The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

~ (Compiler) "The political arena is famously a battleground where the weapons are words, and many are the insults that flow back and forth across the parliamentary..." (more)
Key Phrases: honourable gentleman, House of Commons, Private Secretary, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Churchill took his seat in Parliament in the reign of Queen Victoria, and died when Lyndon Johnson was in his second year as US President. He fought as a solider in four campaigns and as a war correspondent made an epic escape from Boer captivity. He wrote histories, biographies, memoirs, and even a novel, while his journalism, speeches and broadcasts run to millions of words. From 1940 he inspired and united the British people and guided their war effort. Sir Winston Churchill was also a man of vast humanity and enormous wit. His most famous speeches and sayings have passed into history, but many of his aphorisms, puns and jokes are less well known. This enchanting collection brings together hundreds of his wittiest and wickedest quips in a tribute to this lovable, infuriatingly conceited, wildly funny, and brilliantly talented Englishman.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 162 pages
• Publisher: Michael O'Mara (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1854795295
• ISBN-13: 978-1854795298
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,861 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Enjoyable, October 22, 2004

By	Laura De Giorgio "www.deeptrancenow.com" (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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This relatively small book is divided into several sections with slices from Churchill's life and quotations related to politics, speaches, friends, animals, family, etc.

Here are few excerpts:

While campaigning in 1900, it is said that the young Churchill was doing a spot of canvassing when one of those he approached exclaimed:

"Vote for you? Why, I'd rather vote for the Devil!"

"I understand", Churchill answered, "But in case your friend is not running, may I count on your support?"

* * *

When passed a very long but turgidly written memorandum on some worthy but uninspiring subject, the elderly Prime Minister weighed the thick wad of paper in his hands and commented, "This paper by its very length defends itself against the risk of being read."

* * *

Churchill liked animals; sometimes he found this difficult to reconcile with his fondness for rich food. Anthony Montague Brown recalled that 'One Christmas he was about to carve a goost. Learning it was one of his own, he put down the knife and fork and said, "I could not possibly eat a bird that I have known socially."

* * *

A BBC broadcaster described once sitting next to Churchill as he gave a speech, keeping his audience hanging on to his every word. The boradcaster noticed, howver, that what appeared to be notes in Churchill's hand was only a laundry slip, and he later remarked upon this to Churchill. "Yes", said Churchill. "It gave confidence to my audience."

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! A must for all who study the man and the language, November 3, 2003

By	ServantofGod - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

The title of my review had simply told what I wanna say. Churchill is such a famous person of wit and words. That's beyond argument. Therefore it's not a difficult job for the editor-author to pick and pack Churchill's words, with some short sentences telling the background of each, into a thin book. Anyway, he did it alright.

I would like to pick some of my favorite quotes for your reference. Hope you like them and can share my feelings of how brilliant Churchill. and also indirectly, this book is.

1. "Trying to maintain good relations with a Communist is like wooing a crocodile. You do not know whether to tickle it under the chin or beat it over the head. When it opens its mouth, you cannot tell whether it is trying to smile or preparing to eat you up."

2. "No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeeed, it has been said that Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

3. "You will never get to the end of the journey if you stop to buy a stone at every dog that barks."

4. "Virtuous motives, trammelled by inertia and timidity, are no match for armed and resolute wickedness."

5. "What if I had said, instead of "We shall fight on the beaches", "Hostilities will be engaged with our adversary on the coastal perimeter?".

and......many other invaluable quotes. In short, a must buy.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's one thing to know the right words,but another when and how to use them., February 4, 2006

By	J. Guild (Toronto,Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The wise and witty words of Winston Churchill ring throughout the 20th Century.Any that knew him personally or had anything to do with him must have waited with anticipation of hearing what he would say anytime he opened his mouth.This held true for Kings,Presidents,Generals and yes even for his family,including his grandaughter.At times, his use of silence could be as cutting
a reply as anything he could say.No doubt, he took as much enjoyment in his words as anyone he was aiming them at.It wasn't all one way either,he seemed to love a well delivered line,even if he was the object.
He neither claimed to be nor in fact was an'educated man',he
was similar to Mark Twain,in that he could cut to pieces,people of much greater formal education,if they tried to engage him in 'a battle of words'.
In his book "My Early Life" he said."It's a good thing for an
uneducated man to read books of quotations" and described how he read "Bartlett's Quotations".It is obvious that he often used and modified others quotations.
His friend Lord Brinkenhead quipped,"Winston has devoted the best years of his life to preparing his impromptu speeches."
"One of Churchill's most famous speeches is that of June
1940:'We shall fight on the beaches,we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,we shall fight in the hills...' It is said that,as he paused in the great uproar that greeted these words,Churchill muttered to a colleague next to him,'And We'll fight them with the butt ends of broken beer bottles because that's bloody well all we've got!"
A great little book reminding us of the words of one of the great voices of the 20th Century.