Customer Reviews

The Second World War (Chartwell Edition, 6 Volume Set)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Churchill's book is really astonishing, not only for the sheer size, but for the vast expand of knowledge displayed and the personal experience behind it. Churchill includes hundreds of documents and thus gives ample proof of what he writes. His strongest moments are his criticism of British appeasement policy and the account of 1940/41, where his will to survive and his pertinacity can still be felt through the pages. His personal experience is always there, though he refrains from giving his readers too many anecdotes. In spite of the fact the everything was written very shortly after the war, most things are quite accurate, though the pages on Nazi Germany are not always enlightened. But - being German - I have never felt any hatred towards my people as a whole and one can well join in with his disgust of Germany at that time. The book, or rather books, never bore. An absolute masterpiece of historical writing.

I started reading these six volumes during my military service in the 1960s, and have not been without them since. I have not only the hardcover edition, but picked up this paperback set also.

I've always felt the good side of Britain turning their collective backs to this great man after World War II, not returning him to office, was the greatest blessing of all. For to us that action directed him to write these volumes of war memories, and in my mind's eye can see him standing, for he always stood to do his later writings, with both cigar and whisky and soda firmly in hand. Revisiting his firm convicitions that right would eventually triumph over wrong, good over evil. Taking comfort that he almost alone, gave both voice and backbone to England during their darkest hour.

He always believed too in the myth that King Arthur would return during England's hour of greatest need, and his romantic side must have seen himself somewhat filling that role. He always said if Arthur did not exist, he should have.

From his earliest, youthful days in office at the turn of the 20th century, he always had a gift for both good writing and good speech. His weak speaking voice, sometimes with lisp, may not have always equalled these abilities, but many of his speeches and writings yet give evidence of this talent.

I still recall one older gent telling me in a book store years ago that to read these six volumes he needed continuously both a dictionary and Bible by his side. He was happy to share his enjoyment in these books with me, as many thousands of other readers down through the years have also shared in that enjoyment.

I'm so prejudiced that it would seem remiss for any World War II library to be without these volumes. No matter what else one reads, I feel this set of books to be requisite to anyone's study and enjoyment of those war years.

I would recommend these six volumes without any hesitation to one and all. Only the most hard at heart could be against this monumental work. And the farther World War II recedes into the past, the more monumental they become.

Semper Fi.

Most people have the feeling that Winston Churchill won a nobel prize. Since Churchill was the 1st minister of the United Kingdom during most of the Second World War, it's natural for them to think CHurchill won the Nobel Peace Prize for achievements during the war. That's not the truth. Churchill won the Nobel Prize for LITERATURE in 1953, accordingly to the Scandinavian institution, "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values".

Among the books that granted Churchill the Nobel Prize is "The second world war". This book is a history lesson about WWII. Even if it's more than 1000 pages in length, it's never a tedious reading, even if it becomes very dense at some parts.

Churchill was always in the center of the war, as a politician. "The second world war" is a book about the War's politics. All the motives and reasons behind the war are toroughly explained, as well as all the war's developments during the toughest six years in the history of humanity.

Being a book mostly about politics, I felt at some times the lack of battle field scenes; being a book mostly about the war in Europe and northern Africa, I felt I wanted more information about the war in the Pacific. But it's undertandable that "The second world war" doesn't go very deep in these subjects, because Churchill writes mostly about what he was part of, so much so that in Brazil the title of this book is "Memoirs of the second world war". And that's what it is: Churchill's memories of what he was part of during WWII.

So, it's not a complete book about the war, and it couldn't possibly be, but it's a fundamental book for readers to understand the war in a political way. For a complete understanding of other aspects of the war, there are other books that should also be read, like Cornelius Ryan's "The longest day", "A bridge too far", or Stephen Ambrose's books, just to name a few of the most popular.

Now I'm looking forward to reading Churchill's books on the First World war.

Grade 9.1/10

The Second World War by Winston S. Churchill is THE work on the conflict. Churchill's graceful command of the English language, his personal role in the conduct of the war, and the broad scope of the work, from the origins of the war to its execution, make this the best book on the topic.

Rated the number one book on leadership in time of war by HUMAN EVENTS in 2004, The Second World War will take about a month to read (for someone with a job and family) - time well invested in understanding the massive conflict of the 20th Century that still shapes our globe.

As a once and future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (he was defeated in 1945) Churchill's easy access to documents, world leaders and generals made him uniquely suited to this ambitious task. I doubt any other mere author of the day could have filled one volume of the six he wrote.

Reviewer: Chuck DeVore is a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010, a California State Assemblyman, he served as a Special Assistant for Foreign Affairs in the Department of Defense from 1986 to 1988, retired from the Army National Guard as a lieutenant colonel, and is the co-author of "China Attacks."

