Churchill: History in an Hour

History In An Hour

by Andrew Mulholland

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour…

Sir Winston Churchill was a soldier, journalist, writer, Nobel Prize winner and, above all, a leader. Conservative then Liberal then Conservative again, his political instincts won him a sustained career at the summit of British government, while his resolve and politics of personality made him broadly regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century.

With his early radicalism, bold decisions regarding the Gold Standard and Iron curtain analysis, Churchill was, for many, a highly controversial figure. For others, he was Britain’s finest Prime Minister. From his career as a young army officer – serving in British India, The Sudan, and the Second Boer War, in which he won fame as a war correspondent – to his later pursuits as a historian, a writer, and an artist, ‘ History in an Hour’ is the perfect guide to the colorful, long and varied life of a historic titan.

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour…

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Biography

103 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 24, 2014

Reviews

[Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You never can tell whether bad luck may not, after all, turn out to be good luck." - Winston Churchill


This book deals with Churchill's role in Britain's survival and victory during World War II. The author also tries to discuss the popular and controversial decisions Churchill made during the time he was the Prime Minister (from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955).

[Virginia Cornelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scribd audiobook.
Nice introduction to Churchill s life and legacy.

[Phillip Howell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been itching to read something on Churchill and I did not have the time to read a longer biography. I gave this one a try and it was a nice summary of his life. The brevity is great if you have limited time to read, but if you really want to learn more about Churchill, then this book will not satisfy your appetite. It left me still hungry for more. It was like eating a decent appetizer. It was good and I enjoyed it, but it hardly filled me up. I still need to eat the main course and commit to one of the bigger biographies.

[Már Másson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Einn af áhugaverðustu kallaköllum 20. aldarinnar og gleymist merkilega oft á Íslandi útaf alræmdum samtímamönnun.

[Roderick Vonhogen · Rating 4 out of 5]

After watching the excellent movie 'Darkest Hour', I just had to read this book to get more context for the events depicted in the story and to better understand how Churchill got to where he is at the start of the movie and to learn what happened after the events in the movie. This short book gives a well-written overview of the life and legacy of this remarkable man.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, chronological factoid approach to Churchill's life and impact on history.

[Lukasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Postać Winstona Churchila jest naprawdę dość ciekawa, kontrowersyjna. Po przesłuchaniu tego krótkiego audiobooka uświadomiłem sobie jak mało wiem na jego temat. Winston Churchill zanim zaczął działać w polityce miał już sporo innych bogatych doświadczeń życiowych. Jako dziennikarz - korespondent wojenny. Śledził działania wojenne w Południowej Afryce podczas tak zwanej Drugiej Wojny Burskiej a następnie wojnie przeciwko Mahdmiemu w Sudanie, temu samemu Mahdiemu znanemu z „W Pustyni i w Puszczy”. Podczas Wojny Burskiej Churchill nawet o mały włos nie stracił życie trafiając do niewoli.
Po przygodach wojennych szybko jednak postanowił wystartować w wyborach do Izby Gmin i mając niewiele ponad 27 lat został wybrany do brytyjskiego parlamentu. Po kilku latach kariery politycznej Churchill zmienił partie z konserwatywnej na liberalną. Umożliwiło mu to uzyskać wysokie stanowiska w marynarce wojennej której nawet został szefem . Jednak tuż na początku Pierwszej Wojny Światowej podjął niefortunną decyzje i przyczynił się do porażki brytyjskiej pod Gallipoli. Nie długo jednak był bezczynny. Po roku znów poproszono go o objęcie wysokiego stanowiska. Po Pierwszej Wojnie Światowej wszystko wskazywało na to iż Churchill popadł w niełaskę i ze znalazł się na marginesie brytyjskiej polityki. Kiedy nazisci na czele z Hitlerem doszli do władzy w Niemczech na okrągło ostrzegał przed nieobliczalnością Hitlera i jako jeden z niewielu polityków, patrząc z dzisiejszej perspektywy czasu poprawnie przewidział jak niebezpiecznym politykiem jest Hitler. Kiedy doszło doszło już do wybuchu Drugiej Wojny Światowej Churchill z automatu praktycznie został premierem, wrócił do łask, doceniono jego instynkt polityczny. Poprowadził Wielką Brytanie do zwycięstwa, jednak w przededniu zaliczenia Drugiej Wojny Światowej popadł w niełaskę wyborców i stracił urząd premiera. Nie docenił tego jak ważna jest polityka wewnętrzna. Będąc mniej aktywnym politycznie postanowił poświecić się pisaniu książek. Uzyskał literackiego Nobla.
Postać Churchila jest barwna. Był człowiekiem o mocnych przekonaniach, często jako polityk twardo prowadził politykę, nie zawsze szukał kompromisów, był zdolny do podejmowania trudnych ryzykownych decyzji. Raz przynosiło mu to sukces, innym razem jednak ponosił porażkę.
Niewątpliwie jest to barwna, bardzo ciekawa, intrygująca postać.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've been curious about Winston Churchill, Britain's Prime Minister during World War II but not sure you want to get into some massive biography, Churchill: History in an Hour by Andrew Mulholland may be just what you need. I've read a number of books on Churchill that covered various parts of his life but this relatively short book covers his life in an overview fashion but still manages to provide many important facts. He is well known as a persuasive public speaker, something he worked at. Also a prolific writer, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his works in History. Considered controversial by some and Britain's finest Prime Minister by many others, he late in life continued his writing and also took up painting for relaxation. The author packs a lot into this short book but enough to peak you interest in tackling a more lengthy biography.

