Churchill and War

by Geoffrey Best

Winston Churchill saved Britain and Europe by his incomparable leadership in the Second World War. His involvement in war, hoever, stretched over a far longer period and was one of the main themes of his long life. Cavalryman at Omdurman, infantry colonel in the trenches of World War I, First Lord of the Admiralty, as well as a wartime Prime Minister, he also wrote copiously about war as war correspondent, journalist and historian. Personally brave, he was both excited and repelled by war, and was a powerful strategic thinker. Geoffrey Best shows the importance of war in Churchill's career as a whole, from his early days as a hussar in India to his attempts to control the threat of the nuclear bomb. His leadership in the Second World War, which is fully covered, owed much to what he had learnt from earlier wars. Churchill and War, which is not afraid to tackle the question of his strategic bombing of Germany, is a rounded portrait of Churchill the warrior.

Genres: Biography, History

360 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

An historian of 19th and 20th century Britain, Geoffrey Francis Andrew Best was Emeritus Fellow of the British Academy, a former Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, Professor of History at Edinburgh, Dean of European Studies at Sussex, Academic Visitor at the London School of Economics, and Senior Member of St Antony's College, Oxford.

Reviews

[Marko Hodak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poučno i korisno. Puno zanimljivih detalja i povijesnih referenci i analiza.

[Goran Ovčariček · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that this book is absolute garbage. The purpose, the goal of this book just eludes me. I mean, it's obvious that Geoffrey Best regards Winston Churchill as a giant (perhaps a God?) among men, but to witness the depths and lengths of hypocrisy he is willing to spit out to "prove" his point is something else. It's borderline absurd. It's borderline idiocy. Best has his head so far up Churchill's intestines that he clearly lost his senses, so he wonders around in the dark trying to stumble on some proof for his words. Sadly, he utterly fails. This "renowned" historian should either quit his profession or should start searching for a critical mind, perhaps he could find it in some of his students.

The book is not a total disappointment as one can read out some useful data, completely contrary to the point Best is trying to discern, and it has its moments of painful comedy when you laugh at the author and wonder how can anyone write this in a sound state of mind. Then you conclude no one can and that the author had, indeed, lost his mind. Or, more likely, his self respect. Granted, I have read the Croatian edition of this book and something surely got lost in translation, but as a whole this book belongs only to the waste disposal unit. We should all weep for the trees cut down to print this book as there had never been a book that, more than this one, deserved a burning.

[Bob Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was starting to read Churchill's history of WWII and surprised by the breadth of his knowledge of warships, modern weapon systems and war tactics. I thought this book would answer those questions. Mr. Best has authored several books on Churchill. This one covers Churchill from his first experiences in the British military to the Cold War and his death in 1965.

I was not disappointed. Best uses dozens of sources, including Churchill's own writings, to present the man and how he came to be one of the best known military and political figures in the 20th century. Best also comments about Churchill's writings on WWI and WWII. He provides perspective to Churchill's works that is necessary to understand them.

This is an excellent book for the student of Churchill. It is well documented and researched. The narrative is about 300 pages and reads easily. If I revisit Churchill I'm likely to start with another book written by Mr. Best.

[Ivana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Autor nije puno pažnje posvećivao objašnjavanju tko su ljudi i mjesta koje spominje u knjizi, pa je uz ovu knjigu, osim ako niste vrstan poznavatelj povijesti 20. stoljeća potrebno imati pri ruci još neke, ili se poslužiti Googleom (često). Inače je zanimljiva i otkriva podosta o Churchilovom unutarnjem, intimnom poimanju rata, ratovanja, sukoba. Najviše ga u tome razotrkivaju osobna pisma koja je razmjenjivao, posebno ona sa suprugom.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was significantly better than its predecessor (Churchill: Study of Greatness). Surprisingly it was in a better order, not themed based and it explained his personality in greater detail. I still say that Manchester has the best Churchill biography.

[Patrick]

Recently acquired at the Friends of the Library bookstore for the San Pedro, CA public library.