Review
Praise for Winston Churchill Reporting
Paul Reid, national bestselling coauthor of The Last Lion: Defender of the Realm
"Simon Read has captured the indomitable spirit of young Winston Churchill,his breathtaking courage in combat, his raw political ambition, and thepower of his writing as a war correspondent on three continents. Allbefore the age of twenty-seven. Winston Churchill Reporting takes itsrightful place on my shelves next to Churchill's own account of hisyouth, My Early Life."
Dean King, national bestselling author of Skeletons on the Zahara
"With pen, rifle, and polo mallet, the youthful and headstrong WinstonChurchill takes no prisoners as an army officer and war correspondent,racing fearlessly to the front lines of war zones in Cuba, Asia, andAfrica, not to mention London, where he steeps himself in the arts ofwar, wit, and politics. Simon Read's thrilling Winston ChurchillReporting charges ahead at breakneck speed with the indomitable youngChurchill, capturing the making of this great and eloquent leader invivid prose and hair-raising scenes. You won't put it down untilChurchill is safe at home once again."
Wade Davis, national bestselling author of The Serpent and the Rainbow
"In 1965 a nine-year-old girl in Colombia posted a birthday card addressedsimply to 'the greatest man in the world.' Without a stamp it arrived in London at the home of Winston Churchill on the eve of his ninetiethbirthday. He was indeed the greatest man of our era, the savior ofcivilization. Any book on Churchill is a joy, but this one is especially moving for it reveals the great man as a youth, eyes full of wonder,soul already certain of a great destiny, ambition glaring in alldirections just ready to pounce."
Martin Dugard, national bestselling author of Into Africa, and coauthor of the Killing series with Bill O'Reilly
"Highly researched and fast-paced, Read does a marvelous job of bringing young Churchill to life."
Kirkus Reviews, 7/15/15
"Read draws on Churchill's newspaper pieces, books, and letters for thisfast-paced biographical and historical narrative...A richly detailed lookat Churchill's early ambitions and triumphs."
Library Journal, 9/15/15
"Of all the books aboutWinston Churchill, this is the first dedicated to his years as a warcorrespondent...Read introduces this work with 'Winston Churchill asIndiana Jones,' a line that becomes reality within the first few pages...A worthy purchase for fans of Churchill who are unfamiliar with thesestories as well as those interested in late 19th-century history,military history, and a case study of writing as a journalist."
San Jose Mercury News, 10/5/15
"Illuminates Churchill's early years as a journalist and war correspondent."
Examiner.com, 10/11/15
"In this edge-of-your-seat, slice-of-life biography, author Simon Readskillfully weaves Churchill's earliest wartime adventures with hislively reporting from the battlefield...Not to miss!"
Open Letters Monthly, 10/12/15
"An engaging story, engagingly told."
San Diego Book Review, 10/13/15
"Churchill is an enthralling subject, and the few years covered in the narrativeare filled with danger, courage, conflict, death anddeliverance...Churchill was in the epicenter of history, and readers willdevour this delicious narrative about the young rising star."
January Magazine, 10/14/15
"With material from personal letters as well as his reports from the front, Winston Churchill Reporting is a visit with a future leader during his formative years. It's an extraordinary, eye-opening book."
InfoDad blog, 10/15/15
"Those who simply cannot get enough of all things Churchillian will findthemselves entertained by Simon Read's exploration of the courageous(and foolhardy) adventures (and antics) of a headstrong and supremelyself-confident Winston Churchill in his 20s...A fast-paced, novelisticbook that provides...a great deal of intriguingly detailed material onwhere he went and what he did in his youth that would, in the main,serve him and his nation extraordinarily well in the years to come."
Hudson Valley News, 10/19/15
"A great read indeed!"
Military History, January 2016
"Read draws from private letters and papers relating the combat experiencesthat helped shape Churchill into an exemplary statesman. The narrativeis more an adventure tale than a straight biography."
Roanoke Times, 11/8/15
"An absorbing book that fairly illustrates the means by which a greensubaltern of the 19th century at length became one of the toweringfigures of the 20th."
The Economist, 11/21/15
"Investigates how Churchill went from a young army officer cadet to being Britain'shighest-earning war correspondent by the age of 25, getting thejournalism bug for the rest of his life...Tell[s] the tale of Churchillthe adventurer...elegantly."
