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چطور مثل چرچیل فکر کنیم؟
چرچیل در پارلمان بریتانیا نقش مهم و قابل ملاحظهای به عهده گرفت. او دوبار حزبی را که عضو آن بود عوض کرد. چرچیل که کار خود را در مجلس عوام با عضویت در حزب محافظهکار آغاز کرده بود، پس از مدتی به حزب کارگر پیوست. اما طولی نکشید که او مجدداً به حزب محافظهکار بازگشت. چرچیل مدتی در پارلمان به عنوان یک عضو تندروی جوان، هوادار پروپاقرص اصلاحات بنیادی اجتماعی شد. اما طولی نکشید که دوباره مواضع محافظهکارانهی پیشین خود را اتخاذ کرد. او بهویژه موضع خود را در مورد «جنبش پارلمانی زنان» یا همان «سافریجت» که ابتدا از آن پشتیبانی میکرد، ناگهان تغییر داد، زیرا اعتقادش را به درستی هدف و راه و روش این جنبش بهکلی از دست داده بود. چرچیل در جریان اعتصاب عمومی سال۱۹۲۶ وزیر کشور بریتانیا بود. او عکسالعمل شدیدی در برابر اعتصابکنندگان از خود نشان داد که در نهایت به ضرر دولت تمام شد. وینستون همچنین در چند مورد دیگر مواضع نادرستی اتخاذ کرد که با مخالفت محافل معتبر سیاسی در بریتانیا مواجه شد. اظهارنظرهای چرچیل در این دوره به گونهای بود که نه دوستان و نه دشمنانش نمیدانستند که باید چه توقعی از او داشته باشند. اما مواضع سؤال برانگیز چرچیل فقط در این مورد نبود. برای اینکه بدانیم او چگونه با موضعگیریها و اظهارنظرهای خود مخالفت همگان را برمیانگیخت، باید به سالها پیش، یعنی به وقایعی از جنگ جهانی اول باز گردیم. در سال ۱۹۱۵ نبرد بزرگی بین طرفین جنگ در شبهجزیره «گالیپولی» روی داد که متفقین در آن شکست خوردند. چرچیل در جریان این نبرد نیز به عنوان یک فرمانده نظامی مرتکب خطاهای بزرگی شد و پس از آن به نظر میرسید که ستارهی اقبال او رو به افول نهاده و دیگر نمی توان او را یک «دولتمرد» تراز اول به حساب آورد. وینستون چندین سال پس از نبرد گالیپولی به حاشیه رانده شد و زندگی آرامی را گذراند. اما در اوائل دههی ۱۹۳۰ که هیتلر در آلمان قدرت را به دست گرفت، نام او دوباره بر سر زبانها افتاد.
376 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 8, 2025
Despite that I didn't really get what it's in its name I did enjoy the reading process of his biography, it could be taught in a class called Churchill 201. Some parts were odd, I wouldn't care about his clothing style. Only in the very final paragraph the author tried to guess what the PM would have done and felt if he saw how he is remembered.
I would say to better understand the way Winston Churchill thought we need to read the books that he read and loved, by the way, there's such list in this book.
In general, it was a joyful read especially when I found out how great he was at English (it is quite obvious though but you don't usually think in this way) and what his sense of humour was like, though I found some controversy in Churchill's personality as he didn't find it wrong for British Empire to invade the so called lower developed civilisations and take their land (which implies violence) while he hated Bolsheviks for the terror that they caused in the lands they controlled. That's interesting.
I also grasped nice advice which I believe to be following that goes 'to be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real'.
I would say to better understand the way Winston Churchill thought we need to read the books that he read and loved, by the way, there's such list in this book.
In general, it was a joyful read especially when I found out how great he was at English (it is quite obvious though but you don't usually think in this way) and what his sense of humour was like, though I found some controversy in Churchill's personality as he didn't find it wrong for British Empire to invade the so called lower developed civilisations and take their land (which implies violence) while he hated Bolsheviks for the terror that they caused in the lands they controlled. That's interesting.
I also grasped nice advice which I believe to be following that goes 'to be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real'.
February 16, 2019
Some thoughts on the Daniel smith’s book; How to think like Churchill
Overall I think the title did not quite match the content. What I expected was a kind of description of how a big thinker like Churchill made decisions in a more detailed analysis. Something like illustrating his strategy, step-by-step, on how he would pinpoint delicacy of political and social situations and those minutiae not observable to the ordinary eye. Instead what was in the book deserved a title like “the world according to Churchill”. In other words the book was a historical interpretation of the Churchill’s life with some general conceptualization of his ideas about war, peace, politics, life, and British culture.
