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Churchill: A Life (平装)
by Martin Gilbert
| Category:
World War II, Statesmanship, Leadership |
| Market price: ¥ 340.00
MSL price:
¥ 298.00
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MSL rating:
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| MSL Pointer Review:
The definitive biography of one of the greatest statesman and leader of the 20th century. |
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AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 11 items |
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Hugh Brogan (The New York Times Book Review) (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
Mr. Gilbert's job was to bring alive before his readers a man of extraordinary genius and scarcely less extraordinary destiny. He has done so triumphantly.
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The Los Angeles Times (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
A richly textured and deeply moving portrait of greatness.
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The Washington Post Book World (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
It would seem impossible to distill the eight volumes of Churchill's authorized biography into a single volume, even one of a thousand pages. But that is what Martin Gilbert has done, and the result does not seem pinched at all. It is of course a grand story.
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Herbert Mitgang (The New York Times) (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
The most scholarly study of Churchill in war and peace ever written... essential diplomatic history and enlightening personal history. |
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Philip Ziegler (The Telegraph) (MSL quote), UK
<2007-01-22 00:00>
By far the most lucid, comprehensive, and authoritative account of Churchill that has been offered in a single volume. It furnishes a crown to Gilbert's already prodigious labors.
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Andrew Wienke (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
This book is a fantastic, concise volume of the complete life of Winston Churchill. It shows all of the struggles that he had to deal with along with the achievements that he embraced during his career and personal life. Gilbert does not leave anything out of this book, whether it be positive or negative. Usually I don't recall hearing bad things about his career, such as the ill fated Dardanelles plan in World War I. But this book holds nothing back, this also helps in highlighting some of the great things that he has done, most obviously leading England through some of the toughest days of the Second World War. Another thing that it shows is how stubborn America was in entering into the war and going along with some of Churchill's plans that might have shortened the war. Gilbert also exposes some not so wonderful things about Roosevelt and Truman. They did some foolish things as well and they did not take some wise pieces of advice that Churchill gave. In the end of this book, it became increasingly somber as I read about the deteriorating health of the great man and ultimately his death. I could not believe how tough memebers of his own government would be sometimes yelling for his retirement during the middle of his speeches. It was very disheartening and annoying at the same time. This is still an excellent book that makes me appreciate Churchill all the more to see what he had to deal with and how he perservered.
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
The 90 year life of Winston Churchill is so eventful and important, it is difficult to chronicle in a single volume. Indeed, Churchill's official biography, of which Martin Gilbert was a major author and collaborator, consists of eight volumes. That said, the average reader, interested in the facts of Churchill's life and times, does not have time to read multiple volumes. Thus, a top quality single volume work becomes imperative.
This is not simply a condensation of the eight volume work but is rather a new work in its own right, which draws on the eight volume work as a major source. Gilbert also relies heavily on Churchill's own archives, the archives of his wife Clementine and the materials of important persons in Churchill's life such as Lady Asquith. As with all of Gilbert's books, this volume is thorough, authoritative, factual and slightly prosaic. One advantage though is that the book is liberally filled with Churchill's actual written and spoken words. Churchill's words are never dull and liven up the text considerably.
The book follows Churchill's life in chronological order from his birth in 1874 through his death in 1965. Although all aspects of his life are touched on, Gilbert's emphasis is on Churchill's public role. The reader unfamiliar with Churchill will be amazed at the number of events of British history in which Churchill played a primary part. In his early twenties, Churchill saw action as an officer and then as a journalist in a number of British colonial wars. Most notably, he was taken prisoner by the Boers during the Boer war, from which he escaped. Originally elected to Parliament as a Conservative during the reign of Victoria, Churchill soon broke with the Tories over the issue of tariffs, which Churchill adamantly opposed. Joining the Liberals, Churchill soon rose to high office. Together with David Lloyd George, Churchill was a major figure in the passage of numerous social and labor reforms. By 1911, Churchill was named First Lord of the Admiralty, where he prepared the British Navy for the conflict with Germany that he sensed was coming. Churchill's career stalled during the First World War when his sound plan to capture Constantinople via Gallipolli, was undermined by the military men charged with carrying it out, Churchill was forced to resign the Admiralty and ultimately saw action as the commander of a Brigade in France. He returned to the cabinet as Minister of Munitions prior to the war's end. After the war, Churchill served as Colonial Secretary where he supported the Zionist movement for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and had much to do with the issuance of the Balfour declaration. He never wavered from his position that a Jewish homeland in Palestine was not only just but that it served British interest. In this, as in so many other areas, Churchill stood largely alone. In his role as Colonial Secretary, Churchill essentially created the modern Arab nation states including Egypt, Jordan and Iraq among others.