Midwest Book Review, November 2015
"The true-life story of a lesser-known period in the life of Britishstatesman Winston Churchill...Extensively researched, rich in detail, andenhanced with notes, a bibliography, and an index, Winston Churchill Reporting is worthy of the highest recommendation for public and college library biography collections."
Internet Review of Books, 11/18/15
"I have read several books about Churchill and thought this book would be a rehash. I was so wrong. I learned a great deal about a courageous,pushy young man who was becoming a writer."
CapX, 11/27/15
"A cracking narrative...This is not just agripping account of the adventures of a young soldier who could neverdecide whether he was an army officer or a war correspondent (nor couldhigher authority). It brings into focus some of the themes which were to dominate Churchill's career. Above all, it is a study in courage...Arollicking read, it is an ideal Christmas present for anyone interestedin war, history, Britain and greatness."
Centre Write (Bright Blue UK), Winter 2015
"An absolutely rollicking adventure...Read's fast-paced book makes WinstonChurchill's story accessible to many new readers...An insightful look atwhat motivated one of the most prominent men of the 20th century...Readnails it with a book that is just such good fun."
Calcutta Telegraph, 12/13/15
"Churchill's formative days in India as a young soldier-war correspondent-cum-poloplayer [are] so utterly fascinating and revealing, especially as histales of derring-do have been projected in breathless prose in SimonRead's recently published Winston Churchill Reporting."
MoneyWeek, 7/12/15
"A book that covers the great man's adventurous early life."
Portland Book Review, 12/23/15
"One of the only books (out of nearly 700 books about Churchill) dedicatedto that period of his life. Rather than a general overview of hisexperiences, it is a detailed recounting of the events using his ownwritings as well as a plethora of contemporaneous sources of thoseindividuals who were also present. The writing brings to life what heexperienced and his behavior...This book provides the reader with a senseof the core of this man and of the impact these events had upon him."
Washington Times, 1/11/16
"Read recounts this early journalistic career in prose that reveals Churchill's descriptive skills."
Buffalo News, 1/10/16
"Churchill's copy from the war zone electrified London and author Read makes themost of it to spin an exciting tale...This is a gripping story, easy toread in the style of a mystery thriller...thoroughly researched and fullyannotated with endnotes."
San Francisco Book Review, 12/10/15
"Explores a fascinating lesser known part of Churchill's life that significantly shaped the future leader he was to become."
Tom Ricks, Foreign Policy, 2/1/16
"People tend to forget that Winston Churchill spent several years in his youthwriting about wars in Cuba, India, the Sudan, and South Africa. If youneed reminding, check out Winston Churchill Reporting. It hadn'toccurred to me until I read this book that his war correspondencebrought him his first success in life, after years of being criticizedby his father and others."
The Weekly Standard, 2/22/16
"[A] highly readable account of Churchill's adventures as warcorrespondent...As Read conclusively proves, Churchill was incapable ofwriting a boring sentence."
Military Heritage, March 2016
"By taking the reader back to a time before Churchill became famous andsuccessful, the author shows a young man with all his dreams and desires before him. He shows what is perhaps the most formative time in thefuture Prime Minister's life and explains how his experiencescontributed to the traits he later exhibited leading Great Britainduring its greatest test of survival."
Military Officer, April 2016
"[An] exciting blend of biography and history, vividly describing Churchill's combat adventures."
The Churchill Project, 3/18/16
"A comprehensive review of young Winston's first four wars...Read's book shares qualities with John Kelly's Never Surrender: It is a well-written and organized account."
Chicago Center for Literature and Photography, 6/14/16
"[A] lively, action-packed account...Read conveys it all through the unusualstyle of an action novel instead of the usual academic history book, agutsy move that could've badly backfired on him; but in this case itworks perfectly...A lively and incredibly fast-paced book, this will be arevelation to people...who only knew Churchill as the balding,stogie-chewing curmudgeon of 1940s fame...Strongly recommended."
About the Author
Simon Read is the author of eight previous works of nonfiction published on both sides of the Atlantic. His writing has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Publisher's Weekly, and Time. Three of his previous books, including Winston Churchill Reporting, have been optioned for movie and television adaptation. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona.
Audiobook
