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The Second World War: The Nobel Prize-Winning History of World War II
The Second World War is a history of the period from the end of the First World War to July 1945, written by Winston Churchill. It was largely responsible for his being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. Volumes include:
1. The Gathering Storm
2. Their Finest Hour
3. The Grand Alliance
4. The Hinge of Fate
5. Closing the Ring
6. Triumph and Tragedy
1. The Gathering Storm
2. Their Finest Hour
3. The Grand Alliance
4. The Hinge of Fate
5. Closing the Ring
6. Triumph and Tragedy
4736 pages, Paperback
Published May 9, 1986
175 people are currently reading
4978 people want to read
About the author
Winston S. Churchill
1,395 books2,487 followersSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, politician and writer, as prime minister from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955 led Great Britain, published several works, including
The Second World War
from 1948 to 1953, and then won the Nobel Prize for literature.
William Maxwell Aitken, first baron Beaverbrook, held many cabinet positions during the 1940s as a confidant of Churchill.
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can), served the United Kingdom again. A noted statesman, orator and strategist, Churchill also served as an officer in the Army. This prolific author "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values."
Out of respect for Winston_Churchill, the well-known American author, Winston S. Churchill offered to use his middle initial as an author.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston...
William Maxwell Aitken, first baron Beaverbrook, held many cabinet positions during the 1940s as a confidant of Churchill.
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can), served the United Kingdom again. A noted statesman, orator and strategist, Churchill also served as an officer in the Army. This prolific author "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values."
Out of respect for Winston_Churchill, the well-known American author, Winston S. Churchill offered to use his middle initial as an author.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
January 12, 2008
I've finally finished The Gathering Storm by Churchill, the first volume in his 6 volume set on WWII. It was an amazing read. Beautifully written. "Still if you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed, if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than live as slaves."
Looking back on the 1930s knowing what we now know, it is inconceivable that the entire world wasn't ready to battle Hitler immediately. This volume shows Churchill's struggle to bring around a succession of prime ministers and other government ministers to the threat of Hitler. It shows the workings of various ministries and the elaborate negotiations that preceded each move by the British government in the run-up to war.
Incredibly detailed and dense, this book has lead me to an overview volume on WWII so that I have more knowledge of the events about which Churchill is writing.
Looking back on the 1930s knowing what we now know, it is inconceivable that the entire world wasn't ready to battle Hitler immediately. This volume shows Churchill's struggle to bring around a succession of prime ministers and other government ministers to the threat of Hitler. It shows the workings of various ministries and the elaborate negotiations that preceded each move by the British government in the run-up to war.
Incredibly detailed and dense, this book has lead me to an overview volume on WWII so that I have more knowledge of the events about which Churchill is writing.
June 6, 2022
A minha opinião: https://youtu.be/ush2tcei_lU
November 10, 2023
I read this, my first read of a comprehensive history of the war, several years ago. A few years later I spoke about it in glowing terms with a British citizen employed as an auditor by the UN at a cocktail party in DC. He was amused at my naïveté and suggested that as a fellow auditor, perhaps I should be a little more circumspect. About 10 years after that conversation, I read David Reynolds’ In Command of History, subtitled, Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War.
Five stars reflects my initial assessment. If I were to re-review, I probably wouldn’t be so generous, but at least3 stars.
Also, I read somewhere that when Churchill was told he won the Nobel Prize, he assumed it was the Peace Prize, but didn’t have time then for details. Later, he was disappointed to learn that it was only for Literature.
Five stars reflects my initial assessment. If I were to re-review, I probably wouldn’t be so generous, but at least3 stars.
Also, I read somewhere that when Churchill was told he won the Nobel Prize, he assumed it was the Peace Prize, but didn’t have time then for details. Later, he was disappointed to learn that it was only for Literature.
March 18, 2016
Churchill was at the center of the greatest war in human history and, in addition to being a masterful statesman, had about as good a command of the English language as any reader could hope for. These books are his very personal history of the Second World War, being comprised in the main of his wartime memoranda and letters to the famous personages of his time -- Roosevelt, Stalin, his key subordinates, and many others -- and his commentary on those writings. It is hardly objective, and is quite literally an example of how history is written by the victors, but it's a magnificent read written by one of the key figures of the 20th century. How fortunate we were to have Churchill; how fortunate we are to have this and his other writings.
December 19, 2011
I have read this series twice. Churchill writes well, and I love the detail. Self-serving, so untrustworthy, but still absorbing.
