Customer Reviews

Winston Churchill (Sutton Pocket Biographies)

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This is a brief, accurate, excellent summary of the life of Churchill. It's about 100 pages long; you can read it in an evening and still have time to catch the late news. The first duty of a biographer, said Lytton Strachey, is a "becoming brevity" (he was reacting to the huge, ponderous biographies of the Victorian era), and this work fills the bill. I had always wanted to learn more about Churchill, the greatest figure of the 20th century, but I put it off because I didn't have the time or desire to wade through a massive tome. Now, finally, I know how how he arrived at the Prime Ministership at exactly the right time. I know about his incredibly broad training for the leadership position. I know some new things about the Second World War. And so on. This book is part of the "Pocket Biographies" series published by Sutton located in England. I'm sold on the concept; I'm going to buy more in the collection - Lincoln is next and then Beethoven - i.e., people I want to know more about but not necessarily every single time they had toast for breakfast. One of the offbeat things I like about this volume is the quality of paper used for the cover - it's that creamy thick stuff that a lot of smart publishers are using these days.

I don't like for a biography to lie, but I think it should portray the subject in a favorable or atleast interesting light. This biography is frustrating because it makes Churchill, who I thought was a very inspiring figure, into a rich spoiled man who stumbles into situations which brought him fame. If he was really as uninspired and unfocused as this biography portrays him then he has a false public reputation.

Considering that this is a very short and factual biography of a very famous Prime Minister of Great Britain - from the time when it was still great - it is hard to not write enthusiastically about it. But unfortunately there is always the attitude of the author to contend with. An overly enthusiastic biographer glosses over the less glamorous parts, and the events which show the man in a lesser light; but the underwhelmed biographer (probably writing out of hack necessity to earn an honest commissioned crust), simply plods dutifully through. This author seems to me to fall into neither of these categories, but nearer the latter than the former.

The nearest attitude analogy I can come to is that of the `hostile witness' in court, who, having been legally required to give evidence, has his own reasons for not wishing to co-operate. But once sworn in, he is compelled to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth (there are penalties for perjury), but not necessarily the whole truth that a willing witness would tell. The counsel for the defence or prosecution always points out the unwillingness of the hostile witness, making everyone aware of the potential bias that this may introduce. And so it is, as counsel for the defence of the Great Man, I am constrained to point out that this author is very much less than fulsome in his praise of our Winston. There are harsher ways of asserting this point, but the greatness of the greatest of our war leaders comes through anyway, and I would not dissuade anyone from at least starting with this book as quick overview of some of the main facts. I myself suspect that the author is a Socialist [ugh], and as such is simply unable to warm to the certainly-not-Socialist Winston [hurrah]. Also, I have so far greatly enjoyed several of this Sutton biographical series, and find them to be value for money quick-readers, and through pure natural variance would not expect each and every one of these baby bios to satisfy equally. One slightly sour grape in a bunch is no bad average.

CONTENTS
List of Plates - 15 standard shots, black-and-white, good quality
Chronology - born 1874 at Blenheim Palace, became PM 1940, died 1965
1. Youth and Adventure - born into the aristocracy, went to Harrow public school, joined the army with some difficulty as a cavalry officer, saw action in Cuba as journalist, left army for politics around 1900
2. Member of Parliament - marries, gains experience in political home affairs
3. Admiralty 1911-15 - becomes First Lord of the Admiralty, improves conditions for the naval ratings, naval arms race with Germany, expands defence expenditure, First World War started by Germany, Winston dismissed from Admiralty
4. Recovery and Relapse 1915-39 - returns to active service in the army on the Western Front, return to politics 1916, becomes Minister of Munitions 1917 where he is very successful, loses seat in Parliament, stands unsuccessfully as an `Independent Anti-Socialist' [hurrah, but never let yourself be negatively defined, tactical and strategic error] in 1924, gets back in next year and is made Chancellor of the Exchequer much to everyones' surprise (including his), his criticisms of Herr Hitler the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazis) go largely unheeded, his reputation declines, WWII breaks out as he predicted
5. War 1939-45 - Churchill back at the top as First Lord of the Admiralty again, British government in disarray with vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, on 9 May 1940 Winston Churchill is made Prime Minister of Great Britain at age 65, against spectacular progress by Hitler Churchill persuades the nation to stand and fight, RAF wins the air Battle of Britain, Hitler attacks USSR, Japanese attack Pearl Harbour, USA enter war, Britain becomes de facto ally of communist Russia and USA, Germans surrender 8 May 1945, Churchill tired and ill after strains of war, immediate general election called, Conservatives and also Churchill defeated
6. Coda 1945-65 - Churchill makes the famous `Iron Curtain' speech at Fulton, Missouri, speech not well received but history proved his judgment right again, Churchill becomes Prime Minister again in 1951, refuses to join the European Coal and Steel Community (ancestor of the EU), and surely history will prove him right again on this one, retires 1955 a living legend
Notes
Bibliography - very short considering the Great Man's many admirers, so do not trust to this list for a full sample