Churchill in His Own Words: The Life, Times and Opinions of Winston Churchill in His Own Words (Book) Review

Released: 10th September 2012
RRP: 15.00
Publisher: Ebury Press
Author: Winston Churchill edited by Richard M. Langworth
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9780091933364
Pages: 640

Buy Churchill in His Own Words: The Life, Times and Opinions of Winston Churchill in His Own Words from Amazon

When I first decided to start doing book reviews on military history, I had a very basic idea of what type of book I would want to evaluate. This ‘type of book’ would ideally be about a major figure in time, maybe an appraisal of their achievements, or at the very least a limited history of the individual and their views on life, times and conflicts.

So when I received this book “CHURCHILL: In His Own Words”, I thought I had hit the jackpot. Not only did it fulfil the pre-set criteria I had hoped for, it surpassed it. Not only is it about Winston Churchill, one of the most politically savvy Prime Ministers to walk this green and pleasant land, but it is written by Winston Churchill. I must stress however, that this delightful compendium was pieced together masterfully by Richard M Langworth. His notes throughout the book provide incredible insight to the time and emotion around Churchill at the point of his speeches.

It is as the name would suggest, a vast collection of quotes, speeches, and excerpts of genuine wit, that would sit rather comfortably on the bookshelf of both a History lecturer, and also on that of a keen reader, who just wants to delve mildly into the mind of this incredible man.

I began to go through this collection, with a stack of ‘post-it’ notes so I could glean important quotes, or helpful passages that would enable me to get my point across when writing this review. However on almost every page there is a snippet of intellect that would serve anyone well, especially so for this purpose.

As Churchill himself said,

“The longer you can look back, the farther you can look forward.”

I’m glad that I have had the opportunity to look back.

Of further interest...

Peter Stone - How I wrote My Book

Mon 25th September

In writing my new book The History of the Port of London – A Vast Emporium of All Nations I could explore aspects of two of my passions: the development of London as a city, as well as waterborne transport. Read article...

Greenhill Books Relaunch

Wed 9th November

Greenhill Books and Pen and Sword Books have announced a joint project to relaunch the Greenhill Books list. Read article...

RANDOLPH CHURCHILL FOLLOWS IN WINSTON'S FOOTSTEPS

Fri 22nd April

With Winston Churchill at the Front is the new release from Frontline Books. It follows the story of Winston Churchill on the front line in 1916, as told my his Adjutant Andrew Dewar Gibb. Read article...

Winston Churchill in the Trenches

Fri 6th May

After leaving the Government following the Dardanelles disaster, Winston served on the Western Front as a battalion commander, and it proved to be a most memorable experience for the men of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. Read article...