Winston Churchill

Rating:
Summary: Minimized
Review: I don't like for a biography to lie, but I think it should portray the subject in a favorable or atleast interesting light. This biography is frustrating because it makes Churchill, who I thought was a very inspiring figure, into a rich spoiled man who stumbles into situations which brought him fame. If he was really as uninspired and unfocused as this biography portrays him then he has a false public reputation.

Rating:
Summary: Brief and excellent.
Review: This is a brief, accurate, excellent summary of the life of Churchill. It's about 100 pages long; you can read it in an evening and still have time to catch the late news. The first duty of a biographer, said Lytton Strachey, is a "becoming brevity" (he was reacting to the huge, ponderous biographies of the Victorian era), and this work fills the bill. I had always wanted to learn more about Churchill, the greatest figure of the 20th century, but I put it off because I didn't have the time or desire to wade through a massive tome. Now, finally, I know how how he arrived at the Prime Ministership at exactly the right time. I know about his incredibly broad training for the leadership position. I know some new things about the Second World War. And so on. This book is part of the "Pocket Biographies" series published by Sutton located in England. I'm sold on the concept; I'm going to buy more in the collection - Lincoln is next and then Beethoven - i.e., people I want to know more about but not necessarily every single time they had toast for breakfast. One of the offbeat things I like about this volume is the quality of paper used for the cover - it's that creamy thick stuff that a lot of smart publishers are using these days.