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 largestpossible 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 British rule would bring
benefits and harmony to distant populations. Still, Churchill's
finest hours were to come when, with the German army marching
across the Low Countries into France, he succeeded to the Prime
Ministership. The events of that crucial time are closely examined.
"There was only one person I could send for to form a Government
who had the confidence of his country", wrote King George VI, "and
that was Winston". In fascinating detail, Churchill's conduct of
the war is viewed from both diplomatic and military angles - with
revealing light shed on his relationships with Roosevelt and
Stalin, his handling of special intelligence, the "ceaseless"
prodding "of the generals, admirals and air marshal is who were
prosecuting the war whether as Defence chiefs or in the arenas of
combat". The volume carries us through the postwar period and the
realignment of Europe to face a formidable power to the Eastthe
Soviet Union. We discover a Churchill resigned to letting the ties
of Empire lessen even as, at home, a triumphant Labour party
greatly alters Britain's economic and social structure. Under the
scrutiny of experts, Churchill emerges very much the dominant
figure of his time. His stature, as attested by the contributors to
this volume, does not change; the features, however, become more
finely chiseled.
General
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