Omdurman Archives - Richard M. Langworth

“Churchill at the Gallop: Winston’s Life in the Saddle,” by Brough Scott

2 September 2018 Comments 0 Comments

Brough Scott, Churchill at the Gallop. Newbury, Berkshire: Racing Post Books, 2018, 230 pages, $34.95, Amazon $25.77, Kindle $9.99. Reprinted from a review for the Hillsdale College Churchill Project. For Hillsdale reviews of the hundred Churchill works published since 2014, click here. For a list and description of books about Churchill since 1905, visit Hillsdale’s annotated bibliography.

This book is both delightful and educational, a luxurious production for a modest price. Printed on thick, coated paper with many illustrations, it weighs over two pounds. The only technical complaint is that, with lots of white space available, the type could be larger.…

Lt. Churchill: “A Subaltern’s Advice to Generals”

17 September 2017 Comments 1 Comment

With colleagues I discussed which of young Winston’s early war books was derisively called, “A Subaltern’s Advice to Generals.” This was a popular wisecrack after his early works had the temerity to propose British military strategy in India, Sudan and South Africa. Churchill was in his mid-twenties at the time—but not reticent to speak his mind. Nothing we didn’t know here….

Malakand Field Force?

Without consulting references, I thought the “advice” line involved The Story of the Malakand Field Force (Churchill’s first book, 1898). I was influenced by its last chapter, “The Riddle of the Frontier.” Plenty of advice there, though it is as much political as it is military.…