Customer Reviews

Winston Churchill's War Leadership

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
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There should be a law against very short monographs or pamphlets that disguise themselves as books (complete with a book price)! Unfortunately, this practice is becoming more common among (even great) historians eager to make a dollar.

Martin Gilbert is a talented historian and the world's foremost expert on Winston Churchill and his official biographer. I enjoy reading anything on Winston Churchill and anything written by Martin Gilbert and have paid full price for most of his real books.

This monograph, however, left me feeling robbed. Not only was there nothing new here (all of this has been covered in his previous works), but it was less readable than Martin's other works. Indeed, this is nothing more than the transcript of a talk Gilbert gave at the White House in February 2002, suggesting that he is perhaps more comfortable with the written word than the spoken one.

I will continue to purchase Gilbert's historical works, but will shy away from ever purchasing another of his pamphlets!

This book manages to outline the major principles of Churchill's greatness as a leader, and to give a fascinating account of the decision- making process during the Second World War. One of the major elements and this should be kept in mind by Western leaders today is that Churchill even in the darkest hours would not placate and negotiate with Evil. The word 'Defeat' was simply not part of his strategic vocabulary. His indomitable spirit influenced all those around him.
This does not mean as Gilbert makes clear that Churchill did not have his doubts, his despairs, his periods of anger and frustration. But always he was able to overcome , and to keep the main goal, the defeat of the enemy before his eyes. His remarkable courage and his great ability to inspire others , combined with his thorough, responsible and comprehensive intellect helped make him the outstanding political leader of the twentieth century. Whether at the darkest hour of retreat at Dunkirk or in the moments of great relief and victory Churchill made himself the living embodiment of the spirit of the people, the salty and courageously defiant British people he led and loved.
Gilbert is a master of condensation, of wise judgment in writing. He has done all those who care about the subject of Leadership a very real service with this small in size, but great in meaning, work.

Usually I am all for books that teach me techniques and help me apply strategies to my own life. This book didn't directly do that but did help me understand the power of persistence and self-belief.

Through reading this book I learned how Winston Churchill never backed down and made keeping high public morale one of his highest priorities. I knew of Britain's importance to WWII but I did not know of his direct impact on keeping Britain a viable enemy for the German's.

His written letters to Roosevelt and other authority figures were one of many hidden ways he added every ounce of help to the Ally's side of the war. I am sure without Churchill's character the war would of been much more difficult even with America's involvement and Hitler's mistake to attack Russia.

Read this book slowly and notice all his character traits. You may get a lot out of it or, at the least, understand why Churchill is such an important person in history.

If you are new to Winston Churchill, and looking for an executive summary of his unique style, this is a book for you. I had read a couple of bio's from the library. My parents had visited Chartwell and brought me a book about the house from there. So I already knew a bit about his war years.

What tempted me to this book was the thought that it offered a perspective on Churchill that would be useful in our daily lives; from the summary, I was expecting almost a guide to setting up self-management systems that really work. The book started out well, but drifted a bit towards being yet another bio of Churchill and his peers in later pages.

Don't be put off buying this book; by making my own 2-page summary of the "lines-between-the-lines", I got some of what I was after. However, I thought I would have just that bit more.

It's a small book but very informative. I'm not sure I would want to read it for fun. I'm using it for my thesis.

This book succinctly and brilliantly encapsulates Churchill's qualities as a wartime leader and shows Martin Gilbert's writing at its best. Ranging across the influence of Churchill's' long experience on his war leadership, his daily pattern of work, his personal example and his relationships with those under his command, this is a fascinating survey, first given by Gilbert in the White House.

As an admirer of Churchill I was very excited by the discovery that there was a new book about him from his official biographer Martin Gilbert. However after ordering and reading the book I was very disappointed. There is absolutely no new information about Churchill in this 97-page "pamphlet". This "pamphlet" is simple the text of a lecture Martin Gilbert gave at the University of Toronto. If you have read "Finest Hour" or "Churchill: A Life" also by Martin Gilbert, there is no need to waste your money and read this abridgement.