My dear Mr. Churchill

by Walter Graebner

188 pages, Paperback

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is obviously smitten with Winston Churchill, to his credit, he admits it in the foreword. The lead sentence in the second-to-the-last paragraph is, “The story is about a man so great that I suppose another like him will not live in the next century, a man that no one could know without loving.” When a biographer utters a statement like that, it is clear that one must read with a bit of caution.
The author knew Churchill well, he describes many events that he shared with Churchill, both public and private. There is a bit of insight into the private life of Churchill, although most of what is related is common knowledge. Despite the weight Churchill had in the path of history, most of the text deals with what Churchill did in private. He was a dog lover, a fairly talented painter and did a great deal of the work on his estates himself.
If you read this book while keeping the perspective of the author in mind, this isn’t a bad book. Otherwise, you may find yourself wondering if the other renditions of Churchill as a bit of a gruff drunk weren’t quite true.

[Mike Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very quick and enjoyable read. I learned new details about Churchill I was unaware of from reading other memoirs or biographies. Nothing profound but details which make Churchill in some respects more human yet maintaining the status of the giant he is in history.