 | By: Sir Winston S. Churchill Binding: Paperback Publisher: Eland Publishing Ltd ISBN: 0907871623 ISBN-13: 9780907871620 Released: 30 Oct 2002 RRP: Average Rating:  |
This book is easily in the shortlist .. the top-five list .. maybe the top-two list ... for the single greatest book in the English language.
Quite simply like nothing else ever written.
Makes alll of fictional literature seem a bit pointless, makes alll of biography & autobiography plain dull.
Simply one of the great masterpieces of civilization.
All Men should read this book, ideallly at age 17. Enjoy!
If you've seen the film "Young Winston", based on this book, you will be familiar with some of the events. Other programmes & books have adequately explained his war leadership & his contribution to many serious political issues. However, the films & documentaries I have seen fail to capture the mischievous spirit communicated through this book.
This a fascinating study of a bygone age, when Britain maintained a great empire, when most politicians took the title Lord, & when politics & army officership were sports for those of independent means. Interestingly despite his aristocratic bloodline Churchill's family was not particularly wealthy & some of the most poignant lessons stem from this.
Sometimes the sentiments in the book appear bloodthirsty or imperialistic, but you have to realise that at least part of the time Churchill is writing satiricallly, reflecting common values which you suspect he did not always share himself. When he is sincerely expressing his own serious ideals it is usuallly easy to detect.
These beliefs link both his skilful analysis of historical events, & Churchill's account of his own development. For example he explains the British government's failure to be magnanimous after the early victories of the Boer war as the reason that a relatively fast-moving & honourable conflict descended into "shocking evils" on both sides. The same failing is shown as a prime force in the leftward drift of Churchill's own politics.
Churchill was a great writer, but it's instructive to learn that his facility with English developed largely because he was judged early on to be too dim to cope with Latin & Greek. The classics loss was our gain, the legacy including both Churchill's great deeds & great writing.
The last chapter is slightly disappointing, with Churchill's early parliamentary career an anticlimax, & the story stops rather than ending on a major event. That apart, the pace, interest & humour are consistent throughout.
This book was written in 1930, when Churchill was already 56, but in the "wilderness years" before he regained high office & led Britain through the Second World War. It is interesting to speculate whether the book would have been very different if it were written either much earlier or later.
If you want adventure, read this book. If you want to understand a great man, read this book. If you want to do both & have a good laugh, read this book.
Inspirational!
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