Churchill also served as Home Secretary where he worked out the settlement with Michael Collins and Sin Fein that created the Republic of Ireland. Churchill moved away from the Liberals as they began to lose ground to the Labour party who he adamantly opposed. For a number of years Churchill was essentially an independent supported by the Conservatives. He was finally invited back into the Conservative fold, serving in the opposition shadow cabinet of Stanley Baldwin in the late 1920's.
Churchill again broke with the Conservatives over the party's policy favoring centralized Indian home rule. This was an issue over which all parties were largely in agreement yet Churchill was adamant in his opposition. He believed that the end of the British Raj in India would lead to the Hindu persecution of lower castes and slaughter between Hindu and Muslim nationalists. History has, of course, proven him right and gradual independence might have saved millions of lives. At the time, however, he was subjected to the worst ridicule and ostracized.
Churchill's stance seemed to spell the end of his career. All through the thirties, he maintained his seat in Parliament yet was never asked to serve in a government. He was ignored, in succession by Ramsey McDonald (head of a Labour/Conservative coalition), Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain. His warnings about Hitler, the threat from Germany and Britain's growing weakness were utterly ignored. Only when the war began in September 1939 was Churchill invited back into the Admiralty and into the War Cabinet by Chamberlain. Finally, in 1940, when Chamberlain was forced to resign, Churchill was asked by the King to take his place. At 65, in the hour of Britain's greatest peril, Churchill was Prime Minister and the head of a national unity government determined to defeat the Nazi menace. Gilbert spends a disproportionate amount of space on these vital five years. At the age when most people are retiring, Churchill with enormous vitality was traveling the globe in support of the British war effort.
Upon Germany's defeat, in July 1945, Churchill was promptly turned out of office and the Socialists took over. He continued to lead the Conservative party in opposition and was returned to power in 1952. At first, an outspoken critic of Stalin's Soviet Union (he coined the phrase "the iron curtain") Churchill came to favor a political resolution of differences between the West and the Soviets. Finally, retiring as Prime Minister and head of the party in 1955 at the age of 81, Churchill's final words of advice to his successors was to "stand with the Americans."
Winston Spencer Churchill is one of the pivotal figures of the twentieth century and one of the greatest men of all time. This book does justice to his greatness. For a much greater insight into Churchill's character and personal life, I recommend the two books in The Last Lion series by William Manchester. This book is clearly superior to the recent biography by Roy Jenkins. It is the finest one volume biography available. |
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Serge Steenkiste (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
Martin Gilbert has realized an impressive tour de force in introducing us to an exceptional, unusual phenomenon of nature, Winston Spencer Churchill in a single volume. WSC himself was conscious of his extraordinary destiny early. As he famously mentioned at the age of thirty-two, "we are all worms, but I do believe I am a glow-worm." Many of his contemporaries shared that insight quite quickly.
Describing Churchill, however, is tricky. As one of his early conquests, Pamela Plowden, noted in 1905, "The first time you meet Winston, you see all his faults, and the rest of your life you spend in discovering his virtues." In his final comments, Gilbert makes a short, penetrating portrait of WSC: Vision and foresight, humanity and sense of fair play, democracy and patriotism, formidable powers of work and thought... and controversy, disappointment and abuse.
Vision and Foresight: e.g. Nature of the future Great War, its development and devastating consequences, perils of curbing Free Trade, distinction between criminal and political prisoners, anticipation of "Blitzkrieg", warning about the dangers of Communism and prediction of its ultimate downfall, comeback of a humiliated Germany with a vengeance, unwavering support for the cause of Zionism that will ultimately lead to the creation of Israel, collective security mechanism to preserve peace in Europe, precursor of article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, bankruptcy of appeasement policy conducted with Nazi Germany from weakness, unfolding of WWII and its destructions, construction of a post-war European Union around the French-German axis, use of nuclear arm to conduct a new strategic policy and call for a balanced and phased system of disarmament down the road, special relationship with the United States of America.
Humanity and Sense of Fair Play: e.g. "No political freedom without a measure at least of social and economic independence," perfectly conscious of the strain of his political life on his relationship with his wife, Clementine, scrupulous fairness to any man before Churchill on a charge under his command in the Belgian trenches, fairness of his demobilization plan, his funeral oration in praise of Neville Chamberlain, his concern with the plight of German civilians at the end of WWII, "(His eyes) can be hard as he looks at you - or as tender as a woman's - they can weep easily," his lack of pretentiousness and real charm to everyone, his acts of generosity towards his friends and family, his faith in the ultimate wisdom of humanity.