June 21, 2019
Excellent. A classic study. I should have read it earlier in my life.
December 27, 2008
Forgot about reading this one summer...
I read it in Swedish, my dad had all the volumes, wonderfully leatherbound, I think he found them at some estate sale.
Winston is a freak, a brilliant man for making war, I guess what could be called a "pure" military man. You can't but help respecting the man, he's an incredible writer and all the thousands of pages are not at all boring (if you have an interest) but it is also extremely chilling to realize that the decisions and plans that ultimately were executed (or not)resulted in many, many, many deaths.
An excellent read if you happen to have extra time to spare, jail, house-arrest, long hospital stay or such.
I read it in Swedish, my dad had all the volumes, wonderfully leatherbound, I think he found them at some estate sale.
Winston is a freak, a brilliant man for making war, I guess what could be called a "pure" military man. You can't but help respecting the man, he's an incredible writer and all the thousands of pages are not at all boring (if you have an interest) but it is also extremely chilling to realize that the decisions and plans that ultimately were executed (or not)resulted in many, many, many deaths.
An excellent read if you happen to have extra time to spare, jail, house-arrest, long hospital stay or such.
May 9, 2010
Even though Churchill is in love with the numerics of war (tonage of ships, material & arms, troops, etc.) These books have fascinating details, memos and such and interesting stories about Churchill's relationships with Roosevelt and Stalin, etc.. and it's history written from one of the participants(sometimes maybe it's myopic and self aggrandizing, but that's to be expected) and it reads like he speaks, which, of course, is wonderfully insightful and humorous.
December 12, 2016
Super! Da sieht man, wieso ein Politiker den Literaturnobelpreis bekommen hat.
December 3, 2007
a) Stalin was a dickhole
b) Churchill is a verbose guy
c) FDR was tre sexy
d) British people are feckless socialists who deserve what they get
e) Unless they're being bombed (Blitzed?) at the time
f) The invasion of Italy succeeded marvelously at wasting time
g) Britain invaded Iceland, well before we knew about Bjork
h) Churchill is verbose enough to make it worth pointing out again
i) I never, ever want to read about another fighter sortie
j) Germans should stick to the ground, Brits to the sky
k) The Japanese? Those sandal-wearing goldfish tenders?
l) TOO MUCH VERBOSITY
b) Churchill is a verbose guy
c) FDR was tre sexy
d) British people are feckless socialists who deserve what they get
e) Unless they're being bombed (Blitzed?) at the time
f) The invasion of Italy succeeded marvelously at wasting time
g) Britain invaded Iceland, well before we knew about Bjork
h) Churchill is verbose enough to make it worth pointing out again
i) I never, ever want to read about another fighter sortie
j) Germans should stick to the ground, Brits to the sky
k) The Japanese? Those sandal-wearing goldfish tenders?
l) TOO MUCH VERBOSITY
December 8, 2009
Brilliant. I loved The 'World at War' documentry tv series which got me interested in the subject, and hence my fascination with Churchill - especially the way he, and only he, stood up to Hitler for a whole year while England was getting bombed and the threat of invasion by the nazis hung in the air. The way he rallied the country was genius, and his work ethic and determination is inspirational. This edition also contains his famous speeches etc... if anyone wants to lern about WW2 - this is a good place to start.
January 29, 2008
It took me a few years and a stint of unemployment to finsih these - and yes, no surprise there, Winston oddly enough is biased - BUT the man's language is magnificent and as a historian closely involved in the events described he is less biased than many of his successors. Well worth the time of your life invested.
December 16, 2020
How wonderful to have a history of World War II by one of its chief actors. How wonderful to absorb Churchill unique and powerful prose style over the course of thousands of pages. If there is any weakness to this multivolume work, it is that it is necessarily highly partisan. Perhaps another weakness is that Churchill often includes memoranda and official documents in the midst of his narrative and analysis of events.
November 10, 2008
This would be 5 stars just for the historical perspective alone. But then you have the written and orative grace of Winston Churchill and it's game over. Some day I'll read all six volumes, but this was a great way to get started. Churchill is certainly one of the greatest figures in modern history, and certainly of World War II. He was a lion.
June 13, 2010
I have an old set of this series by Winston Churchill that I purchased from an antique dealer on trademe.co.nz. Very educational account of the events of the Second World War and the events that led up to the Second World War. A privilege to read the words of one of the greatest leaders of Great Britain and the 20th century.
