The Second World War

Rating:
Summary: one part missing
Review: The only thing preventing this book from being known as the greatest of the 20th Century is Churchill's exclusion of "The Great Lie." Still worth every minute you spend reading it though.

Rating:
Summary: The number one book on leadership in time of war
Review: The Second World War by Winston S. Churchill is THE work on the conflict. Churchill's graceful command of the English language, his personal role in the conduct of the war, and the broad scope of the work, from the origins of the war to its execution, make this the best book on the topic.

Rated the number one book on leadership in time of war by HUMAN EVENTS in 2004, The Second World War will take about a month to read (for someone with a job and family) - time well invested in understanding the massive conflict of the 20th Century that still shapes our globe.

As a once and future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (he was defeated in 1945) Churchill's easy access to documents, world leaders and generals made him uniquely suited to this ambitious task. I doubt any other mere author of the day could have filled one volume of the six he wrote.

Rating:
Summary: The number one book on leadership in time of war
Review: The Second World War by Winston S. Churchill is THE work on the conflict. Churchill's graceful command of the English language, his personal role in the conduct of the war, and the broad scope of the work, from the origins of the war to its execution, make this the best book on the topic.

Rated the number one book on leadership in time of war by HUMAN EVENTS in 2004, The Second World War will take about a month to read (for someone with a job and family) - time well invested in understanding the massive conflict of the 20th Century that still shapes our globe.

As a once and future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (he was defeated in 1945) Churchill's easy access to documents, world leaders and generals made him uniquely suited to this ambitious task. I doubt any other mere author of the day could have filled one volume of the six he wrote.

Rating:
Summary: The Words Don't Fit the Pictures
Review: The Second World War is a story that will never grow cold. This was a historical drama on a massive scale and all those who participated in that titanic struggle have an assured collective immortality. Churchill was the leading rhetorician of the war. Deeply involved in the war himself as the leader of the embattled British Empire, the words he spoke and wrote have shaped the way we see the events of that stormy time.

It might be supposed, therefore, that his history of the war is the best testament of this pivotal moment in human history. I would beg to differ. As the chief rhetorician of the war, he was also one of the chief distorters of its events. In this book, the propaganda expediencies that were vital to maintain the flagging morale of the war-weary British people, have been coined into so-called facts and passed off as the genuine currency of historical truth.

Those events with which Churchill was most involved are the ones most distorted in his account. Although he has the image of the great war leader, Churchill's tactical and strategical mistakes were so many and so destructive that it is a miracle that Britain survived. Perhaps there was little he could have done to prevent the overwhelming German victory of 1940, but in 1941 he was responsible for one disaster after another. In North Africa, the one bright spot at this time, the British army was driving back a larger Italian force and threatening to drive Axis forces from the entire continent. Rather than achieve this worthy goal, Churchill uprooted the victorious army and sent it off to Greece, where it immediately suffered ignoble defeat. Fleeing back to Africa, the British troops left behind most of their heavy equipment in a second Dunkirk. Thus weakened, they were unable to stop the Italians, reinforced by a small German force led by Rommell, from regaining all Libya and threatening Egypt.

At this time, Churchill was also sowing the seeds for the debacle in the East. In the expectation of a Japanese attack, he insisted on heavily reinforcing the important military base of Singapore, pouring in thousands of troops. Unfortunately, he gave them almost no air or sea cover, so that when the Japanese attacked, they were hopelessly outmaneuvered, cut off, defeated, and marched off into the jungle to build railroads and die. This was unquestionably the biggest military disaster in British history.

It is obvious that if the war had been left up to Churchill, Britain would soon have been defeated. Luckily for Britain, Hitler and the Japanese were stupid enough to throw their superior military machines against the USA and the Soviet Union, giving Britain the allies it badly needed. Of course, being half American, Churchill gives the USA its due, but reading this book, one gets the impression that the tide of the war turned at El Alamein and the decisive battle was D-Day. The reality is, however, that 7 out of every 10 Germans killed in the war died on the Russian front.

Despite his powerful allies, Churchill continued to be behind stupid and, indeed, immoral decisions. For some inexplicable reason, he sent thousands of Canadians to their deaths by a foolish attack on the French town of Dieppe. He also famously described Italy as the "Soft Underbelly of Europe," leading to its Invasion in 1943. After landing in the South, the vast Allied armies were held on the narrow front across the peninsular by much smaller German forces, and were only allowed to advance at a snail's pace while the decisive events of the war played out on the Eastern Front.

Luckily for the allies, Churchill was increasingly marginalized in the decision-making process, but with Germany on the ropes, he made perhaps his worst decision of the War, the terror bombing of German Cities. Sending vast armadas of bombers to attack civilian centres did little to stop enemy war production, but the cost in innocent civilians murdered and Allied air crews shot down was immense. With this action, Churchill put himself on the same descending rung of the ladder as Hitler.

This book is certainly not suitable as an introductory text on World War II, but with the full historical facts in view, it provides an intriguing picture of how rhetoric is written and history distorted.