I'll start by admitting that I have not read the complete, unabridged, six-volume set of Winston Churchill's "The Second World War". I have read the condensed version, which is still a mighty tome, with twelve hundred pages of small print. The book is fascinating in many respects and Churchill was certainly a unique and powerful prose stylist. You can't help but be struck by his phrase-making. Where others might say "..it is of great impoortance that.. etc.", Churchill gives us the immeasurably better "..it is of the highest consequence that...etc."

There can be no doubt that Churchill was a singular personality, but as one reads into his account of WWII, one can't help but wonder whether it can be true that the man never suffered a moment of self doubt, never wondered whether he was making the right decision? Churchill's writings were once criticized as "the triumph of the public over the personal" and it must be said that there is some weight to that. The only glimpses one is regularly given into Churchill's mind are his expressions of frustration and alarm when people disagree with him and prefer not to take what to him is the obviously correct path. Before the entry of the US into the war, he was only frustrated by disagreements with his military commanders and he could fire them, e.g. Wavell and Auchinleck (Churchill only really admired attacking Generals and it is clear that caution was not one of the attributes he particularly admired). After the US entered the war and Churchill was obliged to cede a considerable amount of control to the Americans, he was frequently overruled in his views about how the war should be prosecuted and seems, in each instance to have remained convinced for the rest of his life that he was right and it was terrible shame that he didn't get his way. That he never admits to having been wrong on anything makes one question the fairness of his account.

The other remarkable thing about this history is the complete omission of any reference to the concentration camps or Hitler's "final solution". A friend and Churchill buff suggested to me that this was because Churchill was embarassed not to have known anything about the camps until nearly the end of the war but that cannot be correct. What a strange thing to leave out of what was intended to be a definitive history!

All in all, these are great books and required reading for anyone who wants a thorough knowledge of WWII, but they seem to me to have been written by a man unable to keep his eye off his own place in history, however much he may have wanted to write a straight factual account of one of the defining events of the twentieth century.

All the histories I've ever read of the war, were written by people who, either studied the war, or participated in it, and would write from memory. All of the authors, whether historians or participants,were handicapped by the lack of the whole picture. What was the leadership thinking when this or that event happened? What did they know? It is always either second hand information, or the facts are unobtainable.
In this magnum opus, a leader, privy to all the decisions and military secrets, tells the whole story in first person singular.
The special relationship between himself (former Naval Person) and the American President FDR, is illustrated in a series of letters that appear throughout the work, and offer an insightful window on President Roosevelt's mind and intentions, that were at the time hidden from U.S. public opinion, and, to this day, mostly unknown.
Personal anecdotes, written with outstanding wit, bring the Prime Minister down to a human level, joining the statesman with the artist and the hedonist who, on being offered to "have some drinks" by Stalin responds "I am always in favor of such a policy"
If all of the above wasn't enough, the writing is of such quality and clarity, that I would recommnend it, if only for the delectation on the proper use of the English language.
Be warned however, reading of this book may cause uncontrollable purchases of Sir Winston's other works, ...

I've wanted to read Churchill's "The Second World War" but it has always been quite expensive.

My daughter recently gave me an Amazon gift certificate that allowed me to buy the six-volume paper-back edition.
Imagine my bitter disappointment when I started to read volume I (The Gathering Storm) and noticed the very poor quality printing in the book. By poor quality print I mean that in many cases, individual letters (especially the vowels a and e) were partially formed or had gaps in them.
While the text was still legible, the small print and the deformed characters make it very uncomfortable to read.
I would have expected a much higher quality product from Amazon particularly when the price is around $75.00.

G. Shute

I remember his radio broadcasts from WW2 and his writings and speeches in the papers and he seemed to me to be a Hero from some other dangerous period of world history . There is no way to review this set of volumes, it has to be read and digested over a period of time. I did not read the Illiad or the Oddesy in one sitting as a high school student , so the second world war through the eyes of this old Lion

deserves my time and gratitude.

Future generations will be most thankful that we had as Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill. Not only for his leadership, which undoubtedly saved the world from Nazism, but also because of his memoirs. Reading this book, it felt like I was actually there, feeling the tension as Hitler prepared on new conquests, the revulsion as France & Britain allowed Germany to destroy Czechoslavakia, the disbelief as neutral countries, USSR,Belgium, Netherlands, Norway etc, clung to their neutrality as it meant anything to Hitler, admiration for the British people as they resisted such overwhelming odds at great cost, and triumph as the Grand Alliance combines to crush Germany. Also there are so many parts of the book which describe so vividly so many great moments, such as when Churchill first meets Stalin. A top read!

This book spreads over five volumes, incredibly it is gripping from the moment you pick it up right to the end. A revelation into why the war happened, how it could so easily have been prevented, and the monumental life and death struggle that shaped how we live now. The only missing parts relate to details of the intelligence war and, in particular, the breaking of the German codes by Bletchley Park and development of the first computers.