August 13, 2012
The series is deeply flawed--simplistic, self-aggrandizing, and dragging at times. However, holy crap, the guy was there and in the middle of it. Read it to understand Churchill better.
January 6, 2016
I always enjoy reading Churchills review of the Second World War. Winston had great insight into the coming clash and how it was going to effect the world.
August 25, 2009
I enjoyed every minute of this remarkable overview of WWII. This first-hand account, written by one of the principle figures of the war, illustrates enormous insight into the how and why of every major (and most minor) decisions made by the various Allied leaders.
The history begins at the end of WWI and gives a brief overview of the political and social atmospheres that led to the breakdown of peace and the second world war. It continues through the end of the war, and the epilogue (written by Churchill many years after the original publication) includes some additional details about the fate of several countries and territories throughout the world where decisive action was taken during the war.
As an account written by Churchill's own hand, one must suppose that the version of events as laid out in these books is tainted by the authors opinion, hindsight, and his desire to be viewed favorably. However, Churchill is liberal with his use of supporting material in the form of direct quotes from his speeches, memos and official communiques with other world leaders.
There are some parts of the account that really stand out to me. His account of the Battle of Britain is especially well done. He describes the loneliness felt by the British people as they stood alone against Germany after the fall of France and so many other European nations. He also expresses his determination at the time that Britain would stand alone to the very end in the event of the possible invasion of England.
I was also intrigued by his account of the end of the war and the political negotiations between himself, Roosevelt (and later Truman), and Stalin about how Europe should be established post-war.
It seems that Churchill blamed Truman and his lack of involvement prior to his presidency (apparently Roosevelt left him out of a lot of the war planning) for allowing the Russians to break their commitments - leading to the power struggle known as the Cold War that dominated the next four decades. At the same time though, he goes out of his way to excuse Truman and praises him for much of his involvement. These last few chapters alone have determined that my next serious read will be David McCullough's Truman.
Despite its epic scope and impressive length, I highly recommend Winston Churchill's The Second World War.
The history begins at the end of WWI and gives a brief overview of the political and social atmospheres that led to the breakdown of peace and the second world war. It continues through the end of the war, and the epilogue (written by Churchill many years after the original publication) includes some additional details about the fate of several countries and territories throughout the world where decisive action was taken during the war.
As an account written by Churchill's own hand, one must suppose that the version of events as laid out in these books is tainted by the authors opinion, hindsight, and his desire to be viewed favorably. However, Churchill is liberal with his use of supporting material in the form of direct quotes from his speeches, memos and official communiques with other world leaders.
There are some parts of the account that really stand out to me. His account of the Battle of Britain is especially well done. He describes the loneliness felt by the British people as they stood alone against Germany after the fall of France and so many other European nations. He also expresses his determination at the time that Britain would stand alone to the very end in the event of the possible invasion of England.
I was also intrigued by his account of the end of the war and the political negotiations between himself, Roosevelt (and later Truman), and Stalin about how Europe should be established post-war.
It seems that Churchill blamed Truman and his lack of involvement prior to his presidency (apparently Roosevelt left him out of a lot of the war planning) for allowing the Russians to break their commitments - leading to the power struggle known as the Cold War that dominated the next four decades. At the same time though, he goes out of his way to excuse Truman and praises him for much of his involvement. These last few chapters alone have determined that my next serious read will be David McCullough's Truman.
Despite its epic scope and impressive length, I highly recommend Winston Churchill's The Second World War.
February 21, 2015
I've just finished the last of Churchill's amazing six volume History of the Second World War. I strongly recommend it to everyone whose parents or grandparents fought or lived through that war. It's the first-hand account, from the top. Churchill manages to communicate the enormity of horrendous war on a world scale, theatre by theatre (for example, the number of ships and tonnage of shipping sunk is almost unbelievable). Churchill writes extremely well, and as a historical record he copiously illustrates every volume with original War Cabinet minutes, memos, notes and telegrams to and from Roosevelt, Stalin, de Gaulle, Generals Eisenhower and Montgomery, and many more. How Churchill handled the whole thing as Prime Minister from close to defeat in 1940 to victory in 1945 is aweinspirig, whatever you think of him.
Volume 6,'Triumph to Tragedy' is aptly titled. It is hard to believe the country voted him out within weeks of the victory in Europe, before the Peace Conference, before the post-war map of Europe had been settled, and Japan defeated. The tragedy as he saw it was the threat from Soviet Russia, as Poland, over whose sovereignty Britain had gone to war, was being subordinated by the Soviets...
