Winston Churchill

by Henry Pelling

Winston Spencer Churchill was an extraordinary combination of soldier and statesman. Of aristocratic birth, he enlisted as a cavalry officer, saw action at the Battle of Omdurman and, as a civilian, reported the Boer War for the "Manchester Guardian". Captured by the Boers, he escaped dramatically, and the popular appeal of his exploits helped him into a Parliamentary seat. At the outset of World War I he became the First Lord of the Admiralty and acted as the initiator of the Antwerp and Gallipoli campaigns. These failed to bear fruit and he became a colonel in the front line on the western front. At the end of the war, his political life followed a chequered career until he received the call to become prime Minister in May 1940. In this role, many thought he proved to be the saviour of his country. Dr Henry Pelling gives a biography of the great war leader.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Politics

736 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

A specialist in modern British political history, Henry Mathison Pelling was educated at Birkenhead School and St John's College, Cambridge. He taught at Queen's College, Oxford and St. John's College, Cambridge.

Reviews

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent one-volume biography. Gives a real sense of Churchill as a person, beyond the historical caricatures. Gives enough background for the reader to be able to follow the context of the historical events he is involved in, without drowning in detail. The one big gap for me, was the failure to properly investigate the source of Churchill's livid hostility to "socialism" - a matter of some historical interest given the way it shaped his view of the world and his decision-making. The gap is especially glaring because the book makes it clear that Churchill was emotionally sensitive to the suffering and difficult circumstances of ordinary people, quite sympathetic to such things as trade unionism, un-afraid of a strong role for the state in society and economy, and advocated and worked for some substantial pieces of social legislation that helped form the basis of what would later become the 'welfare-state' in Britain. I have developed some theories of my own, but I'd've liked to see the question tackled by the author.

[Federico Kereki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interestingly, though the author writes a lot about Churchill as a writer, no mention of his Nobel prize for Literature is made... Also, the chapters on WW2 are a bit short, considering the great influence of Churchill.

[Dries Human · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absorbing and just enough detail

[tanya]

started this morning