Winston Churchill's War Leadership (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

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Invited to lecture at the White House in February 2002, Gilbert, known as Winston Churchill's official biographer, hopes this commentary "can be of service" to the leaders of the war on terror. Whether George W. Bush and Tony Blair have been consciously imitating Churchill will be left for future historians to discover; Gilbert, for his part, cautions that "Churchill's war leadership can have no parallel," except during a war conducted on the scale of World War II. Caveat announced, Gilbert proceeds point by point to Churchill's direction of affairs, of which his celebrated speeches and buoyancy in public (depicted in the author's photo album Churchill at War [BKL F 15 04]) was only one praiseworthy aspect. Above all, Gilbert credits Churchill's refusal to deal with Hitler in 1940 and rates highly as well Churchill's articulation of the war's aim as the defense of democracy. Beneath the public plane, Churchill's day-to-day activity (such as attending to intelligence and logistical details) was, according to Gilbert, equally integral to his leadership. Gilbert Taylor
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Product Description

How does he assess the information that is brought to him? How does his personal or political philosophy, or a moral sense, sustain him? How does he draw inspiration from those around him? How does he deal with setbacks and disasters? In this brilliant close-up look at Winston Churchill's leadership during the Second World War, Gilbert gets to the heart of the trials and struggles that have confronted the world's most powerful leaders, even up to current politicians such as George Bush and Tony Blair.

Basing the book on his intimate knowledge of Churchill's private and official papers, Sir Martin Gilbert, Churchill’s official biographer, looks at the public figure and wartime propaganda, to reveal a very human, sensitive, and often tormented man, who nevertheless found the strength to lead his nation forward from the darkest and most dangerous of times.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (April 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140007732X
• ISBN-13: 978-1400077328
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #122,018 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Very Short Monograph Disguised as a Book!, July 3, 2007

By	Gilberto Villahermosa - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Churchill's greatness as a leader beautifully explicated, July 11, 2004

By	Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

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.

4.0 out of 5 stars Close, but no "Havana Cigar"..., April 1, 2007

By	M. J. Riley (Auckland, New Zealand) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.