good book, writen more than 100 years ago, by famous British Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill or just Sir Winston Churchill. This book is about a war between a then powerfull industrial nation - England - and an Islamic country, Sudan.
About Islam itself, Sir Winston Churchill writes in this book these sentences: "How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property - either as a child, a wife, or a concubine - must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen: all know how to die but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome."
About the war itsef, again in this book, Sir Winston Churchill wrote these sentences in this book: "There are many people in England, and perhaps elsewhere, who seem to be unable to contemplate military operations for clear political objects, unless they can cajole themselves into the belief that their enemy are utterly and hopelessly vile. To this end the Dervishes, from the Mahdi and the Khalifa downwards, have been loaded with every variety of abuse and charged with all conceivable crimes. This may be very comforting to philanthropic persons at home; but when an army in the field becomes imbued with the idea that that the enemy are vermin who cumber the earth, instances of barbarity may easily be the outcome. This unmeasured condemnation is moreover as unjust as it is dangerous and unnecessary... We are told that the British and Egyptian armies entered Omdurman to free the people from the Khalifa's yoke. Never were rescuers more unwelcome."
Great art doesn't gets older. And this book has many lessons to tell:
1-Islam is a war's fate.
2-Misery, ignorance and hate against industrial powers aren't a problem to Islamic rulers. They are in fact, solutions. More misery and more ignorance brings more Islam.
3-High technology, discipline and planning are the key to defeat, Islam in a war. Fanatism alone doesn't brigs victory to Islam; in fact it can leads to a terrible defeat.
4-On the average, women are even more Islamic than their men.
The Islamics described in this book were more courageous, than the average talibans of today; but they were defeated, even so.
Radical Islam is back to Sudan, since decades ago. Mahdism was defeated under military terms, but returned because of political and religious facts.