Churchill: A Study In Failure, 1900-1939

by Robert Rhodes James

Winston Churchill's active political career spanned fifty-five years, from his entry into the House of Commons in 1900 until his retirement form the Premiership in April, 1955. It was a career of remarkable vicissitudes of fortune; and no period is of greater interest than the twenty years between the two World Wars, during which Churchill returned to the Conservative party that he had left in 1904, received high office in a Conservative Government, and then broke with its leaders. From 1929 until September 1939, he held no political office, and his career seemed to have ended in total failure. The Second World War brought him back to office and then, in May 1940, to the Premiership and to the opportunity to become Britain's greatest war leader since the elder Pitt.

In this study, Robert Rhodes James has asked the question of why Churchill was so discredited and ignored in the 1920s and 1930s. Rejecting the simple answer that Churchill was held down by lesser men who failed to see his genius, he has analyzed the causes of Churchill's failure and has sought them in Churchill's own personality and his contribution to contemporary politics. Mr. Rhodes James has described this as "an interim study," for he considers that the time has not yet come for a complete and measured estimate of Churchill's extraordinary personality and career. But in this "interim study," he has drawn attention to aspects of that personality and career that have hitherto been largely overlooked by biographers and historians, and he has looked beyond the Churchill of 1940 to explain why and how Churchill's career between the wars provides "a study in failure."

Genres: History, Biography

412 pages, Hardcover

First published May 14, 1970

About the author

Sir Robert Vidal Rhodes James (10 April 1933 – 20 May 1999) was a British historian who served as a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1976 until 1992.

Reviews

[Mk100 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Total hatchet job. Outrageously biased. Rhodes James blames Churchill for everything except the common cold - and I presume that's coming in the next edition, if anyone publishes it.

[Peter Kirsop · Rating 5 out of 5]

a truely excellent book explaining why Churchill was justly disliked and thought of as a failed reactionary until his amazing revival in World War 2. Well worth re reading often

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read books that reference Churchill, but none just about him. He was obviously right about Hitler, but could never sympathise with his attitude towards Ireland and the empire.

[Robin W]

Fascinating and highly detailed. The book dates to 1970 when the author was a British MP. Highly recommended.