Rating: 
Summary: A competent short history of World War II's greatest leader.
Review: As a previous reviewer has stated, this is a good short history of Winston Churchill. Keegan does a competent job of giving us the short version on this great man. However it is not really inspired writing, and not a page turner. I found myself plodding through this book and wondering when the tempo would change. It didn't. All of the highlights of Churchill's life are there, it just didn't flow well.
There are many great books about Winston Churchill. Some comprise several volumes. I would rate Manchester the best in terms of biography. Keegan's book is a good first start for those who don't know much of Churchill.
Rating:
Summary: A competent short history of World War II's greatest leader.
Review: As a previous reviewer has stated, this is a good short history of Winston Churchill. Keegan does a competent job of giving us the short version on this great man. However it is not really inspired writing, and not a page turner. I found myself plodding through this book and wondering when the tempo would change. It didn't. All of the highlights of Churchill's life are there, it just didn't flow well.
There are many great books about Winston Churchill. Some comprise several volumes. I would rate Manchester the best in terms of biography. Keegan's book is a good first start for those who don't know much of Churchill.
Rating: 
Summary: Recommended, but with reservations
Review: As usual, the author gives an informative and intelligent perspective of his subject. I've liked his many other books, and I have enjoyed other biographies of Churchill. Alas, I cannot agree with the author's final enthusiasm for Churchill, or for Churchill's being declared the most important figure of the last century. As is stated in the book, Churchill had many significant accomplishments, but I am troubled by the author's lack of discussion of his subject's faults. Churchill gave every indication of being a racist. He was also a strict colonialist whose position lacked foresight of many future and bloody conflicts. These issues, that is the facts supporting these conclusions, are all noted by Keegan, but with no elaboration. Also, why are so many willing to credit Churchill with great courage for his flying in and out of battles? I imagine that many soldiers would be similarly "courageous" if given the option (with mommy's help) to leave the field of battle as they chose. This is what Churchill did in every engagement in which he participated. For me, the courageous are those who remained regardless of the "excitement" level. Churchill was blinded by his racism, elitism, and flighty ideas of warfare. These were not simple idiosyncrasies with no significant repercussions. His lack of respect for fighting abilities of the Asian race and his insistence on colonialism arguably led to the type of policies for which thousands of British soldiers died. Furthermore, his impulsive (and let's face it, ignorant) ideas of warfare directly led to his pushing and approving disastrous campaigns in both world wars. Again, Keegan failed to follow up on any of these issues and if anything he treated them as peculiar traits of the great statesman such as his cigar smoking, and moodiness. Churchill wrote volumes on WWII, all of which conveniently overlooks any of his possible errors, but it received enough acclaim (by many for whom I suspected did not actually read the several volumes), and this shaped how many historians and biographers were to later judge the war and Churchill. I only argue that it is time to honor the man for his accomplishments, but it is not heretical to want a full discussion of him. The British electorate seemed well aware of the dichotomy of the man when they demanded his rise to prime minister, but removed from office him and his party when the times changed.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended, but with reservations
Review: As usual, the author gives an informative and intelligent perspective of his subject. I've liked his many other books, and I have enjoyed other biographies of Churchill. Alas, I cannot agree with the author's final enthusiasm for Churchill, or for Churchill's being declared the most important figure of the last century. As is stated in the book, Churchill had many significant accomplishments, but I am troubled by the author's lack of discussion of his subject's faults. Churchill gave every indication of being a racist. He was also a strict colonialist whose position lacked foresight of many future and bloody conflicts. These issues, that is the facts supporting these conclusions, are all noted by Keegan, but with no elaboration. Also, why are so many willing to credit Churchill with great courage for his flying in and out of battles? I imagine that many soldiers would be similarly "courageous" if given the option (with mommy's help) to leave the field of battle as they chose. This is what Churchill did in every engagement in which he participated. For me, the courageous are those who remained regardless of the "excitement" level. Churchill was blinded by his racism, elitism, and flighty ideas of warfare. These were not simple idiosyncrasies with no significant repercussions. His lack of respect for fighting abilities of the Asian race and his insistence on colonialism arguably led to the type of policies for which thousands of British soldiers died. Furthermore, his impulsive (and let's face it, ignorant) ideas of warfare directly led to his pushing and approving disastrous campaigns in both world wars. Again, Keegan failed to follow up on any of these issues and if anything he treated them as peculiar traits of the great statesman such as his cigar smoking, and moodiness. Churchill wrote volumes on WWII, all of which conveniently overlooks any of his possible errors, but it received enough acclaim (by many for whom I suspected did not actually read the several volumes), and this shaped how many historians and biographers were to later judge the war and Churchill. I only argue that it is time to honor the man for his accomplishments, but it is not heretical to want a full discussion of him. The British electorate seemed well aware of the dichotomy of the man when they demanded his rise to prime minister, but removed from office him and his party when the times changed.
Rating:
Summary: Short, Sweet, and Smart
Review: As with the entire Penguin Lives series, this book was written by an expert who was given the challenge of sharing his knowledge in less than 200 pages. John Keegan succeeds brilliantly. As an expert on World War II, Keegan has written many wonderful and insightful books and this is no exception despite the literary constraints placed upon him. His clear and beautiful prose make the book a quick and enjoyable read, but he does not sacrifice information. I did not know a lot about Churchill before reading this book, but now I feel that I have a good understanding for his achievements and why he was so significant in his own time. It is a fabulous book for an amateur historian who does not want to spend dozens of hours wading through a biography several volumes long and simply wants to know significant events and some good analysis by a renowned historian. A wonderful, well written, and interesting book.
