Becoming Winston Churchill: The Untold Story of Young Winston and His American Mentor

by Michael McMenamin

Today a forgotten figure, Bourke Cockran was acclaimed during his lifetime as America's greatest orator. He was also the lover of Jenny Churchill - Winston's mother - after the death of Lord Randolph. And, for twelve years (1895 to 1906), he was the young Winston's mentor. Until now, the story of the extraordinary and crucial relationship between them has not been told. At one level, the story is about politics, exploring the ways the young Churchill adopted Cockran's political and economic views - on democracy, capitalism, the Gold Standard, Free Trade, issues that Churchill was to make his own. On another level, the story is biographical, chronicling the meetings between the men, and reproducing - for the first time in full - their private correspondence. It is the story of Churchill growing up. On yet another level, it is historical, vividly evoking the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, when Churchill was often in the thick of the action - fighting at the Khyber Pass in India or escaping from a Boer camp in Pretoria (and becoming a household name as a consequence) - all the while keeping up his correspondence with Cockran. The drama of such events is part of the book's irresistible appeal. The book is written with a dramatic flair, bringing out the personalities of the two men. Each section begins, like a historical novel, with a recreation of a crucial moment in their lives. The general narrative is chronologically structured, with a powerful momentum, tracing the two men's growing intimacy over the years and interweaving their letters and meetings with the historical events in which they were involved. The story began in 1895 in New York, where Cockran took the young Winston under his wing. The following years, marked by turmoil in Cuba and Ireland, included the 1896 Presidential election, the great public debate about the gold standard and Cockran's private insistence to Churchill that principle must always be placed over party (something Churchill was to remember later when he crossed the floor of the House). 1899 saw Churchill's involvement in the Boer War, and his dramatic escape from a Boer prison camp, followed by his election to Parliament, visits to Cockran in America and, between 1901 and 1906, hard political fighting over the crucial issue of free trade, over which Churchill eventually left the Conservatives to join the Liberal party. The final years of Churchill and Cockran's friendship were dramatised by a number of public events - the American occupation of the Philippines, the victory of the Liberal Party in the British General Election, the First World War, about which they continued to correspond - but dominated by private Cockran's remarriage, the death of Churchill's mother, and Churchill's own marriage. Throughout, the two men remained close, and, to the end, Cockran's influence on Churchill was unique and profound.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

275 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2007

About the author

Michael McMenamin, a first amendment attorney from Cleveland, Ohio is an active writer and speaker on Churchill related topics and lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Soames once wrote that she owed her father what every English person owed him - Liberty. This is the greatest gift of all. One wonders if Churchill could have achieved what he did in the Second World War without the influence of his friend and mentor, the American, Burke Cochran, when he was young. This book relates how this brilliant orator and adviser to two Presidents took Churchill under his wing, and gave him excellent advice, especially when Churchill left the Conservatives for the Liberals. It includes actual letters of the two men.

I especially liked the way in which each chapter began with a fictional account of the situation. Some of the politics was a bit dry, I thought, but it’s a story well-worth telling. Not many people have heard of Burke Cochran these days, which is a pity.

This is recommended, especially for any fan of Churchill.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Maegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly a fascinating book! I totally didn’t expect that!

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Becoming Winston Churchill, McMenamin and Zoller focus on the years between 1896 and 1913 and Winston Churchill’s relationship with American politician Bourke Cockran, who also happened to have an affair with Jennie Jerome Churchill (Winston’s mother). Referencing a variety of speeches and letters by both men and quoting heavily from both, McMenamin and Zoller characterize this years-long friendship as one of kinship, political similarities, and mentorship, highlighting the many similarities between Churchill and Cockran’s political beliefs, particularly around free trade, Irish home rule, and international alliances. McMenamin and Zoller’s reliance on primary documents adds a first-personal element to the book, but the weighty and long quotes are not necessarily expanded upon by the authors, who instead rely on the writer and reader to break down and understand the letters. The book does not wholly focus on this political and personal relationship, working in Churchill’s relationship with his parents and a couple young women and Cockran’s relationship with Jennie Jerome Churchill and other women. McMenamin and Zoller also weave in other big historical figures into the text, such as Neville Chamberlain and Theodore Roosevelt, as required to highlight the increasingly globalized world that Winston Churchill experienced as a writer and new politician.

Thanks to NetGalley, First Edition Design Publishing, Inc., Independent Book Publishers' Association, and Members' Titles for the advance copy.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Bourke Cockran! The magical name, the silver tongue and the golden heart!"- Shane Leslie

Cockran, twice a widower, member of Congress, born in Dublin, one time lover of Jennie Churchill and brilliant public speaker gave Winston Churchill the advice he needed to be successful. Adviser to US Presidents in both parties with Supreme Court Justices and Senate members who would come to purposely to hear him speak. He was known as a great orator on both sides of the pond. He never let party bosses get in the way of principles, even if it meant losing a seat. He forced Churchill to formulate his own opinions and hold fast. Also maybe gave Churchill the best political advice, which Churchill stupidly ignored. At the end of his life Cockran was both literally and figuratively a member of the Churchill/Jerome family and was with Jennie when she died.

My major complaint with the book is each chapter begins with a fictional section of what may be going through Cockran, Jennie or Churchill's mind. This could be better used by maybe giving the bigger picture of the actual scene then fictionalizing what may or may not being going through some one's head. This comes with a note of how much I hate historical fiction.

In the end the man who saved Britain by his words, owes this to a Dublin born Rep. Cockran, the man who first believed in Churchill.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly good read because it weaves in romance and history ...