[Fredrik · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay, but hardly anything more. It both jumps a little and goes to shallow in on the man himself. IT made it hard to follow his life in certain parts.
What I did hope the book would tell me, what was drove him, what made him do the things he did and so on. It mostly just glanced over it, except for the fact that Churchill believed in destiny.
Maybe it was because it tried to stuff to much into something so short? Whatever the reason may be, I find that the lack of any depth, in any area at all, made it an almost worthless read.
I would probably tell people to look elsewhere for insight into Churchill.

[Maria Alshamas · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Success is not final; failure is not fatal." "It is the courage to continue that counts," said Winston Churchill. I read this quote years ago, and it stuck with me, especially when I fail at something.

So, when I was looking for a short audiobook to listen to and came across this one, I knew it was the one.I have enjoyed every bit of this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who would like to know more about Winston Churchill.

[Philip Battle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to the life of Winston Churchill. I find these history in an hour books are great for fleshing out the bare bones of a subject in a relatively short amount of time, also the ebooks have more details and additional appendixes which makes them more interesting and economical than the audio versions. A victorious ***THREE STARS***

[Mangus · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was amazing to get some background about the legend. It was interesting to have some background behind how he came to power. I think I am ready to read a much larger work about his life. Also, would like to read some of his writings. I'm not sure I will get to it this week, perhaps the next.

[Bane Cronotse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey gidi Koca Yörük. Hayatına ne çok şey sığdırdın... Bunu sanırım 90 yaşında ölmene ve dünyanın tam senin zamanında geçirdiği nice dönüşümlere borçlusun. Çetin adamdın vesselam. Hayatındaki en büyük başarısızlık ise sanırım Çanakkale idi =)

[Mehmet Kır · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good summary about Churchill's political and his private life. You can also find interesting information about him on this book.

[Dolf van der Haven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really only 50 pages describing Churchill's life at an extremely high level. Quite apologetic about his faults, quite a lack of any background or analysis as well.

[Thasiyana Mwandila · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too simplistic. But also very informative.

[Wesley and Fernie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good overview of his life and career. A little bit dry at times, though, for such a multi-faceted person.

[Pajtim Ademi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief and to the point, very good reading to have a general overview of the life of a great British figure. Highly recommended for those who just want a first approach. Light and easy to read.

[Alejandro Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect introduction that lays the
foundation for a deeper examination.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

41/100

Short and very basic summary of Churchill's life and history.
Felt like some places he visited over his lifetime got missed,
Especially during WWII in Europe and his visit to France and Germany.
It's mostly autobiographically, based on his private life and less about his work.

[Mike Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief run through but enjoyable and interesting

[Erik Spohr · Rating 3 out of 5]

A helpful and brief overview of this interesting figure in world history.

[Joe]

I started the History in an Hour series in an effort to balance my other very slow reading. The Churchill bio felt very uneven and like it hopped through his life. It was a quick and painless read, but I've been more impressed with others in the series.