Before I read the book I held Churchill in high esteem, but disappointingly after reading the book the impression I got was exactly the opposite; an almost ordinary man who achieved his goas by blowing with the wind and taking advantage of his family status and someone who made some horrendous mistakes with fatal consequence which of course was not expanded in the book as much as it should have been, to be fair. Although this is not meant to overlook his achievements such as being able to inspire and unite a nation during war time by his skillful speeches, political judgments and soldierly spirit. But overall regarding all his deeds which of course include his mistakes I now do not think Churchill was an exceptionally skilled politician.
My comments here and later on, at times, may seem harsh but by no means are aimed to be disrespectful or offensive. Now although I try to make comments about the book, I may inevitably judge Churchill’s actions and reactions, and that is because the content is all about him, and the aim is learning from him.
1. Don’t let a slow start hold you back
At the end of this chapter the author makes a remark on how raising in an influential family impacted Churchill’s future success. According to Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” and Rolf Dobelli’s “The art of the good life” this is an important privilege to have a fast start rather than slow!
2. Address your shortcomings
Churchill thinks the more we study the history, the more we can make sense of the future. While there is some truth in this belief, it is not absolutely correct, as it is not always possible to follow the past and sometime situations call for novel solutions.
3. Entertain ambition
Churchill starts his career in the army, it looks as if he knows how to take advantage of his strength in order to make progress in politics and eventually become prime minister. The same applies to Napoleon Bonaparte who began his career as an officer and then moved to the highest ranks of politics and eventually claimed the power as an emperor. Now the question is that whether there was a connection between army service and politics in terms of strategy and tactics, or chivalry was possibly an established way to move to top levels of politics in those days of England, or that the reputation gained through success during war time gave him a momentum to more easily shift to politics. I suspect a combination of all three might have been made a difference for Churchill.
4. Indulge your spirit of adventure
In his letter to his mother, Churchill writes in order to be successful in difficult situation sometimes it may be necessary to put one’s head in the lion’s mouth. Smith here asserts how writing so distressing words to a mother far away from a son who is engaging in military operations could be unwise but tries to justify Churchill’s mistake by propounding that Churchill was always trying to be honest and frank, as well as to make clear and decisive decisions. While Churchill (if he were alive today) could definitely claim to have made clear-cut decision but he certainly was not acting honestly or frankly at least not all the time or even most of the time.
5. Find your perfect partner-in-crime
Choosing the perfect (or almost perfect) partner is very much contingent upon luck. Although one makes effort to the best of his knowledge and experience to select a hopefully life-long partner, this may not happen and that is not always because he has made the wrong choice. Since life circumstances and people will change over time there is always a possibility for separation in a seemingly perfect marriage unless both sides commit themselves to invest in relationship throughout the whole period and not necessarily at the beginning.
Since reading about the family life of Churchill in this book I am convinced that he has not invested so much in his relationship with his wife, I think it is fair to say that Churchill has been lucky to have such a stable marriage till the end. Nevertheless I cannot consider his personal life a success, since according to Daniel Smith, Churchill hardly had time to spend with his family. Smith argues that Churchill would spend most of his life dealing with important issues such as political and social affairs and consequently did not have enough time to spend with his family. Although this claim may look sound at first glance, but one may say if he were such a clever or efficient person to deal with national affairs he should have managed his own personal life to some degree at least or in a more balanced way.
Furthermore it is not always the case that all politicians just have no personal life. Collectively after reading this chapter I came to the conclusion that Churchill was not so successful in his personal life but this is based on my current judgment about how a relationship should be. It could be that Churchill himself was perfectly OK (or more or less OK) with the way he treated his family.
6. See which way the wind is blowing
I am not quite sure whether this is a right advice but let’s keep this for the readers to interpret. Reading this chapter I thought the Churchill’s experience in journalism helped him in at least two ways. First, it enabled him to develop a kind of political acumen which was immensely useful to him throughout his (political) life. Second, this probably assisted him to build a reputation as a man of politics and to make some really critical links essential for his career advancement.
Towards the end of this chapter, Smith asserts Churchill did not hugely made an effort to publicize his ideas with regard to the rise of Hitler’s threat against European nations. One cannot help but asking why Churchill did not resort to his connections in mass media particularly print media to spread his words more emphatically?
7. Bounce back with grace
Parts of this chapter give the impression that Churchill’s mistakes were not by all means few.
8. It is the way you say it
It seems that as a result of his experience in the army Churchill was well aware of the power of motivational speeches for uniting people against the enemy. He then capable of writing invigorating speeches took advantage of this tactic at the highest standard during the war. Unfortunately during peace in most cases he could not convince the British people to follow him and that is probably a consequence of applying the same strategy which presumably proved not very effective.