Volume 6,'Triumph to Tragedy' is aptly titled. It is hard to believe the country voted him out within weeks of the victory in Europe, before the Peace Conference, before the post-war map of Europe had been settled, and Japan defeated. The tragedy as he saw it was the threat from Soviet Russia, as Poland, over whose sovereignty Britain had gone to war, was being subordinated by the Soviets...
December 8, 2023
Toinen maailmansota vallan huipulta.
No niin, Churchillin kuusiosaiset muistelmat toisesta maailmansodasta kukistettu. Ja nämä olivat tavallaan aika kiinnostavaa luettavaa kun pääsi Winstonin mukaan neuvottelupöytiin ja sotahuoneisiin. Lisäksi Churchill omistaa tässä lukuja sellaisille episodeille kuin vaikka Kreetan maihinnousu, Singaporen valtaus ja Kreikan sisäinen konflikti, joista harvemmin puhutaan.
Kiinnostavinta settiä oli kuitenkin aika ennen sotaa ja juuri sen alettua. Yleensä se miten katastrofiin päädytään on paljon kiinnostavampaa kuin itse katastrofi ja niin on nytkin. Lukuisat taistelukuvaukset olivatkin usein aika tervaisaa luettavaa.
Churchillin kirjoitustyyli on kuitenkin tietyssä kankeassa juhlavuudessaan eläväistä. Vaikka kirjasarja kuvaa pitkälti toisen maailmansodan yleistä kulkua on mukana myös Churchillin kuvauksia päiväunistaan ja illallisistaan. Se tuo suurmieheyden rinnalle ihan hyvää pehmeää inhimillisyyttä.
Lopulta tämä vaati aika paljon omistautumista, mutta oli ihan jees lukukokemus.
No niin, Churchillin kuusiosaiset muistelmat toisesta maailmansodasta kukistettu. Ja nämä olivat tavallaan aika kiinnostavaa luettavaa kun pääsi Winstonin mukaan neuvottelupöytiin ja sotahuoneisiin. Lisäksi Churchill omistaa tässä lukuja sellaisille episodeille kuin vaikka Kreetan maihinnousu, Singaporen valtaus ja Kreikan sisäinen konflikti, joista harvemmin puhutaan.
Kiinnostavinta settiä oli kuitenkin aika ennen sotaa ja juuri sen alettua. Yleensä se miten katastrofiin päädytään on paljon kiinnostavampaa kuin itse katastrofi ja niin on nytkin. Lukuisat taistelukuvaukset olivatkin usein aika tervaisaa luettavaa.
Churchillin kirjoitustyyli on kuitenkin tietyssä kankeassa juhlavuudessaan eläväistä. Vaikka kirjasarja kuvaa pitkälti toisen maailmansodan yleistä kulkua on mukana myös Churchillin kuvauksia päiväunistaan ja illallisistaan. Se tuo suurmieheyden rinnalle ihan hyvää pehmeää inhimillisyyttä.
Lopulta tämä vaati aika paljon omistautumista, mutta oli ihan jees lukukokemus.
February 2, 2021
To give you an idea as to the quality of this work. Here is An excerpt from the final volume:
"People cry out for peace and joy. Will the families be reunited? Will the warrior come home? Will the shattered dwellings be rebuilt? Will the toiler see his home?.
To defend one's country is glorious, but there are greater conquests before us. Before us lies the realisation of the dream of the poor. That they shall live in peace, protected by our invincible power from aggression and evil"
Churchills work is expansive and behemoth. To read it often felt like an unachievable goal. The set of 6 came to just over 5000 pages all in all. Certain volumes do get bogged down with the politics and letters between commanders/leaders. Do i regret reading it? Not at all.
Churchill had such a mastery of the English language and his skills shine through on every page. I believe this is a go-to for all History Enthusiasts.
"People cry out for peace and joy. Will the families be reunited? Will the warrior come home? Will the shattered dwellings be rebuilt? Will the toiler see his home?.
To defend one's country is glorious, but there are greater conquests before us. Before us lies the realisation of the dream of the poor. That they shall live in peace, protected by our invincible power from aggression and evil"
Churchills work is expansive and behemoth. To read it often felt like an unachievable goal. The set of 6 came to just over 5000 pages all in all. Certain volumes do get bogged down with the politics and letters between commanders/leaders. Do i regret reading it? Not at all.
