Churchill: The Power of Words

Being an Indian, ever since my childhood I have heard only bad things about this man; and with all honesty almost all of it is true. He was directly responsible for a devastating famine in India during the war. But as I grew up, I understood that the situation was beyond his control. He was leading a war against tyranny and his interests lied in victory of his country. Every human being is flawed and they take wrong decisions and in this case we were in the wrong side.So I thought of learning a bit about his life and works and purchased this book.The first good thing is, the organisation of the materials. It's like a journey through the life of Churchill rather than a boring documentary. Every section has an introduction to what follows, to put things in the right context. As you keep reading, you will see a certain new character trait of Churchill which he developed from a certain experience. Churchill's writings are sharp and clean and the author of this book has done a great job in sketching a brief picture of Churchill's life.The second second is History: I learned a lot about the world the world history by reading this book. Whenever I found anything that I have not heard before, I just went to Wikipedia and learned about that chapter of history.To cut the long story short, this book tells you a lot about Churchill's life and his journeys. A well read man who had travelled to far corners of the world and had all sorts of experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it. I would advise the reader to go slowly through the book and use the internet to find more information about any incidents that she/he is not aware of. It might improve your history by a significant amount, at least it did for me.

I've always wondered what any serious reader would gain by reading a Churchill biography when the man himself is a hugely productive (and publicity loving) writer and speechmaker. With this book, the answer is, clearly, Not much (excepting Manchester's awesome 2 volumes).Skip the biographies, and judge the great man by his own (very many) words.

Martin Gilbert is the foremost expert on Churchill in the world, beginning his work for Randolph Churchill on the biography in the early 1960s and taking over at Volume III upon Randolph's death in 1968. If there is anyone qualified to do this work,it would certainly be Sir Martin.It is a good work in one volume and the author presents his choices of WSC's speeches and writings through his years. Of course you can buy multi volume works of his speeches but this book relieves you of the brunt of the weight and provides you the best. While I am familiar with many of his most famous, there are many very interesting parts in here, for example "The Supreme Hour", when Winston had to tell the House of Commons that on July 4, 1940, the French fleet was sunk by His Majesties Ships and 1,297 French sailors were killed. How do you bear and bring this horrible news? England had watched France cave in to the Nazis and now he has to tell the House that the Royal Navy had to sink a large part of the French fleet. This was when England stood alone and things were bleak indeed. The power of his argument and presentation is brilliant and this one I had not come across before. There are others of interest that I won't spoil, but what a master of words he was.In some ways the book is like a box of fine chocolates. You really don't want to sit down and digest it in one sitting but it makes for a very interesting repast when you have a little time and want to go exploring with WSC again.I like it very much.

The full texts of Churchill's speeches -- a treasure for history lovers like me. Fascinating to see how the rhetoric he polished and perfected during World War I pre-echoes the masterful speeches he offered while leading England to victory in WorldWar II. Nice selection of photos makes a welcome addition. A great read!

This magnificent work by Martin Gilbert shows Churchill's life through his speeches and writings, placed in chronological order, with constant reference to Churchill's age. It is striking to note that his life had long moments of apparent political stagnation, periods in which he was demoted or reduced to playing a subordinate role in England's political affairs. But is also remarkable that he never gave up, never lost his supreme self-confidence. Ever since he was a school boy he seemed certain that he would play a huge role in the history of the nation. At 22 he became famous when he escaped from the hands of the Boers. His descriptions of the River War against the Derviches are very powerful. He would have to wait until he was 65, an age at which most politicians are thinking of retirement, to play his most stellar role as Prime Minister during the II World War. His leadership made a big difference in its outcome. And he did it through the power of his words.President Kennedy said it beautifully: "He mobilised the English language and sent it into battle".

Excellent book. The editor obviously respected Churchill and has carefully selected gems from throughout Churchill's life to inform the reader about the man and his times. Martin Gilbert is not only a great biographer and scholar, but an incredible teacher.

A great book that allows Churchill's own words to give insight into the character of his nature. The work is a thoroughly engrossing read!

Good book it shows what a true great leader he was Only wish people like him were around today. It makes you think hard what his messages were .

Quite apart from Churchill's writing (which to me is so breath-taking for lots of reasons), Martin Gilbert clearly has massive esteem and reverence for Churchill, and has chosen an excellent array of the great man's works. The hard back copy I have is both well bound, and, the type face and size is easily comfortable to read [I wear 1.5 lens spectacles]. I am delighted to own this book.

If you were to buy just one `Churchill' book, this would be an excellent choice.Sir Martin Gilbert's superb anthology is drawn from a very wide range of sources; Churchill's own books, newspaper and magazine articles, transcripts of speeches, speech notes and Hansard. Each item has a brief paragraph of introduction to set the context before Churchill's unique and unmistakable written voice speaks from the page.The book is arranged chronologically in order of the events described, not as the items were written. So, for example, several of the opening entries are from `My Early Life' which was of course published many years later. Very helpfully, each double page has the year printed top left and Churchill's age at the time printed top right, quicker than the index if you know an approximate date for the speech or article you are looking for.About one third of the over 400 pages of the main text concern the Second World War, the other two thirds are equally interesting, if in parts less generally well-known - a reminder of his astonishing activity in political life over six decades. The text is supplemented by 20 maps, 50 pictures, a detailed reference for each reading and the index.Whether an item is familiar or not, his words always feel fresh and stimulating to read; not only the famous speeches and phrases that have entered the English language, but also the day-to-day business of politics such as his robust, sparkling performance on the 1945 election trail in Walthamstow before an audience that was not entirely friendly.This is an inspiring and timeless collection that puts modern-day events and politics firmly in perspective!

Fantastic book.a real insight into the genius of Churchill.its not just quotes also a biography.recommend

I feel I know quite a bit about Churchill's life and work but this book includes some insights into his earlier life and politics which came as a little bit of a surprise. But goodness what language he used both in writing and in speeches. Modern politicians sound like not very well educated children in comparison, and the thoughts he dealt in were of a different order from what we are now expected to worry about.

Great book a good and varied selection of Churchills written works.