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The Last Lion, Defender of the Realm (Churchill Biography)
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BarkellWH
Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
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 The Last Lion, Defender of the Realm...
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For the Brits on the Foro (and for anyone else who is interested), I have just finished the recently published third volume of William Manchester's biography of Winston Churchill, subtitled "Defender of the Realm, 1940 to 1965." Manchester suffered a stroke and died before finishing it, and Paul Reid collaborated and then took over to finish it. The first two volumes of The Last Lion were "Visions of Glory," about Churchill's early years, and "alone," about his years in the wilderness when he was the lone voice warning against Hitler and the Nazis. Manchester is a beautiful writer, and while he clearly holds Churchill in high regard, the biography is not a hagiography.
I have always held Winston Churchill in high regard. He stood alone against Nazi Germany during the 1940 blitz, while the Soviet Union had made and benefited from the Nazi-Soviet Pact with Hitler and America remained neutral. It has been said that by not losing to Germany during that desperate time (allowing for America's and the USSR's eventual entry into the war), Churchill won, and may well have saved Western civilization. His great wartime speeches are still stirring. The American journalist Edward R. Murrow, broadcasting from London, said that Churchill "mobilized the English language and sent it into battle."
It is a great biography about one of history's great wartime leaders. Highly recommended.
Cheers,
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."
--Rudyard Kipling
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Date May 9 2013 14:34:30
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gj Michelob
Posts: 1531
Joined: Nov. 7 2008
From: New York City/San Francisco
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RE: The Last Lion, Defender of the R... (in reply to BarkellWH)
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On a lighter note, I propose one detail which may tie the great Winston Churchill to Spain's traditions. This is from a [must read] article by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt herself:
"Sir Winston did not believe in suffering where it was not necessary to do so as far as food was concerned. Something hot, something cold …. 'Something cold' was translated into two kinds of cold meat with English mustard and two kinds of fruit plus a tumbler of sherry."
[Eleanor Roosevelt, The Atlantic, March 1, 1965]
I love biographies, and find those about Churchill are often the most enticing. My absolute favorite remains [Roy Jenkins, Churchill, Farrar, Straus and Girux, New York 2001]. On the same subject:
"Indeed she -the First Lady- imposed on the White House a regime of such austerity, of both food and drink, that there were several signs that the relatively abstemious F.D.R., let alone the indulgent Churchill, were more comfortable during her frequent absences… Franklin Roosevelt was known to mix his dry Martinis in proportions that sophisticated drinkers regarded as unfortunate… 'One-third vermouth and two-thirds gin'. Perhaps fortunately, Churchill did not drink gin, although it is possible that, such was his desire to be a good guest, he may have subordinated his tastes to participation in the cocktail ceremony. … The food in the White House was always better when Churchill was there and, of course, the wine flowed more freely.' " [Jenkins, Churchill,pp 672-673]
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gj Michelob
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Date May 9 2013 16:19:12
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Paul Magnussen
Posts: 1805
Joined: Nov. 8 2010
From: London (living in the Bay Area)
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RE: The Last Lion, Defender of the R... (in reply to guitarbuddha)
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quote:
Thank goodness he was listened to at Gallipoli.
He wasn’t listened to about Gallipoli: that’s made very clear in the earlier part of Manchester’s biography; and also in Government memos that are now declassified, but which Churchill couldn’t adduce publicly in his own defence at the time, because they were secret.
What sunk the enterprise, in brief, was not the attack itself but the vacillating afterwards.
If one thing is overwhelmingly clear to me, it's that's Churchill was one of the few people not to blame. If Kitchener hadn't farted about promising the 29th Division and then taking it away again, if de Roebeck had more nerve, if Asquith had been decisive, if the Czar hadn't been such a dolt...
I’ve also read this latest volume, BTW, I thought it was a good job.
And now, back to our regular programming…
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Date May 9 2013 16:21:22
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BarkellWH
Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
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RE: The Last Lion, Defender of the R... (in reply to Gummy)
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quote:
Several years ago I read Manchester's "Goodbye Darkness" .
Manchester's "Goodbye Darkness" is a fine memoir of his experiences as a marine in the Pacific, Gummy. He also wrote a very good biography of General Douglas MacArthur entitled, "American Caesar." Manchester portrays MacArthur in full, with all of his genius and his flaws.
Cheers,
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."
--Rudyard Kipling
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date May 9 2013 16:43:59
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BarkellWH
Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
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RE: The Last Lion, Defender of the R... (in reply to Paul Magnussen)
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quote:
If one thing is overwhelmingly clear to me, it's that's Churchill was one of the few people not to blame. If Kitchener hadn't farted about promising the 29th Division and then taking it away again, if de Roebeck had more nerve, if Asquith had been decisive, if the Czar hadn't been such a dolt...
Spot on, Paul.
Cheers,
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."
--Rudyard Kipling
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date May 9 2013 16:45:05
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BarkellWH
Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
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RE: The Last Lion, Defender of the R... (in reply to gj Michelob)
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quote:
On a lighter note, I propose one detail which may tie the great Winston Churchill to Spain's traditions. This is from a [must read] article by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt herself.
Mixing Winston Churchill and Eleanor Roosevelt at dinner parties was like mixing oil and water. Winston, a Tory, and Eleanor, a liberal ahead of her time even in the US, seldom agreed on anything. Winston dined at the White House during his Washington visit in January 1942, and Eleanor dined at No. 10 Downing during her London visit to assess the morale of US troops during the beginning of the buildup in October 1942. Manchester writes: "Of her dining experiences with Churchill, Mrs. Roosevelt later wrote, 'I found the P.M. not easy to talk to.'"
Cheers,
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."
--Rudyard Kipling
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date May 9 2013 17:05:35
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