Tag: Winston S. Churchill

Works
Above and below: The 34 volumes of Collected Works, in the one and only bespoke bookcase, used in early promotions. The cased set was presented to Sir Iain Stewart, whose name is on the brass plaque. (Mark Weber photo)
The Sordid History of Churchill’s Collected Works

The Sordid History of Churchill’s Collected Works

The Collected Works are less important than their spectacular appearance suggests. However incomplete, they do constitute the first collected edition. But lacking the original texts, they are not bibliographically compelling: “expensive reprints,” as one cynic put it. Collectors prefer to hold a book in the form Sir Winston first gave it to the world (errors and all). So the Works will never replace first editions.

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Bristol
After receiving an honorary degree and addressing “Anglo-American Unity,” Harvard, 6 October 1943. At left are Harvard President James B. Conant and WSC’s ubiquitous bodyguard, Detective Inspector Walter Thompson. (Capt. Horton, War Office, public domain)
“The Most Important Thing about Education” —Churchill at Bristol

“The Most Important Thing about Education” —Churchill at Bristol

"Education does not begin with the university, and it certainly ought not to end there. I have seen a lot of people who got cleverer until about 21 or 22 years of age, then seemed to shut down altogether.... Take full advantage of these years...but do not spend too much time in buckling on your armour in the tent. The battle is going on in every walk and sphere of life." —WSC, Bristol, 1929

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champagne
Dinner marking WSC’s 69th birthday, with Roosevelt and Stalin, Teheran, 30 November 1943. (Crown Copyright expired, public domain)
“Churchill Drank 42,000 Bottles of Champagne”?

“Churchill Drank 42,000 Bottles of Champagne”?

WSC: "Prof! Pray calculate the total quantity of champagne, wine and spirits I have consumed thus far in my life and tell us how much of this room it would fill." Professor Lindemann (pretending a slide rule calculation): "I'm sorry, Winston, it would only reach our ankles." WSC: "How much to do—how little time remains."

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George Washington
Mount Vernon, 1 January 1942: President Roosevelt accompanied Winston Churchill for a wreath-laying at the tomb of George Washington. (MountVernon.org)
Reflections on the Birthday of George Washington

Reflections on the Birthday of George Washington

"George Washington holds one of the proudest titles that history can bestow. He was the Father of his Nation. Almost alone his staunchness in the War of Independence held the American colonies to their united purpose. His services after victory had been won were no less great. His firmness and example while first President restrained the violence of faction and postponed a national schism for 60 years." —WSC

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Buchanan
Detail from the cover.
Pat Buchanan and the Art of the Selective Quote

Pat Buchanan and the Art of the Selective Quote

No animus toward Pat. I admired him and even voted for him in a NH Primary. I helped him with a couple of items during his research (while lampooning his beliefs in friendly banter). “I like a man who grins when he fights,” as Churchill said. But a problem with his book is the rampant use of selective quotes. Partial quotations edited to distort reality, or to fit a predetermined conclusion are out of bounds.

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Dresden
Dresden after the air attacks of February 1945. (Bundesarachiv)
Nashville (6): The Myth of Dresden and “Revenge Firebombing”

Nashville (6): The Myth of Dresden and “Revenge Firebombing”

The Martin Gilbert Learning Centre offers a free Zoom presentation by Lady Gilbert herself, on the 1945 bombing of Dresden. The date is Monday 13 February 2023 at 2pm Eastern, 11 am Pacific, 7pm Greenwich Mean Time. Email Deputy Director Dr. Bethany Gaunt to be put on the Zoom invitation list. Lady Gilbert will include Sir Martin's story about how a Soviet general corroborated the truth about who ordered the bombing—in Moscow!

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Douglas
HMS Southampton at Jutland, 30 May 1916, by William Lionel Wylie (1851-1931). German salvos (shown too close together) are falling short of the cruiser (also not accurately portrayed). The sketch was a highly effective portrait of an inconclusive battle. (Imperial War Museum, public domain)
Q&A: Churchill Libeled by Lord Alfred Douglas

Q&A: Churchill Libeled by Lord Alfred Douglas

Lord Alfred Douglas, friend of Oscar Wilde, was involved in several scandals, one of the more unfortunate being his accusation that Churcill manipulated press announcements about the Battle of Jutland in order to favor Jewish investors on the New York Stock Market.

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named
Lord Randolph Churchill married Jennie Jerome on 15 April 1874 at the British Embassy, Paris. (Photo by Georges Penabert, public domain)
Why was Churchill Named Winston?

Why was Churchill Named Winston?

The pat answer is the first Sir Winston, but this is unlikely. Why would Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill name their son for a 17th century ancestor, and a fairly dubious one at that? No, it was someone more recent: his grandfather, John Winston, 7th Duke of Marlborough.

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Goeben
SMS Goeben, from a prewar German postcard. (Europeana, Wikimedia Commons)
How “Goeben” Changed History, by Dal Newfield

How “Goeben” Changed History, by Dal Newfield

An obscure "What-If" of history: Had Goeben not passed the Dardanelles, it was very possible Turkey would have remained neutral in WW1. Absent Turkey, the Allies lost their only supply route to Russia. This loss was so serious that in 1915 Churchill felt it imperative to assault the Dardanelles. The resulting debacle was the principal reason Churchill was ousted from the Admiralty. Because of Goeben, the Russian armies starved for food and materiel. The Czar fell and the Bolsheviks took over.

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Dobbs
Jacket detail from the first edition of “Winston’s War.”
Michael Dobbs Churchill Novels

Michael Dobbs Churchill Novels

Dobbs Churchill novels are of a special genre. Little stories, intertwined with the main plot, tell a story endlessly repeated in Britain, whose citizens knew better than anyone the sheer horror of the Second World War. This is fiction with a sense of place and and character. It does not strain historical credulity. Dobbs gives us an honest picture of Churchill without slapping him with perceived foibles. (Churchill's real foibles are plain enough.)

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RML Books

Richard Langworth’s Most Popular Books & eBooks


Winston Churchill, Myth and Reality

Churchill by Himself

Churchill in His Own Words

Churchill and the Avoidable War

The Definitive Wit of Winston Churchill

The Patriot’s Churchill

Triumph Cars - The Complete Story
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