Churchill had such a mastery of the English language and his skills shine through on every page. I believe this is a go-to for all History Enthusiasts.
May 6, 2014
1-3 could have been prevented, Germany humiliated, all there in Mein Kampf advocating fight, immense unemployment, US did not act in early 30's Japan invasion of China or Austria, execute opposition, govts obsessed by pacifism, overly self-confident Chamberlain, ignored Soviets, Poland and Hungary feed on Czechoslovakia, only nego with govts with morals, formed statistical party of own, Soviets into Poland Finland no help from England and France. 2; German prep for ww2 different than 1 unlike France, lend lease increased by 1/5 UK, UK dead 412K more than US, France demoralized, Dunkirk demanded higher UK morale, 100% tax on profit, America stood aloof, 9.15.40 turn in air war delayed landing England, so much owed by so many to so few, war mostly catalogue of blunders, Atlantic Charter UK US +22 nations,
March 31, 2013
This is Churchill’s six volume history of WWII – it kept me company while I was recovering from breaking my ankle. It covers from the end of WWI through the immediate end of WWII. It is extremely well-written and draws extensively from Churchill’s letters and notes from the war years. I particularly enjoyed getting a feel for the personalities involved at high levels in the war effort and learning about the administrative strategies used to lead the war effort. I thought it could have done without some of the extensive correspondences related to arranging conferences and would have benefited from more discussion of the post-war arrangements (Churchill was voted out of office almost immediately, so I can see why he did it this way).
April 20, 2012
Check this out! Churchill uses some phrases that I never though existed then. "Off the shelf" is an example. And he is my hero, which makes it easier to read.
The more I got into it, the more coincidental everything seems. Like when Churchill and Stalin "split up" the Balkans. Like when Churchill decided to bomb parts of Italy, to see if Mussolini "liked" it. Like the cold statistics about the lost tonnage and lives in the U-boat conflict.
Still, we'd all be talking German fluently if he had not been there!
The more I got into it, the more coincidental everything seems. Like when Churchill and Stalin "split up" the Balkans. Like when Churchill decided to bomb parts of Italy, to see if Mussolini "liked" it. Like the cold statistics about the lost tonnage and lives in the U-boat conflict.
Still, we'd all be talking German fluently if he had not been there!
November 25, 2013
This is book is interesting to understand the perspective of the war from one of the 3 leaders of the Allies. It's not a good read if you really want to understand the details of the war. I read the abridged version put out by Life so that may explain it. It helped me the understand the war from beginning to end but it made me realize I want to read about the war from the people in the war. I want to read the stories about the people. It's fascinating to read about the negotiations between Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill and for that it's worth reading.
January 17, 2009
These are incredible books, especially for Americans. It is good to read a version of the war that is not so USA-centric. It is interesting that the ultimate villian of the series is not Hitler, but Stalin. Hitler was obviously going to be defeated, especially once the US joined the war, but Stalin had a lot more people, and power and at the time of writing, it was not evident what would happen in the conflict that came to be called the Cold War.
September 11, 2012
Disclaimer - I only listened to the second part - I had no idea there were so many more until I came on here to rate it. The second one was excellent. I did doze a bit through parts but only because I listened to it on a road trip with my husband and mother - sleep happens when you're not driving. My husband LOOOOOOVED it and got upset if I tried to pause it so I could ask a question or comment on the scenery.
September 22, 2014
For those who enjoy military history this is a masterpiece! In this collection, Churchill walked along the english backstages of WWII with a detailed set of his own memories and gathered a great set of documents which, together, told us how WWII developed itself. This work also shows the tight connection between political and military decisions leading us to understand how millions of lives can get into into a war in a matter of hours.
August 26, 2019
This is Churchill's personal chronicle of the great human conflict we've ever witnessed. The book was full of heroism, bravery, comradery and patriotism. It is hard to imagine how many millions of men had to make great sacrifices to live in the world today. We can never repay the debt, but at the very least, we should remember their lives and continue to retell their stories to generations to come.
April 8, 2008
This is a great overview of WWII from the pespective of people who were in charge of the overall planning and commanding of the war. A good contrast to the people who actually did the fighting. (ie. Donald Burgett's four books: Currahee!, The Road to Arnhem, Seven Roads to Hell, Beyond the Rhine.)
Both series go through the entire European war.
Both series go through the entire European war.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews