Winston Churchill

Very Interesting People #16

by Paul Addison

Definitive, concise, and very interesting... From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures - people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time. Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The Very Interesting People series includes the following 1.William Shakespeare by Peter Holland 2. George Eliot by Rosemary Ashton 3. Charles Dickens by Michael Slater 4. Charles Darwin by Adrian Desmond, James Moore, and Janet Browne 5. Isaac Newton by Richard S.Westfall 6. Elizabeth I by Patrick Collinson 7. George III by John Cannon 8. Benjamin Disraeli by Jonathan Parry 9. Christopher Wren by Kerry Downes 10. John Ruskin by Robert Hewison 11. James Joyce by Bruce Stewart 12. John Milton by Gordon Campbell 13. Jane Austen by Marilyn Butler 14. Henry VIII by Eric Ives 15. Queen Victoria by K. D. Reynolds and H. C. G. Matthew 16. Winston Churchill by Paul Addison 17. Oliver Cromwell by John Morrill 18. Thomas Paine by Mark Philp 19. J. M. W. Turner by Luke Herrmann 20. William and Mary by Tony Claydon and W. A. Speck

Genres: Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 9, 2007

About the author

Paul Addison was a British author and historian, specializing in the British experience in the Second World War and its effects on post-war society. After graduating from Nuffield College, Oxford, in 1967, Addison became a Lecturer at Edinburgh University and subsequently a Reader, for 23 years.

Reviews

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in preparation for a Winston Churchill exhibit coming to the Morgan Library this summer (2012). It's shocking how little I knew of his life story: just that he was an amazing orator who rallied England during the darkest days of WWII. I suppose it is a consequence of my American education that I was unaware of his controversial early years in politics, his supposed strategic blunders during WWI (and even WWII), and the shear volume of his publications, just to name a few aspects of his life covered by this short biography.

As I read about Churchill (or "Winnie" as my English mother-in-law calls him), I couldn't help comparing him to NYC's own Rudy Guilliani. Both are larger-than-life personalities with endless confidence in their own abilities, men who don't often get along with colleagues, who run roughshod over the feelings of others, who are perceived as being somewhat insensitive (fairly or not) to the plight of the working classes. Both are figures who might not have achieved long-lasting fame, and even adulation, save that in a time of disaster their often overbearing personalities became assets rather than Achilles' heels. In a crisis, people need leaders who don't waver, who have lots of energy and conviction, who are unafraid of failure and who will not accept defeat. Both men fit the bill, and both in their own way gave heart to their people when they needed just that.

[SheMac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bare-bones portrait of Churchill that concentrates on his public life. There is hardly mention of his childhood, his relationships with contemporaries, his family, even the war - I don't think there is any mention of D-Day! As a result you miss a lot of the drama in Churchill's life and many of the legendary stories e.g. by leaving out D-Day we miss the story of how George VI persuaded Churchill not to accompany the invading force on day 1. There's no "if you were my husband ... " story, no mention of the Order of the Boot. So I don't recommend it for a Churchill newbie but maybe for someone who is familiar with the legend and needs a refresher about what it is Churchill did. One more thing, the final chapter is a nice bonus where the author discusses how Churchill has been treated by history after death.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had seen a program on the CBS Sunday Morning Show on Winston Churchill and found it fascinating that there is a book store in NYC devoted to works by and about him. Wasn't sure I wanted to read a huge biography but this book provided a glimpse into his life. Down side is alot of names of British government are thrown about and sometimes hard to keep straight, unless you are up on Parliament and WWII.