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In the Footsteps of Churchill
Richard Holmes' insightful new biography of one of Britain's greatest leaders is both a study in character and the story of an extraordinary career. Much has been written about Churchill's role as British prime minister during the crisis years of the Second World War, but in this book Holmes uses new material to investigate the influences that shaped the his troubled school days, his flamboyant politician father, Randolph, and his famously attractive American mother, Jennie. Holmes argues that the qualities that made Churchill great also led him to commit catastrophic blunders. The same recklessness that made him a hero when he was a young correspondent during the Boer War arguably cost thousands of Allied lives during the Gallipoli campaign in 1915, and may also have contributed to the fall of Singapore in 1942.
In the Footsteps of Churchill takes us on an exhilarating journey through Harrow School, the North-West Frontier, the Sudan, South Africa, 10 Downing Street and his beloved Chartwell; a journey that begins in the aristocratic splendor of Blenheim Palace and ends in the quiet of a country churchyard not far away - the compass of an extraordinary life in a few Oxford shire acres.
In the Footsteps of Churchill takes us on an exhilarating journey through Harrow School, the North-West Frontier, the Sudan, South Africa, 10 Downing Street and his beloved Chartwell; a journey that begins in the aristocratic splendor of Blenheim Palace and ends in the quiet of a country churchyard not far away - the compass of an extraordinary life in a few Oxford shire acres.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published April 7, 2005
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About the author
Richard Holmes
116 books94 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
See this thread for more information.
Edward Richard Holmes was Professor of Military and Security Studies at Cranfield University and the Royal Military College of Science. He was educated at Cambridge, Northern Illinois, and Reading Universities, and carried out his doctoral research on the French army of the Second Empire. For many years he taught military history at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
A celebrated military historian, Holmes is the author of the best-selling and widely acclaimed Tommy and Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket. His dozen other books include Dusty Warriors, Sahib, The Western Front, The Little Field Marshal: Sir John French, The Road to Sedan, Firing Line, The Second World War in Photographs and Fatal Avenue: A Traveller’s History of Northern France and Flanders (also published by Pimlico).
He was general editor of The Oxford Companion to Military History and has presented eight BBC TV series, including ‘War Walks’, ‘The Western Front’ and ‘Battlefields’, and is famous for his hugely successful series ‘Wellington: The Iron Duke’ and ‘Rebels and Redcoats’.
See this thread for more information.
Edward Richard Holmes was Professor of Military and Security Studies at Cranfield University and the Royal Military College of Science. He was educated at Cambridge, Northern Illinois, and Reading Universities, and carried out his doctoral research on the French army of the Second Empire. For many years he taught military history at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
A celebrated military historian, Holmes is the author of the best-selling and widely acclaimed Tommy and Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket. His dozen other books include Dusty Warriors, Sahib, The Western Front, The Little Field Marshal: Sir John French, The Road to Sedan, Firing Line, The Second World War in Photographs and Fatal Avenue: A Traveller’s History of Northern France and Flanders (also published by Pimlico).
He was general editor of The Oxford Companion to Military History and has presented eight BBC TV series, including ‘War Walks’, ‘The Western Front’ and ‘Battlefields’, and is famous for his hugely successful series ‘Wellington: The Iron Duke’ and ‘Rebels and Redcoats’.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 13, 2009
Quite enjoyed this book although it seems to get bogged down with a lot of obscure detail from time to time. It seems to peter out a bit as well.
Couple of interesting things I learnt:
Winston first came under fire in Cuba in 1895 while observing the counter-insurgency war being fought by the Spanish.
Winston advocated dropping poison gas on the Kurds in Iraq but was overruled by the cabinet.
During the Potsdam conference Winston and Attlee broke off for two days to return to the UK to hear the election result. Attlee was the only leader at Potsdam freely elected in his own right.
Some interesting things I read from it were:
Aviator Charles Lindbergh commenting on the English: "the assets in the English character lie in confidence rather than intelligence...It is necessary to realize that England is composed of a great mass of slow, somewhat stupid and indifferent people, and a small group of geniuses.:
Conversation between Lord Ismay and Churchill just before the collapse of France:
Winston: It seems we fight alone.
Ismay: We'll win the Battle of Britain
Winston: You and I will be dead in three months' time
Ismay: Quite possibly, but we'll have a hell of a good time those last seven days.
"The Empire had never involved more than a small proportion of its population in politics, and did not have the cultural effect that the ability to move on in search of pastures new had on the American psyche. Britons who had sought these pastures new had emigrated, which n the American view meant that anyone with any get up and go had got up and gone, while the British view those who have remained had a more concentrated sense of identity. The two views are not incompatible, but the potential for mutual asperity is manifest."
Couple of interesting things I learnt:
Winston first came under fire in Cuba in 1895 while observing the counter-insurgency war being fought by the Spanish.
Winston advocated dropping poison gas on the Kurds in Iraq but was overruled by the cabinet.
During the Potsdam conference Winston and Attlee broke off for two days to return to the UK to hear the election result. Attlee was the only leader at Potsdam freely elected in his own right.
Some interesting things I read from it were:
Aviator Charles Lindbergh commenting on the English: "the assets in the English character lie in confidence rather than intelligence...It is necessary to realize that England is composed of a great mass of slow, somewhat stupid and indifferent people, and a small group of geniuses.:
Conversation between Lord Ismay and Churchill just before the collapse of France:
Winston: It seems we fight alone.
Ismay: We'll win the Battle of Britain
Winston: You and I will be dead in three months' time
Ismay: Quite possibly, but we'll have a hell of a good time those last seven days.
"The Empire had never involved more than a small proportion of its population in politics, and did not have the cultural effect that the ability to move on in search of pastures new had on the American psyche. Britons who had sought these pastures new had emigrated, which n the American view meant that anyone with any get up and go had got up and gone, while the British view those who have remained had a more concentrated sense of identity. The two views are not incompatible, but the potential for mutual asperity is manifest."
May 3, 2008
This is a readable, balanced,and somewhat unique study of Churchill's character by a military historian of some acclaim.In the footsteps of Churchill is an autobiography that focuses on what produced Churchill and his character and how that character went on to change the world. This book is less about dates, times, and places and more about personalities, ideas, concepts, and the overall picture. An excellent resource that is enlightening, interesting, and well researched. Recommended.
March 6, 2013
Interesting, although hard going at times probably due to all the politics. Certainly furthered my knowledge of Churchill but I wasn't blown away by it.
January 11, 2015
A comprehensive account of Churchill covering all aspects of a complex personality.
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August 16, 2017This book promised psychological insight, but it fell short on the historical detail. I could have done with less of Freud and more of Winston.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews