Churchill

by Robert Blake, William Roger Louis

A stirring war leader, an orator unequaled as the rallier of a nation under siege, a powerful writer - Winston Churchill was all these and more. By now he has become a figure of almost mythic proportions. To find the man within the legend is the task to which twenty-nine renowned British and American historians and political leaders dedicate themselves in this volume. It may be the last assessment possible of Churchill's life and career by those who, for the most part, came of age during the Churchill era. From his youth in the landed aristocracy through his early experiences of war to service in Parliament over seven storm-tossed decades, Churchill takes us far beyond the surface of events. Here is Winston Churchill, surprisingly, a founder of the modern welfare state, when he became a principal driving force behind the Liberal welfare reforms of 1908-11. In the 1920s, we find him astonished to be offered the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer (after accepting, he reflected that "I should have...answered, 'Will the bloody duck swim?'"). His concern with domestic affairs bracketed the years of the First World War which saw him, initially, as First Lord of the Admiralty. Churchill tasted failure in the disastrous defeat of the Dardanelles expedition in 1915. There followed two years "in the wilderness" during which he took a battalion command on the western front. "He hankered after brilliant coups, heroic adventure on a small but decisive scale" but he had learned a crucial lesson for his later years as war leader of Britain: "against an adversary as formidable as the Germans, there was no substitute for the massive organization and skillful application of force on the largest possible scale, backed up by...science and technology...." Appointed Colonial Secretary, Churchill had to deal with some regions that were to remain trouble spots to the century's end: Palestine and Southern Africa among them. A staunch defender of the Empire, he believed that Britis

Genres: History

596 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1992

About the author

Robert Norman William Blake, Baron Blake was an English historian. He is best known for his 1966 biography of Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, and for The Conservative Party from Peel to Churchill, which grew out of his 1968 Ford lectures. He was created a life peer as Baron Blake, of Braydeston in the County of Norfolk.

Lord Blake was editor of the Dictionary of National Biography, a Trustee of the British Museum, and Chairman of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author takes a relatively quick view of Churchill's life, from birth to death. The reader needs significant knowledge of British history to make full sense of things, so, if one doesn't have this knowledge, another book is probably better. However, for a general overview of Churchill's life, this book is pretty good.