The History Book Club discussion

This is a thread where you can jot down those quotes from The Second World War - The Gathering Storm which are memorable as well as those Churchill lines which made you stop and think as you read along. Please jot them down here and describe their impact upon you, the reader.

Also, any of your favorite quotes by Churchill or about Churchill can be posted here even if they came from other Churchill books, speeches or other sources. This is not a non spoiler thread.


by Winston S. Churchill

Ah, thanks Bentley for opening this thread!

Apparently the old maxim -- "A prophet is without honour in his own country" or his "own time" -- applies to Winston Churchill:

"When I first visited the United States in 1965, I was astonished to find that so many Americans still loathed Franklin D. Roosevelt, one of Britain's great heroes. Similarly, many Americans and Canadians were astonished and shocked to discover that so many in Britain had hated and distrusted Churchill, even during his war leadership. They also found it difficult to accept that his denigrators had any real cause for their hostility, and thought that the fault lay entirely with them, and not with him. But I remember watching a newsreel in an Oxford cinema in 1954 of his eightieth birthday honours by Parliament in Westminster Hall when a large element in the audience booed him. ... There were many who echoed the comment of Churchill's closest friend, Lord Birkenhead, that 'When Winston is right he is unique. When he is wrong -- Oh My God!'"


I also thought James' caveat concerning Winston's humanity very useful:

"It is only too easy to miss the main point about this phenomenon -- namely that [ Winston Churchill:] was a human being and a very fallible one. To dehumanize Churchill, to make him an all-wise automaton that poured out speeches, books, articles, and military decrees, does him no service at all. Indeed, it was his very humanity, his failures as well as his triumphs, his weaknesses as well as his strengths, that make him so fascinating."

Robert Rhodes James, chpt 29, p.503 in R. Blake & W.R. Louis, "Churchill: A Major Assessment of His Life," 1996.

I recently read this quote from Churchill about economists: "If you have two economists in a room you will have two different opinions, unless one of them is Keynes, in which case you will have three opinions."
LOL

That is terrific Dick and so true.

"Indeed it has been said that Democracy is the worst form of Government..except for all those others that have been tried from time to time."

Winston Churchill - 1947

" And that is how Hilter lost the chance to meet me "

Winston Churchill

Love this line I think it Sums up Churchill Nicely, for nearly anyone else it would read 'And that is how I lost the chance the meet Hitler.'

Yes, Churchill is one of my favorite heroes with all of his warts.

That is a great quote Michael.

Another one from Churchill is his response to a females comment to him at "One of those pesky dinners".

The female, whom Winston has slighted, remarks to Winston "If you where my husband I would try and poison you."

To this Churchill's replies "If I where your husband I would gladly take the poison”.

Have you visited the Churchill Museum in London...I bet you would love it...it is fabulous...and that quote is priceless.

Unfortunatley I have only been as far as Heathrow, on my way to Moscow.

"There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at and missed"

This is a quote from Churchill's experience in the Boer war. I believe he was a lieutenant?

Churchill is one of my favorites as well. "Never in the field of conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few"

Are we reading The Gathering Storm? Sorry if I missed that.

Yes, we did read the Gathering Storm, the links are going to be added to the Second World War folder.

First the good. Michael's "female at the pesky party" accused Churchill of being drunk. He replied, "Yes, Madame, I am drunk and you are ugly. The difference is that tomorrow I shall be sober."

Second the bad. Well, I don't wish to spoil the fun, so I shall keep my opinions of Churchill to myself. I have written of him in different threads where one can quickly find my opinion, if the dear reader has an interest in it.

I guess everybody is entitled to their opinions; but I am an unabashed Churchill enthusiast. (smile).

Bentley wrote: "I guess everybody is entitled to their opinions; but I am an unabashed Churchill enthusiast. (smile)."

You are not alone. That's why I didn't want to be the spoil-sport in this forum.

I imagine anybody who devotes as much of his life to public service as Churchill eventually will do something that somebody doesn't like. Were it not for Vietnam, I would probably remember LBJ fondly! FDR, who is one of my two favorite U.S. presidents, had his own dark moments.

Very true Vheissu.

Although Churchill's words are the ones that we always remember from WWII, this little bon mot from General Douglas MacArthur is worth remembering.


"Whoever said that the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons."

Winston Churchill

Very true statement.

Great find Jill.

Winston Churchill, "If you are going to go through hell, keep going."

Excellent Doreen (smile) that guy always gives me a smile

I love anything and everything about Winston Churchill.

Ditto

Remember to honor him with a citation.

@Jill (message 17) and @Doreen (message 19)

Winston Churchill

I'll remember next time. BTW I love the little pic of him. Better pic than my id. lol

It certainly is - very easy to do an edit.

And we appreciate everybody's posts and all of your comments. Terrific.

He always looked himself in all of his photos. Can't say anything about your id but I am not that photogenic either.

I just love this one! Winston Churchill Bessie Braddock: Sir, you are drunk.
Churchill: And you, madam, are ugly. But in the morning, I shall be sober.

I do too. He was quite something.

