by Paul Johnson. Churchill remains one of the most admired, compelling, yet enigmatic historical figures of the last century. Acclaimed historian Johnson has written a compact biography concentrating more on his subject's personality quirks and contradictions rather than the minutia of his long life. Yet, as Johnson makes clear, those personality quirks offer the best explanations for many of his decisions and actions at critical moments. Churchill adored his parents, but at a distance, since neither of them were very attentive during his childhood. His deep attachment to his nanny left him with great sympathy for lower social classes. Churchill's political and social attitudes were products of the Victorian age, yet this apparent arch imperialist showed remarkable sympathy for the resentments of the ruled toward their rulers. His romantic nature and experiences in India and Africa led him to write about the nobility of the warrior, but he dreaded the mass mechanized slaughter that he witnessed on the western front. He was a nineteenth-century man who understood earlier than most that totalitarianism would be the scourge of the twentieth century. Short but incisive. --Booklist. (Check Catalog)
Monday, January 4, 2010
Churchill
by Paul Johnson. Churchill remains one of the most admired, compelling, yet enigmatic historical figures of the last century. Acclaimed historian Johnson has written a compact biography concentrating more on his subject's personality quirks and contradictions rather than the minutia of his long life. Yet, as Johnson makes clear, those personality quirks offer the best explanations for many of his decisions and actions at critical moments. Churchill adored his parents, but at a distance, since neither of them were very attentive during his childhood. His deep attachment to his nanny left him with great sympathy for lower social classes. Churchill's political and social attitudes were products of the Victorian age, yet this apparent arch imperialist showed remarkable sympathy for the resentments of the ruled toward their rulers. His romantic nature and experiences in India and Africa led him to write about the nobility of the warrior, but he dreaded the mass mechanized slaughter that he witnessed on the western front. He was a nineteenth-century man who understood earlier than most that totalitarianism would be the scourge of the twentieth century. Short but incisive. --Booklist. (Check Catalog)
