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Title: Winston Churchill: A Penguin Life (Penguin Lives) by John Keegan ISBN: 0-670-03079-1 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 10 October, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.47 (17 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Short, Sweet, and Smart
Comment: 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: 5
Summary: An Excellent Little Biography
Comment: 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: 2
Summary: Recommended, but with reservations
Comment: 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.
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Title: Napoleon: A Penguin Life (Penguin Lives Series.) by Paul Johnson ISBN: 0670030783 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 09 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Abraham Lincoln: A Penguin Life (Penguin Lives) by Thomas Keneally ISBN: 0670031755 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: December, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Leonardo Da Vinci (Penguin Lives) by Sherwin B. Nuland ISBN: 0670893919 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: October, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Robert E. Lee: A Penguin Life by Roy, Jr. Blount ISBN: 0670032204 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 08 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Woodrow Wilson (Penguin Lives) by Louis Auchincloss ISBN: 0670889040 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 20 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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