"What General Weygand has called Battle of France is over ... the Battle of Britain is about to begin."


Winston Churchill

An excellent one.

And of course, the quote that still causes people to get tears in their eyes. Spoken in 1940 when Britain stood alone against the Nazis.

"We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

Winston Churchill

Churchill could always come up with such memorable statements which will always live throughout history. Here he speaks in 1942, after the battle of Egypt.

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

Winston Churchill

One of the shortest and well remembered quotations from WWI is......"Nuts"

General Anthony Clement McAuliffe (July 2, 1898 – August 11, 1975) was the United States Army general who was the acting division commander of the 101st Airborne Division troops defending Bastogne, Belgium, during World War II's Battle of the Bulge. He is famous for his single-word reply of "Nuts!" in response to a German surrender ultimatum.


(Source: Wikipedia)

I've always wondered one thing about that quote. Did the Germans have to find someone who had lived in America to interpret that one word for them? I can picture some German General looking at the message and saying the Deutsche equivalent f "Huh?"

There are a couple of stories floating around about that, Dave. First, as you mentioned, the Germans didn't have a clue what the American slang "Nuts" meant and may have had to find someone who did. Second, that the message was a little more graphic than the one word and was a bit more understandable to the Germans. Whatever the case, it has passed down as one of the few humorous quotes of WWII.

"Before Alamein, we had no victories. After Alamein, we had no defeats"......Winston Churchill speaking of the North African campaign. (Source: Second World War History)

Winston Churchill

"Hitler knows he will have to break us in this island or lose the war." Churchill growled this on June 18, 1940, three weeks after Dunkirk and when all the "smart money" was saying Britain would fold before August. It was an outlandish quote at the time, but it was true -- and in 1945 people could see how true it was.

Thanks for the add, Brooke. After Dunkirk, which has come down through history as a victory rather that a defeat, it appeared that Britain was on her knees........not so said Mr. Churchill. I have always thought that his words to the people of Britain during those dark days played a major part in the country's refusal to buckle under.

BTW, when you mention an author, always cite him/her as I did below. Thanks.

Winston S. Churchill

Jill wrote: "Thanks for the add, Brooke. After Dunkirk, which has come down through history as a victory rather that a defeat, it appeared that Britain was on her knees........not so said Mr. Churchill. I have ..."

Hi, Jill. I actually tried to include the Churchill picture but menu I found did not produce one.

Hmmmmm.......there is a fiction writer with the same name that has no photo. You may have seen that one instead. Sometimes you have to add the middle initial to get to the PM's picture. Are you using the "add book/author" feature on the top right of the comment box?

Jill wrote: "Hmmmmm.......there is a fiction writer with the same name that has no photo. You may have seen that one instead. Sometimes you have to add the middle initial to get to the PM's picture. Are you usi..."

Yes, I think I used the book/author feature and typed Winston Churchill. Several came up, including Winston S. Churchill, prime minister, but all had gray "no photo" images, not real images. I am relying on week-old memory here, but try WSC yourself and see what you get. Brooke

The picture came up for me using Winston S. Churchill. That search is pretty unforgiving so don't forget the period after "S" and be sure the radio button on the bottom is set to "photo". BTW, are you using the GR app? If so, it does not always work very well.

Winston S. Churchill

And when he gets to Heaven
To St. Peter he will tell:
One more Marine reporting, Sir — I've served my time in Hell.

Sgt. James A. Donahue
First Marine Division

(Source: Marksquotes)

"Casualties many; Percentage of dead not known; Combat efficiency; we are winning."
Colonel David M. Shoup - (Tarawa) - 21st November 1943

(Source: WWIIquotes.net)

General MacArthur certainly had a way with words.

We are not retreating -- we are advancing in another direction.

(Source: Dave's Quotes)

Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue - Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (March 16, 1945)

(Source: WW2)

Statement made by British General Bernard Montgomery on first impressions of American General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Short and to the point.

"Nice chap, no General."

(Source: WW2)

Funny wasn't he. I loved the MacArthur quote in message 43

The National WWII Museum has a page of quotes from Allied Leaders:

http://www.nationalww2museum.org/lear...

June 30, 1938

“Freedom to learn is the first necessity of guaranteeing that man himself shall be self-reliant enough to be free. … If the fires of freedom and civil liberties burn low in other lands they must be made brighter in our own. If in other lands the press and books and literature of all kinds are censored, we must redouble our efforts here to keep them free. If in other lands the eternal truths of the past are threatened by intolerance we must provide a safe place for their perpetuation.”

- President Franklin D. Roosevelt | Address to the National Education Association

"Germany having seized the prey, Soviet Russia will seize that part of the carcass that Germany cannot use. It will play the noble role of hyena to the German lion."

NY Times commenting on the joint invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union, 1939

(Source: WWIIhistory)

"On this tenth day of June 1940, the hand that held the dagger has struck it into the back of its neighbor"

President Franklin Roosevelt speaking of Italy.

(Source: WWIIhistory>

"I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, upon learning of the success of the attack on Pearl Harbor

(Source: Marksquotes)