9. Maintain a sense of humor
At the end of this chapter Smith concludes that although Churchill suffered from occasional psychological disorders, he could manage to stay healthy mentally and when necessary made decisions not influenced by those crises. I think it would have been better if Smith could also put together evidence against Churchill’s mental health particularly post-war and leave the judgment to the reader.
10. Churchill’s dark side
This chapter explicitly illustrates some of the Churchill’s most determining blunders. This is the chapter that specifically provides evidence that Churchill was not that genius that some people may think. His bone-dog metaphor is just totally meaningless and horrendous.
Concluding remarks
Churchill had both great and not so great idiosyncrasies but here I tried to mainly focus on the latter and that is because much have been told about his achievements. Nevertheless it is rather easy to spot someone’s mistakes because more than 50 years have passed since Churchill died and clearly as a result of all advancement in society we are in a better position to pinpoint mistakes made by people who lived before us, as it is much easier for people who will live after our death to judge our deeds. I guess the whole point of reading this book is learning from both Churchill’s achievements and mistakes and not judge him as a person.
Overall I think the title did not quite match the content. What I expected was a kind of description of how a big thinker like Churchill made decisions in a more detailed analysis. Something like illustrating his strategy, step-by-step, on how he would pinpoint delicacy of political and social situations and those minutiae not observable to the ordinary eye. Instead what was in the book deserved a title like “the world according to Churchill”. In other words the book was a historical interpretation of the Churchill’s life with some general conceptualization of his ideas about war, peace, politics, life, and British culture.
Before I read the book I held Churchill in high esteem, but disappointingly after reading the book the impression I got was exactly the opposite; an almost ordinary man who achieved his goas by blowing with the wind and taking advantage of his family status and someone who made some horrendous mistakes with fatal consequence which of course was not expanded in the book as much as it should have been, to be fair. Although this is not meant to overlook his achievements such as being able to inspire and unite a nation during war time by his skillful speeches, political judgments and soldierly spirit. But overall regarding all his deeds which of course include his mistakes I now do not think Churchill was an exceptionally skilled politician.
My comments here and later on, at times, may seem harsh but by no means are aimed to be disrespectful or offensive. Now although I try to make comments about the book, I may inevitably judge Churchill’s actions and reactions, and that is because the content is all about him, and the aim is learning from him.
1. Don’t let a slow start hold you back
At the end of this chapter the author makes a remark on how raising in an influential family impacted Churchill’s future success. According to Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” and Rolf Dobelli’s “The art of the good life” this is an important privilege to have a fast start rather than slow!
2. Address your shortcomings
Churchill thinks the more we study the history, the more we can make sense of the future. While there is some truth in this belief, it is not absolutely correct, as it is not always possible to follow the past and sometime situations call for novel solutions.
3. Entertain ambition
Churchill starts his career in the army, it looks as if he knows how to take advantage of his strength in order to make progress in politics and eventually become prime minister. The same applies to Napoleon Bonaparte who began his career as an officer and then moved to the highest ranks of politics and eventually claimed the power as an emperor. Now the question is that whether there was a connection between army service and politics in terms of strategy and tactics, or chivalry was possibly an established way to move to top levels of politics in those days of England, or that the reputation gained through success during war time gave him a momentum to more easily shift to politics. I suspect a combination of all three might have been made a difference for Churchill.
4. Indulge your spirit of adventure
In his letter to his mother, Churchill writes in order to be successful in difficult situation sometimes it may be necessary to put one’s head in the lion’s mouth. Smith here asserts how writing so distressing words to a mother far away from a son who is engaging in military operations could be unwise but tries to justify Churchill’s mistake by propounding that Churchill was always trying to be honest and frank, as well as to make clear and decisive decisions. While Churchill (if he were alive today) could definitely claim to have made clear-cut decision but he certainly was not acting honestly or frankly at least not all the time or even most of the time.
5. Find your perfect partner-in-crime
Choosing the perfect (or almost perfect) partner is very much contingent upon luck. Although one makes effort to the best of his knowledge and experience to select a hopefully life-long partner, this may not happen and that is not always because he has made the wrong choice. Since life circumstances and people will change over time there is always a possibility for separation in a seemingly perfect marriage unless both sides commit themselves to invest in relationship throughout the whole period and not necessarily at the beginning.
