Winston S. Churchill (1) (1874–1965)

By the end of June 1940, Britain stood virtually alone against Nazi Germany, stripped of arms and shoved back across the Channel to face the twin evils of conquest or capitulation. The French army, reputed to be the greatest land army on earth, had crumpled before the German onslaught in less than seven weeks. Few expected the lonely and battered island to remain standing for long, but then something remarkable happened: the islanders, quite simply and quite stubbornly, refused to quit. As show more the Battle of Britain raged in the air, as American aid steamed inexorably across the sea, and as the vast British Empire and Commonwealth geared up for total and global war, German hopes of a brief and victorious campaign flagged. This would prove to be Nazi Germany's final hour, and this would prove to be the British people's finest hour.

The second book in Winston Churchill's history and memoir of the Second World War provides an illuminating window in the vast uncertainty, fear, and courage of the days during and after the fall of France. As Churchill presents it, most assumed the real war was over when France surrendered, and that British submission or subjuguation would follow swiftly. In truth, there's little reason history could not have gone that way. A lesser government could easily have chosen to cut its losses and strike a peace with Herr Hitler to mitigate the horrors of the Blitz or to prevent the dismemberment of Britain's empire. That they chose not to give in, and that the people sustained them in choosing to fight a war many outside Britain believed to be unwinnable, is a testament to the truth of Churchill's speech from which he drew the title of this volume. Victory over Nazi determination to remake the world in Hitler's image began with the pluck of a small island people who stared death in the face and denied its existence, who instead rose to the challenge of the hour, and who by their inability to admit defeat turned the course of history away from a new dark age and into broad, sunlit uplands. show less

With the violent entry of the Soviet Union and the United States into World War II, the fate of the Axis powers was sealed. However, history only appears inevitable in retrospect. Both Germany and Japan expanded to their greatest extents in 1942. Nazi panzers bit deeply into Russia and threatened Egypt, Britain's lifeline to to the East. Japan tore through thin colonial defenses around the Pacific rim and tightened its decade-long stranglehold on China. By 1943, however, Axis power was show more strained to the breaking point in a war never intended to last this long. American industry armed the Allies with breathtaking speed while the vastness of Russian space and population bled Germany dry. The hinge of fate had turned; and from this point to the end of the war, the door would inexorably close on Axis dreams of empire.

Churchill's memoirs of this time are largely dedicated to the campaigns to clear North Africa of German and Italian forces. The pivotal naval Battle of Midway is rolled into a single chapter along with the Battle of the Coral Sea. The titanic struggle on the Russian front is only occasionally mentioned, including such monumental turning points as the Battle of Stalingrad. That's not to say Churchill downplays Russian sacrifice and contribution; to the contrary, he frequently expresses his comprehension of how much final victory was owed to the Russians. However, he also never forgot Stalin's intentions to join Germany in carving up the British Empire before Hitler unleashed the Wehrmacht on him, and Churchill never (with good reason) trusted the Stalinist regime.

Beyond this, though, it must be remembered that these are the memoirs of the British Prime Minister, not a comprehensive history of the war. For the British, the war in this period consisted of working with the Americans to contain Japan as best they could, supply Russia as best they could, and strike the Axis on the only feasible large-scale front available to the western allies: North Africa. What most stands out to me about this volume is Churchill's palpable sense of relief over the ultimate outcome of the war. This is illustrated by a memo in the appendices in which he writes to one of his ministers that he hasn't reviewed the ammunition returns in months because the supply from America is so large. The entry of the United States into the war transformed a struggle for survival into a crusade to victory, and this comes through clearly in the brightening tone of this volume. show less

I have a fondness for ornate, old-fashioned pen-portrait essays like those to be found in Great Contemporaries by Winston Churchill. A great benefit of the book is that Churchill knew many of the historical and political figures he discusses personally, and so such essays can be coloured by interesting anecdote and personal insight.

Articles on his contemporaries from British politics naturally form the bulk of the book (former prime ministers and the like). At first glance, these look less show more interesting, but the personal side of things Churchill is able to give provides them with some uniqueness and colour. However, it does also mean Churchill ends up writing more like a politician than an essayist – safely, diplomatically, and with an eye on posterity for himself.

There's a lot of magnanimity in the book, not only for Churchill's domestic allies and opponents, but also, surprisingly, for the likes of Kaiser Wilhelm and Adolf Hitler. Churchill excuses the Kaiser much of the blame for the start of World War One and, writing in 1935, credits Hitler for Germany's revival and suggests that, while the outlook is bleak and the character sinister, he may yet prove to be an asset to his country and the world.

Of course, we now know that not to be the case, but the excessive political even-handedness of the pieces does limit their interest today (an entertaining condemnation of Trotsky is an outlier in the book), for Churchill is not necessarily giving us his full views. He writes well, even if he overdoes it sometimes with the lofty prose we know from his wartime speeches (an essay on King George V lays it on very thick), but nor is he at the level of bold mythologising we can find in William Bolitho's Twelve Against the Gods – a gold standard for this sort of thing.

Ultimately, Great Contemporaries is a dated book that could have retained a stature if it had not so effectively restrained itself. By enabling Churchill's caution, diplomacy and indulgence, rather than allowing his boldness, humour and energy to flourish, the book maintains itself for modern readers largely as a curiosity (particularly for that Hitler essay) rather than a commentary. show less

My Amazon review:
This is a highly readable 'you are there' account (from the British viewpoint of course) of actions during the so-called '2nd' Boer War, by the future World leader from his arrival in South Africa late 1899 to mid-1900. Winston Churchill was a 25-year old correspondent for the London Morning Post so these are more or less stories he filed at the time. I assume they appeared in the newspaper much as written here..which gives them a raw and riveting 'real-time' quality if they show more are read in that context. A lot more military history might benefit in terms of reader attention from such reporting, despite the inevitable inaccuracies that arise. And would that newspapers of today had anything remotely like this quality of content. I speak in terms of detail (unit names, detailed and numerous maps of the actions) and writing quality. Churchill could write! Yet even though it is written from a Brit standpoint, the reporter Churchill makes seemingly every effort to interview Boers and attempt to understand their point of view. He is mostly complimentary to their fighting spirit and belief in a cause. Of course he is mostly effusive and acclamtory with regard to the British military and their generals (Buller, Roberts, Hamilton). But he also does not hesitate to offer sharp criticisms of tactics where he is able. This is really two books in one as the title suggests. The first (London to Ladysmith) dealing with his arrival in-country, the fierce fighting in Natal including the notorious setbacks at Spion Kop and the difficult crossing of the Tugela River. His capture and subsequent escape from a Boer prison is chronicled in the first book as well, an adventure yarn that beats most Hollywood thrillers because it actually happened! The second book (Ian Hamilton's March) is perhaps less captivating as the military invincibility of the Empire becomes apparent. Still the capture of major Boer cities and the end game is interesting as well. And it was amusing to read how they debated the question of whether 1900 was really the first year the new century or not, much as the question was contested in 2000! show less