Johnson’s biography of Winston Churchill looks at a life that became an emblem of democracy
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed By Gabrielle Pantera
“It is a joy to write his life,” says Churchill author Paul Johnson. “Of all the towering figures of the twentieth century, Winston Churchill was the most valuable to humanity and also the most likable. No man did more to preserve freedom and democracy and the values we hold dear in the West. None provided more public entertainment with his dramatic ups and downs, his noble oratory, his powerful writings and sayings, his flashes of rage, and his sunbeams of wit.”
Churchill never wavered, although he had major setbacks many times in his career. Churchill’s father died not long after Winston entered the cavalry – a career choice his father had strenuously opposed. “Few fathers have done less for their sons,” said Winston’s cousin Ivor Guest. “Few sons have done more for their fathers.”
Churchill rallied England in her darkest hour. “We shall fight on the beaches,” said Winston Churchill. “We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender, and if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the Old.”
Churchill traces Winston Churchill’s travels as a solider, his life as a writer during the Boer War, entering Parliament and his rise to Prime Minster. At age 21, Churchill was earning a living from writing. Over his life he wrote at least forty books, numerous magazine and newspaper articles, and a vast number of speeches. Churchill was famous before he entered Parliament in 1899. Churchill was one of the few who foresaw the catastrophe World War I would be. He was promoted to First Lord of the Admiralty, then blamed for the disaster of the 1915 Dardanelles/Gallipoli invasion, Johnson says undeservedly.
In Churchill you can sense Paul Johnson likes his subject, that he’s kinder to him than other biographers. The fact that Johnson doesn’t judge Churchill for his actions and views is refreshing. You get a strong impression of who precisely Churchill was and why he did the things he did. Churchill is a succinct, well-written account of Churchill the man and politician. A short book of less than 200 pages, Churchill covers the subject of Churchill concisely in a matter-of-fact way.
If you like your history short concise yet full of details you’ll like this biography of Churchill.
Paul Johnson has written over forty books, including biographies of George Washington and Napoleon.
Churchill by Paul Johnson. Hardcover: 192 pages, Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition (November 3, 2009), Language: English ISBN: 9780670021055 $24.95.
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