Rating:
Summary: The Words Don't Fit the Pictures
Review: The Second World War is a story that will never grow cold. This was a historical drama on a massive scale and all those who participated in the titanic struggle have an assured collective immortality. Churchill was the leading rhetorician of the war. Deeply involved in the war himself as the leader of the embattled British Empire, the words he spoke and wrote have shaped the way we see the events of that stormy time.

It might be supposed, therefore, that his history of the war is the best testament of this pivotal moment in human history. I would beg to differ. As the chief rhetorician of the war, he was also one of the chief distorters of its events. In this book, the propaganda expediencies that were vital to maintain the flagging morale of the war-weary British people, have been coined into so-called facts and passed off as the genuine currency of historical truth.

Those events with which Churchill was most involved are the ones most distorted in his account. Although he has the image of the great war leader, Churchill's tactical and strategical mistakes were so many and so destructive that it is a miracle that Britain survived. Perhaps there was little he could have done to prevent the overwhelming German victory of 1940, but in 1941 he was responsible for one disaster after another. In North Africa, the one bright spot at this time, the British army was driving back a larger Italian force and threatening to drive Axis forces from the entire continent. Rather than achieve this worthy goal, Churchill uprooted the victorious army and sent it off to Greece, where it immediately suffered ignoble defeat before it had time to find its feet. Fleeing back to Africa, the British troops left behind most of their heavy equipment in a second Dunkirk. Thus weakened, they were unable to stop the Italians, reinforced by a small German force led by Rommell, from regaining all Libya and threatening Egypt.

At this time, Churchill was also sowing the seeds for the debacle in the Far East. In the expectation of a Japanese attack, he insisted on heavily reinforcing the important military base of Singapore, pouring in thousands of troops. Unfortunately, he gave them almost no air or sea cover, so that when the Japanese attacked, they were hopelessly outmaneuvered, cut off, defeated, and marched off into the jungle to build railroads and die. This was unquestionably the biggest military disaster in British history, and Churchill was responsible.

It is obvious that if the war had been left up to Churchill, Britain would soon have been defeated and invaded. Luckily for Britain, Hitler and the Japanese were stupid enough to throw their superior military machines against the USA and the Soviet Union, giving Britain the allies it badly needed. Of course, being half American, Churchill gives the USA its due, but reading this book, one gets the impression that the tide of the war turned at El Alamein and the decisive battle was D-Day. The reality is, however, that 7 out of every 10 Germans killed in the war died on the Russian front.

Despite his powerful allies, Churchill continued to be behind stupid and, indeed, immoral decisions. For some inexplicable reason, he sent thousands of Canadians to their deaths by a foolish attack on the French town of Dieppe. He also famously described Italy as the "Soft Underbelly of Europe," leading to its Invasion in 1943. After landing in the South, the vast Allied armies were held on the narrow front across the peninsular by much smaller German forces, and were only allowed to advance at a snail's pace while the decisive events of the war played out on the Eastern Front. This was why the Soviet Union was able to lay claim to most of Eastern Europe after the war: Churchill's mistakes had allowed them to play the leading role in the defeat of Germany.

Luckily for the Western allies, Churchill was increasingly marginalized in the decision-making process, but with Germany on the ropes, he made perhaps his worst decision of the War, the terror bombing of German Cities. Sending vast armadas of bombers to attack civilian centres did little to stop enemy war production, but the cost in innocent civilians murdered and brave Allied air crews shot down was immense. With this action, Churchill put himself on the first rung of the same downward descending ladder as Hitler.

These volumes are certainly not a suitable introductory text on World War II, but with the full historical facts in view, this work provides an intriguing picture of how rhetoric is written and history distorted.

Rating:
Summary: The most fascinating story ever told - should be compulsory!
Review: This book spreads over five volumes, incredibly it is gripping from the moment you pick it up right to the end. A revelation into why the war happened, how it could so easily have been prevented, and the monumental life and death struggle that shaped how we live now. The only missing parts relate to details of the intelligence war and, in particular, the breaking of the German codes by Bletchley Park and development of the first computers.

Rating:
Summary: Sir Winston at his Best
Review: Truly an amazing account of the Second World War by one of its principal actors, and an absolute must-read for those who are looking to understand the events that took place during the darkest period of the 20th Century. Churchill brings it all home in vivid detail, exposing to future generations just how close the human race came to entering a second Medieval period; to the utter destruction caused by the War; and the horrors that came after it.

The book makes the reader all too aware that there were few leaders before, and certainly none since, that could have been the defiant, resolute, and unyielding inspiration for freedom against the Nazi tyranny the way that Sir Winston was in his time.

Rating:
Summary: An extraordinary man for an extraordinary time
Review: What a brilliant, shining human being. His eloquence and spirit were such that even his political enemies would stand and cheer after one of his rousing speeches in the House of Commons where he labored, often against large and scornful majorities, to wrest the world from lethargy and the denial of a growing Nazi threat. These volumes were not written by an academic years after the events... Churchill was the man who actually pulled off this extraordinary accomplishment. There is not much personal anecdote (see the diaries of Lord Moran for that). Here, you find an epic told in clear and compelling prose by a truly inspiring and brilliant leader. With others, I stand in awe. A terrific read.