Democracy and Patriotism: e. g. Successful withdrawal of anti-Semitic Aliens Bill, resolute opposition against both Communism and Fascism, servant of the Nation at war, establishment of a post-war 'United States of Europe' excluding Russia, essence of Churchill's political philosophy reduced to seven questions, importance of the right to vote in a democracy.
Formidable Powers of Work and Thought: e. g. "You inspire us all by your courage & resolution," "Supreme quality which I venture to say very few of your present or future Cabinet possess, the power, the imagination, the deadliness to fight Germany," "He has lion-hearted courage. No number of enemies can fight down his ability and force. His hour of triumph will come," "Anything he undertakes he puts his heart and soul into," "There is no doubt he was a very hard taskmaster. He drove us. And he rarely gave praise," "No one like him. His devotion to work and duty is quite extraordinary," Nobel prize for Literature in 1953.
Controversy, Disappointment and Abuse: e.g. Tendency to make "Unnecessary enemies," "The restless energy, uncontrollable desire for notoriety & the lack of moral perception making (Churchill) an anxiety," "Much hated by those who have not come under his personal charm," "When I am not consumed with inward fury at the damnable twists which I have been served with, and chewing black charcoal with all my might, I am buoyant and lively," perceived as a danger across the political chessboard," "His 'private war' on Russia perceived as a repetition of previous excesses," his decried "Mercurial temperament," decade spent in the wilderness fighting Hitler and his regime alone"A wayward genius unserviceable in council," sometimes "So tiresome and pigheaded," grandeur in accepting political defeat after his victory at war in 1945, at times "Very difficult and contrary."
Hopefully, our country will generate one day another Winston Spencer Churchill to rescue us in due time from the abyss of a major disaster that could endanger our place in the world. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
A man of outstanding letters, a combat experienced soldier, an accomplished painter, a diplomate of unparalled skill, a speaker with undeniable wit and a rapier tounge...a strong case can be made for the nomination of Sir Winston Churchill as the Person of the 20th Century.
In his biography, Churchill; A Life, distinguished historian and biographer Martin Gilbert presents a fascinating account of the great man's life. The author knows his subject well, having worked starting in 1962 as a junior research team member of the Churchill family's undertaking to write a multi-volume biography. He continued in that capacity until Churchill's death in 1968. This masterful work is a scholarly study that the author backs up with research from orginal source documents.
There are in today's world, a plethora of celebrities. There are, though, few heores. Winston Churchill was a hero; not just for his own generation, but for all those who followed. This one volume life story provides the reader with an intimate glimpse behind the facade and the glitter and the stories (real or contrived) about one of Great Britain's most memorable contributions to humanity.
From his childhood on to his involvement in the Boear War in South Africa to his ups and downs as a politician through the courage he inspired by confronting the evil of National Socialism as practiced by Hitler to identifying the scourge of Communism and defining it's boundaries as an Iron Curtain, the biographer details the Prime Minister's thoughts and attitudes in an inspiring manner.
Those who know little about all of this will do well to consider the biography as a worthwhile reading project. The Crimea, the assassination of the Arch Duke Ferdinand and the meaning of Malta have, still today, significant (though largely unrecognized) influence in our lives. Those who do know the story will benefit from refreshing the memory of it all.
Truly this book is worthy of owning and reading.
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Cody Carlson (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
Gilbert's one volume biography Churhcill: A Life is a remarkable study of the man who contributed so much to the cause of liberty and to the world of literature. Churchill's life is traced with all the power, wit, and determination that marked Britain's famed war and peacetime Prime Minister. Gilbert's account succeeds on many levels, but perhaps the most illuminating are the portraits he gives us of Churchill during the First World War and in his second Priemership. Churchill's frustration with the government over their unwillingness to clear his name after the Dardenelles fiasco makes for riviting reading and the old man's stubborn refusal to resign from the Prime Ministership in the early fifies gives a unique glimpse into the heart of this great man. Gilbert also gives us a wonderful look at Chruchill the writer as his process of creating his wonderful histories and biographies is examined. Throughtout this work, Gilbert presents Churchill objectivly, but still with a real, personal warmness. Reading the accounts of Chruchill's death at the end of the book make one feel as though they have lost a friend. Winston Churchill was undoubtedly one of the century's most critical figures- he was the man who beat Hitler - but for a personal, deeply moving account Gilbert's work is one that is not to be missed.
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