The American Spectator

Richard Baker| 1.11.10 @ 7:15AM

Even with his flaws, Churchill was quite a man and England could sure use him now. I've read Johnson's "History of Christianity" and it was a pleasure. I still pick it up and read it , yet.

Alan Brooks| 1.11.10 @ 7:37AM

Too bad Newt is a Toffler, and not a Churchill.

Martin| 1.11.10 @ 9:36AM

Churchill was overrated; wrong where Chamberlain was right on the pre-eminent question of his time (sure, Hitler was a menace, but why was it Britain's job to sort him out? -- we had no interest in E. Europe and could do nothing militarily there anyway.)

As for that painting, give me a break! If you get a painting labeled "Winter sunshine, Chartwell" who the hell else do you think painted it? Chartwell was Churchill's home!

Alan Brooks| 1.11.10 @ 10:04AM

We had no interest 1945- '89 in third world cesspools, and could nothing militarily there anyway.

Could have let the commies take over all of Africa, Latin America, Asia. Why not?

victor| 1.11.10 @ 11:42PM

Is that you Toddard?
What standard are you using to say that Churchill was "overated"?
You probably think that Bown and Obama are "underated", eh?
Churchill obviously thought we could do plenty to defuse, degrade and demoralize Herr Hitler. Not playing ball with him was not Churchill's plan to deal with him.
Obviously you're a fan of Chamberlain and think that his deal at Munich in 1938 was the right thing to do.
20 Million Dead would disagree with you if they could.

Helen Donnelly| 1.13.10 @ 3:15PM

Martin,
Hitler was a "menace"? Really...a menace? Good grief, man, please read up on your history and take a look at his final solution.

Alan Brooks| 1.11.10 @ 9:59AM

Couldn't take the chance Hitler would get WMDs-- just didn't know.
Like saying "why not give the soviets a free hand in Africa?" sure, why not? Could have let more Africans be killed by Commies. Population controL works.
Just as Europeans (including Frogs) were expendable, so are Negroes.

JMM| 1.11.10 @ 10:03AM

...and I suspect your would favor the statesmanship of Picasso, a truly dreadful artist, over that of Churchill?

Ken (Old Texican)| 1.11.10 @ 10:05AM

Lord, preserve us from the nutcases who cannot
discern facts from fantasies.

Guys, as for me, I would love to jump into a time machine...go back in time...and be a fly on the wall
when Mr. Churchill was thinking out loud.

Right or wrong...he had serious cajones.

Martin| 1.11.10 @ 10:12AM

Sorry, "we" meant Britain, my original nationality. Of course the US could have done something against Hitler -- but wasn't about to. Britain should have waited till FDR got off his backside.

Alan Brooks| 1.11.10 @ 11:27AM

Coulda Shoulda Woulda

Alina4ka| 1.11.10 @ 11:05AM

Lord, preserve us from the nutcases who cannot
discern facts from fantasies.

frank| 1.11.10 @ 11:06AM

Churchill was quite a man and England could sure use him now. I've read Johnson's "History of Christianity" and it was a pleasure. I still pick it up and read it , yet.

Alan Brooks| 1.11.10 @ 12:26PM

Churchill
Coolidge

the Best of the best.

Popblogger| 1.11.10 @ 2:26PM

Briefer is usually better, but, unless the reader has read much else about WSC, Paul Johnson's newest biography will leave him with many questions - which is not a bad thing. It should cause further reading.

Margie| 1.11.10 @ 2:44PM

There is a great book club called The Conservative Book Club~ Clubhttp://www.conservativebookclub.com/DefaultJoin.asp?
An excellent resource for Johnson's books, and hundreds of others written truthfully, especially about history. I have Johnson's History of the American People sitting on my shelf.
This book on Churchill sounds like a good read.
Just reading his quotes online tells you the kind of mind he had. And it wasn't a Leftist one.
"All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope."

Derek Leaberry| 1.11.10 @ 2:58PM

I find Winston Churchill the most interesting person of the 20th Century but much of the reason is that Churchill was such a great writer and historian. As for politics, after one concedes that it was Churchill's leadership that kept Hitler from winning World War Two, he failed at most of his political endeavors. His support for the Liberal government's welfare state and Britain's rush to war in 1914 wrecked his Liberal Party, continued the decline of his social grouping, and was a catalyst in the decline of his beloved Empire. Gallipoli was his most noted failure in World War One, a venture that was a waste of blood and resources. In the 1930s, Churchill was the last major British politician supporting King Edward VIII's wish to marry Wallis Simpson, a blunder that made him look foolish just as he was making headway in exposing the weakness of Stanley Baldwin's policies with regards to Nazi Germany. Churchill's second premiership was largely a waste of time. Churchill and his Tories not only failed to roll back Labour's socialization of British society when they reclaimed power in 1951, they lazily endorse it by continuing most of the Labour schemes. It is strange that such a great man would have so many failures. Perhaps it is a tribute to his strength of character that Churchill kept coming back after political hidings.

Ken (Old Texican)| 1.11.10 @ 5:21PM

The Brits will never get it with their "classed" society history hanging on...but King Edward VIII's marriage to Ms. Simpson to Texans was one of the coolest things a Brit King ever did.

Edward and Wallis always considered Texas a home away from home and were welcomed here.

I personally wonder if Mr. Churchill's so-called early "socialist tendencies" were in fact an effort to break down the classed society of 1913 Briton.

Mondo| 1.12.10 @ 4:49AM

Churchill was in a class of his own: someone who only comes along once in a very long time.

His life illustrates the lesson that what is popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular.

If only Britain had his like now. If only America.

Binden Shovel| 1.12.10 @ 11:59AM

The Dardanelles is always shown up as one of Winston's great failures and yet when you study the history of it in detail, it was a daring attempt to do something when everything else was at stalemate. Whilst it was a colossal waste of blood, later on in WW1 similar losses occurred in one day.

Incidentally if 1663 books have been written then a book I recently published called Churchill's Secret Skills will be the 1664 th. My book takes Churchill’s talents for managing WW2 and applies them to modern business.

Mary Louise| 1.12.10 @ 1:18PM

No work of Paul Johnson has left me unsatisfied. My little black notebooks are peppered with his words. He’s learned but unpretentious. He’s as democratic as he is secure. Very attractive qualities that are as important to the written word as they are to the spoken. When I study his words I’m often reminded of Lord Acton’s reminder that a well educated, honorable historian “keeps no shelter for a friend and no pillory for a foe.”

I liked this recent opinion piece by Mr. Johnson.

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