Winston's WarWinston's War
Churchill, 1940-1945
Title rated 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 7 ratings(7 ratings)
Book, 2009
Current format, Book, 2009, 1st American ed, No Longer Available.Book, 2009
Current format, Book, 2009, 1st American ed, No Longer Available. Offered in 0 more formatsA vivid and incisive portrait of Winston Churchill during wartime from acclaimed historian Max Hastings, Winston’s War captures the full range of Churchill’s endlessly fascinating character. At once brilliant and infuriating, self-important and courageous, Hastings’s Churchill comes brashly to life as never before.
Beginning in 1940, when popular demand elevated Churchill to the role of prime minister, and concluding with the end of the war, Hastings shows us Churchill at his most intrepid and essential, when, by sheer force of will, he kept Britain from collapsing in the face of what looked like certain defeat. Later, we see his significance ebb as the United States enters the war and the Soviets turn the tide on the Eastern Front. But Churchill, Hastings reminds us, knew as well as anyone that the war would be dominated by others, and he managed his relationships with the other Allied leaders strategically, so as to maintain Britain’s influence and limit Stalin’s gains.
At the same time, Churchill faced political peril at home, a situation for which he himself was largely to blame. Hastings shows how Churchill nearly squandered the miraculous escape of the British troops at Dunkirk and failed to address fundamental flaws in the British Army. His tactical inaptitude and departmental meddling won him few friends in the military, and by 1942, many were calling for him to cede operational control. Nevertheless, Churchill managed to exude a public confidence that brought the nation through the bitter war.
Hastings rejects the traditional Churchill hagiography while still managing to capture what he calls Churchill’s “appetite for the fray.” Certain to be a classic, Winston’s War is a riveting profile of one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century.
Churchill got many little things wrong, but he was right, crucially so, on major points of Allied strategy. When the Americans joined the war, they were hot to invade France. Churchill dissuaded Roosevelt from mounting what, in 1942 or 1943, would have been a suicide mission, and redirected Allied attention to North Africa and Italy. The Mediterranean campaign bore mixed results, but Churchill's instincts were correct. There is a poignant ambiguity about Hastings's title; after 1943, the conflict was anything but Winston's war. For a time, Churchill alone had embodied the West's hopes; but as the war turned in the Allies' favor, he was shunted aside. Roosevelt ignored his advice, and, to Churchill's horror, signed off on Stalin's subjugation of Eastern Europe. In these last years, we see a much diminished war leader. Churchill deserves our admiration; first, however, as Hastings wisely insists, "history must take Churchill as a whole."--From publisher description.
A controversial wartime profile of the iconic prime minister analyzes Churchill's relationships with his country, its allies and its armed forces, offering insight into his deliberate establishment of positive ties with FDR and his more questionable decisions. By the award-winning author of Retribution.
A wartime profile of the iconic prime minister analyzes Churchill's relationships with his country, its allies and its armed forces, offering insight into his deliberate establishment of positive ties with FDR and his more questionable decisions.
Beginning in 1940, when popular demand elevated Churchill to the role of prime minister, and concluding with the end of the war, Hastings shows us Churchill at his most intrepid and essential, when, by sheer force of will, he kept Britain from collapsing in the face of what looked like certain defeat. Later, we see his significance ebb as the United States enters the war and the Soviets turn the tide on the Eastern Front. But Churchill, Hastings reminds us, knew as well as anyone that the war would be dominated by others, and he managed his relationships with the other Allied leaders strategically, so as to maintain Britain’s influence and limit Stalin’s gains.
At the same time, Churchill faced political peril at home, a situation for which he himself was largely to blame. Hastings shows how Churchill nearly squandered the miraculous escape of the British troops at Dunkirk and failed to address fundamental flaws in the British Army. His tactical inaptitude and departmental meddling won him few friends in the military, and by 1942, many were calling for him to cede operational control. Nevertheless, Churchill managed to exude a public confidence that brought the nation through the bitter war.
Hastings rejects the traditional Churchill hagiography while still managing to capture what he calls Churchill’s “appetite for the fray.” Certain to be a classic, Winston’s War is a riveting profile of one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century.
Churchill got many little things wrong, but he was right, crucially so, on major points of Allied strategy. When the Americans joined the war, they were hot to invade France. Churchill dissuaded Roosevelt from mounting what, in 1942 or 1943, would have been a suicide mission, and redirected Allied attention to North Africa and Italy. The Mediterranean campaign bore mixed results, but Churchill's instincts were correct. There is a poignant ambiguity about Hastings's title; after 1943, the conflict was anything but Winston's war. For a time, Churchill alone had embodied the West's hopes; but as the war turned in the Allies' favor, he was shunted aside. Roosevelt ignored his advice, and, to Churchill's horror, signed off on Stalin's subjugation of Eastern Europe. In these last years, we see a much diminished war leader. Churchill deserves our admiration; first, however, as Hastings wisely insists, "history must take Churchill as a whole."--From publisher description.
A controversial wartime profile of the iconic prime minister analyzes Churchill's relationships with his country, its allies and its armed forces, offering insight into his deliberate establishment of positive ties with FDR and his more questionable decisions. By the award-winning author of Retribution.
A wartime profile of the iconic prime minister analyzes Churchill's relationships with his country, its allies and its armed forces, offering insight into his deliberate establishment of positive ties with FDR and his more questionable decisions.
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- New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.
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