Since reading about the family life of Churchill in this book I am convinced that he has not invested so much in his relationship with his wife, I think it is fair to say that Churchill has been lucky to have such a stable marriage till the end. Nevertheless I cannot consider his personal life a success, since according to Daniel Smith, Churchill hardly had time to spend with his family. Smith argues that Churchill would spend most of his life dealing with important issues such as political and social affairs and consequently did not have enough time to spend with his family. Although this claim may look sound at first glance, but one may say if he were such a clever or efficient person to deal with national affairs he should have managed his own personal life to some degree at least or in a more balanced way.
Furthermore it is not always the case that all politicians just have no personal life. Collectively after reading this chapter I came to the conclusion that Churchill was not so successful in his personal life but this is based on my current judgment about how a relationship should be. It could be that Churchill himself was perfectly OK (or more or less OK) with the way he treated his family.
6. See which way the wind is blowing
I am not quite sure whether this is a right advice but let’s keep this for the readers to interpret. Reading this chapter I thought the Churchill’s experience in journalism helped him in at least two ways. First, it enabled him to develop a kind of political acumen which was immensely useful to him throughout his (political) life. Second, this probably assisted him to build a reputation as a man of politics and to make some really critical links essential for his career advancement.
Towards the end of this chapter, Smith asserts Churchill did not hugely made an effort to publicize his ideas with regard to the rise of Hitler’s threat against European nations. One cannot help but asking why Churchill did not resort to his connections in mass media particularly print media to spread his words more emphatically?
7. Bounce back with grace
Parts of this chapter give the impression that Churchill’s mistakes were not by all means few.
8. It is the way you say it
It seems that as a result of his experience in the army Churchill was well aware of the power of motivational speeches for uniting people against the enemy. He then capable of writing invigorating speeches took advantage of this tactic at the highest standard during the war. Unfortunately during peace in most cases he could not convince the British people to follow him and that is probably a consequence of applying the same strategy which presumably proved not very effective.
9. Maintain a sense of humor
At the end of this chapter Smith concludes that although Churchill suffered from occasional psychological disorders, he could manage to stay healthy mentally and when necessary made decisions not influenced by those crises. I think it would have been better if Smith could also put together evidence against Churchill’s mental health particularly post-war and leave the judgment to the reader.
10. Churchill’s dark side
This chapter explicitly illustrates some of the Churchill’s most determining blunders. This is the chapter that specifically provides evidence that Churchill was not that genius that some people may think. His bone-dog metaphor is just totally meaningless and horrendous.
Concluding remarks
Churchill had both great and not so great idiosyncrasies but here I tried to mainly focus on the latter and that is because much have been told about his achievements. Nevertheless it is rather easy to spot someone’s mistakes because more than 50 years have passed since Churchill died and clearly as a result of all advancement in society we are in a better position to pinpoint mistakes made by people who lived before us, as it is much easier for people who will live after our death to judge our deeds. I guess the whole point of reading this book is learning from both Churchill’s achievements and mistakes and not judge him as a person.
December 24, 2025
Краткое описание жизни, особенностей и заслуг Уинстона Черчилля. Как раз для тех, кому завтра нужно +- ориентироваться в том, что это за легендарная личность. Лёгкая в прочтении, украинский перевод отличный.
August 21, 2017
This excellent book (purchased at the shop in the Imperial War Museum, London) is arranged as a survey of Churchill's life, focusing on the key areas of his mindset and worldview, which supply the structure for the narrative. I found it highly readable and inspiring, though this volume may not satisfy a serious, scholarly reader who wishes to study Churchill's life through a more in-depth, comprehensive biography. One of Churchill's maxims which he apparently gave to an audience of school pupils waiting for words of wisdom from the great man, was "I only have 5 words to give you. Never, never, never give up." And this maxim was born out by the varied events of Churchill's life, from his beginnings in the privileged environment of Blenheim Palace through a strangely dysfunctional childhood with distant parents, onto his years as a risk-taker and adventurer participating in military action whilst also working as an embedded journalist, and thereafter tracing the immensely changeable fortunes of his political life. We are swept along with the twists and turns of his journey, to his years as the statesman who raised the morale of those fighting against Hitler, using a powerful command of the England language, and numerous personal strengths and weaknesses, in order to defeat tyranny. A highly recommended book for those who seek to improve their knowledge of Sir Winston Churchill and perhaps even to take heart from his example, in their own personal life-struggles, within the pages of an accessible and well written book.
September 29, 2020
A wonderful and well-organized book that gives you a clear perspective, in many phases and aspects of life, of who was Sir Winston Churchill, the "greatest britanic that ever lived".
