"...I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.

We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival. Let that be realised; no survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge and impulse of the ages, that mankind will move forward towards its goal. But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say, "come then, let us go forward together with our united strength." - Winston Churchill (May 13, 1940)

I hope the reader will indulge me in quoting so extensive a part of Winston Churchill's first speech as Prime Minister to the House of Commons, on May 13, 1940. I do so, because here, as John Lukacs notes in his book "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat: The Dire Warning: Churchill's First Speech as Prime Minister" (2008), that they "cast a sudden stab of light beneath - beneath, not beyond - the sonorous timbre of Churchill's rhetoric. They reflect something that was and remains beneath their bravery." That is, "...his understanding of a looming catastrophe, still unimaginable to most: that is was late, probably too late, that Adolf Hitler was winning, that he was about to win, that he was close to winning the Second World War, his war."

Inspired by Garibaldi's 1849 speech, "I offer not pay, not lodging, not provisions. I offer hunger, forced marches, battles and death.", on the capitulation of the Roman Republic as the French army was about to enter Rome, Churchill's shortest speech as Prime Minister was made just three days after Adolf Hitler invaded Holland, Belgium and France. Receiving no overwhelming applause from his own Conservative Party, who still largely supported Chamberlain, the speech was given little appreciation at the time. It was neither broadcast or recorded that day, except in Hansard. Lukacs' book helps place it back on the mantle it belongs, as a testament to the vision of Churchill and his resolve against seemingly overwhelming odds.

Part of the Basic Ideas series, in which "a leading authority offers a concise biography of a text that transformed its world, and ours", John Lukacs may be forgiven in this book for covering little new ground; revisiting ideas that formed the thesis of his earlier works on Churchill and Hitler, most notably in "Five Days in London: May 1940". But if he can be accused of rambling and going off point in the 219 pages of that book, then he will only win praise for the succinct and elegant prose making up the 147 pages in this text. Highly recommended. ( )

This is a great little book on Churchill's words and actions in 1940 when he saved Britain from defeat, and is fun to read. About the only thing I can say in criticism of the book is that it is so short and thus does not give the detail which one expects in history books. But Lukacs makes the case very well that it was better to prevent Hitler from having all of Europe than to prevent Stalin from having half of
Europe. One thrills anew to the power of Churchillian oratory. An easy to read and satisfying to read book. ( )

Few men have used the English language with such grace and to such good ends as Winston Churchill. John Lukacs focuses on the key phrase in Churchill’s first speech before Parliament as Prime Minister to provide some wonderful insights into both Churchill’s thinking and the nation’s state of mind as continental Europe crumbled before the onslaught of Hitler’s armies and Britain began to realize it was the last, lone defender of the free world.

Churchill’s speech was little appreciated at the time. In fact, the man was himself Prime Minister almost by default. Chamberlain was still the leader of the Conservative Party, Halifax probably could have had the post had he really wanted it since he was the first choice of King George VI, and it was only through Labour’s insistence that they would not join a national government unless it was led by Churchill that the question was finally decided. One of the many telling details Lukacs reveals is that Chamberlain was wildly applauded when he entered the House to hear Churchill speak on May 13, 1940; Churchill’s entrance was mostly ignored.

The speech was significant, Lukacs says, not so much for its poetry as for what it tells us about Churchill’s vision of history as it shaped his leadership both throughout the war and afterward. Early on, Churchill recognized the power of Hitler’s war machine and the strength of the German nation. He also had a truly terrifying vision of a world plunged into darkness by the very possible Nazi victory in Europe. The cold, black science of Fascism would mean the end of civilization, and Churchill knew that Britain was at the very beginning of a long, hard struggle whose outcome was far from certain. ( )