Rating:
Summary: Short yet comprehensive biography
Review: Enjoyed hearing the taped version of eminent historian John Keegan's
WINSTON CHURCHILL, a short (192 pages) yet comprehensive biography of
the world leader . . . Churchill never had many friends, and I can see
why--it seems he was always busy serving his country in some
fashion . . . he led an amazingly event-filled life almost to the
day he died at the age of 91 . . . but he was at his absolute best when
England was involved in a war effort, and that is what I liked best
about CHURCHILL . . . the author presents snippets from several
of his actual speeches . . . I was certainly moved by them to the
extent that I shall, to quote Churchill, "never, never, never" give up
writing reviews for amazon.com--or at least not until I finish this particular
one . . . and that said, I should also mention that the narration by
Richard Matthews was outstanding.
Rating: 
Summary: Great capsule summary of a remarkable life
Review: Hundreds, if not thousands, of titles have been written about the Man of the (Twentieth) Century, and there would hardly seem to be a need for many more. But recently, Churchill has been the subject of two great little survey volumes about his amazing and important life -- John Lukacs' "Churchill: Visionary. Statesman. Historian." and this title by John Keegan. Churchill's immense life seems to draw immensity from his biographers, for example, Roy Jenkins' thick one-volume biography, Manchester's planned trilogy (now apparently marooned forever at two volumes), and, of course, the official biography by Randolph Churchill and Martin Gilbert, which toppped off at eight biographic volumes and sixteen additional companion volumes. Doing Churchill justice in under 200 pages is much tougher, but Keegan, a skilled historian, pulls it off very well. As Paul Johnson did in his excellent Penguin Life of Napoleon, Keegan focused on a few major themes of Churchill's life and weaves his narrative around them. One of his major emphases is on how the lessons Churchill learned in his early life prepared him for his later years by shaping (or mis-shaping) his thinking on critical ethical and strategic issues. Churchill's often-overlooked career as social reformer is given due attention here, while the discussion of the war years emphasizes Churchill's -- and Britain's -- increasing military weakness and strategic isolation amidst the rising tides of American and Soviet power. Keegan argues that Churchill's greatest achievement was that his "words drowned out the drumbeat of totalitarianism" when Britain stood alone (p. 145). If there was anything I found off-putting about his analysis, it was Keegan's frequent use of the word "libertarian" to describe Churchill's political world view. It perhaps becomes clearer in context what exactly he means by this -- essentially, support for individual freedom and opposition to totalitarianism. Yet as a libertarian myself, it was passing strange for me to see Churchill consistently described as "a true libertarian" (p. 96) ... "philosophically a libertarian" (p. 103) ... and having "an acute libertarian awareness" of communism's evil (p. 177). Indeed, Keegan also describes leaders of the Labour Party of the 1940s as "sincere libertarians," while at the same time describing their "doctrinaire economic views" in support of nationalization and central planning. All we can assume is that Keegan's definition of this term is different from how, say, the Cato Institute would use it, Murray Rothbard even moreso. Apart from that minor semantic difference, though, I truly enjoyed this quick (I read it in about a day) yet comprehensive view of Churchill's life, impact, and legacy. By all means, read the longer bios if you wish. But if you're looking for a short summary that encapsulates why so many people in so many lands hold Winston Churchill in such high regard, this Penguin Life is a great place to start (and might be even better if read in concert with Lukacs' book).
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Little Biography
Review: I've long been interested in Winston Churchill, but the challenge of plowing through the many 2 volume or massive single volume biographies out there seemed a bit daunting. I wanted a simple overview of Churchill's life so I could determine which of his accomplishments I wanted to read more about. Well, this Penguin Lives book did just that. It is a brief cradle to grave bio, but don't let its length fool you. It is well written, well researched (if the bibliography is any indication), and a complex biography of a complex man. I've learned that I'm more interested in Churchill's political life rather than his military career and now I'm free to read one of the many books dedicated to the specific periods of Churchill's time in Parliament. Buy this book for a wonderful introduction to Churchill that will make you want to delve further into his life...or just buy it because its a quick, easy way to learn a bit of history and you'll be able to answer a few more Jeopardy questions.
Rating:
Summary: Essence of Churchill
Review: If you read just one book on Winston Churchill, this is a great pick. Those who have read other books by Keegan, like "A History of Warfare" or "The Mask of Command", know that he is one of today's best writers on the subjects of conflict and leadership. He delivers again in this jewel box life of Winston Churchill. The brevity of this work is actually an advantage for Keegan. He is free to concentrate on motivation and character, rather than chronicling the enormous record of Churchill's life. Those interested in detail would be much better served by Martin Gilbert's "Churchill", or even Churchill's own "The Second World War". By concentrating on themes of Churchill's life like his use of language, belief in the manifest destiny of the English-speaking peoples, and strength of character even when beset by physical ailments, Keegan paints a vivid, personal portrait of one of the greatest leaders of the modern era.
Rating:
Summary: "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat"
Review: In 192 pages of superb prose John Keegan sketches the life and times of Winston Churchill. This little book belongs on the shelf of every person who reads the English language and has a fondness for liberty. Churchill was quite simply the greatest Englishman and orator in the last century, and this book tells his story exquisitely. Don't let the brevity put you off--this is a terrific biography.
|