He was the major face of the European opposition controlled, more and more, by the nazi empire. He was the one who stood the ground, fighting alone against Hitler when France had surrendered. Most people know this, but they don't know that we was Nobel winner, that we was a problematic kid in school, that he lost 6 elections, changed parties two times (conservative and liberal), and went through several depressions, his father was also Minister of Finances, that we was arrested in India, that one of his daughters died at the age 2 or that another commited suicide, or even that at the 30's, after losing against the labor party, he dedicated several years to oil painting as an hobby and was appraized by many artists like Picasso, the list goes on and on.
His life was truly a russian roulette, with ups and downs, mistakes and glories. Despite his somewhat ethical errors (Dresden fires, Hiroshima bombs, imperialistic view, anti-feminism, etc), he always had a moral code, and tried to serve the people and provide them with peace and prosperity no matter the cost. And if somehow, we can live freely at this time, Churchill is certainly one of the mans we can thank for.
An exemple of mightful courage and strength within caos and fear, this certainly is nice, easy and fun book to read on of the most charistic people that ever existed.
He was the major face of the European opposition controlled, more and more, by the nazi empire. He was the one who stood the ground, fighting alone against Hitler when France had surrendered. Most people know this, but they don't know that we was Nobel winner, that we was a problematic kid in school, that he lost 6 elections, changed parties two times (conservative and liberal), and went through several depressions, his father was also Minister of Finances, that we was arrested in India, that one of his daughters died at the age 2 or that another commited suicide, or even that at the 30's, after losing against the labor party, he dedicated several years to oil painting as an hobby and was appraized by many artists like Picasso, the list goes on and on.
His life was truly a russian roulette, with ups and downs, mistakes and glories. Despite his somewhat ethical errors (Dresden fires, Hiroshima bombs, imperialistic view, anti-feminism, etc), he always had a moral code, and tried to serve the people and provide them with peace and prosperity no matter the cost. And if somehow, we can live freely at this time, Churchill is certainly one of the mans we can thank for.
An exemple of mightful courage and strength within caos and fear, this certainly is nice, easy and fun book to read on of the most charistic people that ever existed.
September 10, 2018
NS (never stop) and NTMF (need to move forward) became two of the most important principles in Winston Churchill’s life. So do we dare to live following these advices? Only God knowns!
February 26, 2019
Short and interesting
March 31, 2020
An interesting account of one of history’s greatest leaders and what made him tick. An enjoyable read from beginning to end.
May 21, 2020
The title of the book is not matching the content whatsoever. Nevertheless I did enjoy interesting insights on Churchill’s approach to life, values, and experiences.
September 23, 2023
An interesting insight about such an important and remarkable man of the past century. His impact on the world is impressive. It's a great read.
April 26, 2025
Boa biografia. Muitas citações.
November 30, 2025
Short chapters and relevant quotes made this a good quick read. It’s not an in-depth analysis of Churchills life and career, but certainly gives you some insight. A good morning read.
September 7, 2015
Poglavja:
1 naj te počasen začetek ne zaustavi
2 uporabi svoj duh avanturizma
3 kako se lotiti tkanja
4 najti partnerja za podvige
5 konzervativno in liberalno
6 napredek kljub udarcem
7 demokracija
8 Hitler
9 PV
Nič ne da večjega zadovoljstva govorcu kot občutek, da so poslušalci njegove poudarke odnesli domov
10 preprosti ljudje
11 imperij
A What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone
B nič ni dražje kot maščevanje
12 slikanje
13atomska bomba
We are a free people because a man called Winston Churchil lived
1 naj te počasen začetek ne zaustavi
2 uporabi svoj duh avanturizma
3 kako se lotiti tkanja
4 najti partnerja za podvige
5 konzervativno in liberalno
6 napredek kljub udarcem
7 demokracija
8 Hitler
9 PV
Nič ne da večjega zadovoljstva govorcu kot občutek, da so poslušalci njegove poudarke odnesli domov
10 preprosti ljudje
11 imperij
A What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone
B nič ni dražje kot maščevanje
12 slikanje
13atomska bomba
We are a free people because a man called Winston Churchil lived
August 24, 2016
The title is deceiving. The book reads more like a 'History of Churchill for Dummies'. I expected a more rigorous exploration of the mind and actions of Churchill as implied by the book title and was slightly disappointed.
August 30, 2015
The tale of a controversial figure. While many habits are worth adding, many are worth neglecting as well, but a great read!
July 1, 2016
Not what I expected, however still an insightful read.
July 7, 2023
Pretty Average mas é bom para dar uma ideia inicial da vida dele.
“Vinho e queijo são como homem e mulher, homem não os separa.Nem mulher”
“Vinho e queijo são como homem e mulher, homem não os separa.Nem mulher”
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews