Sir Winston S. Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values."
Over a 64-year span, Churchill published over 40 books, many multi-volume definitive accounts of historical events to which he was a witness and participant. All are beautifully written and as accessible and relevant today as when first published.
During his fifty-year political career, Churchill served twice as Prime Minister in addition to other prominent positions—including President of the Board of Trade, First Lord of the Admiralty, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Home Secretary. In the 1930s, Churchill was one of the first to recognize the danger of the rising Nazi power in Germany and to campaign for rearmament in Britain. His leadership and inspired broadcasts and speeches during World War II helped strengthen British resistance to Adolf Hitler—and played an important part in the Allies’ eventual triumph.
One of the most inspiring wartime leaders of modern history, Churchill was also an orator, a historian, a journalist, and an artist. All of these aspects of Churchill are fully represented in this collection of his works.
In 1931, Britain's Conservative Party proposed the India Bill--a piece of proposed legislation that made significant changes to the way India governed itself under British rule. Winston Churchill, with a distinguished history of military service and war correspondence in India behind him, took a position on this bill independent of the party line--and fought for it with characteristic conviction and oratory brilliance.
This book contains seven speeches and three important addresses on the subject, printed originally to generate popular support for Churchill's opinion. It should be noted that Churchill's opposition to Indian home rule is one of his more controversial political positions. Despite the strength of his oration, his attempt failed--and the India Bill was approved by Parliament in 1935. Documenting a rare loss for Churchill, these speeches provide an important insight into his mind and strategy as a political leader.
A disturbingly prophetic account of the events leading up to World War II, this anthology is a collection of Churchill’s reporting for the Daily Telegraph and the Evening Standard from 1936 to 1939—tracing Hitler’s rise to power, the Nazi invasion of the Rhineland, and other events leading up to the declaration of war.
In the first few years of Nazi ascendance, many European intellectuals and leaders advocated avoiding war and negotiating with Hitler. Churchill is one of the few who understood the scope of the Nazi threat and advocated armament against Germany early on—and his early prescience serves as a fine prediction of his determined stance against Hitler as a World War II leader and statesman.
This collection of speeches cover the period from 1951 to 1952, when Churchill once again stepped into the role of Prime Minister after his defeat in the General Election of 1945. During his first premiership, Churchill had been a renowned wartime leader. In his second, Churchill’s clear priority was the preservation of peace.
These speeches demonstrate a commitment to this path. Churchill tried heroically to negotiate a settlement with Russia during this time, but he was ultimately unable to prevent the conditions that would later give rise to the Cold War. He also held deep regrets over Britain’s failure to prevent violence and death in India during the transition of power and Britain’s withdrawal in the region. These speeches demonstrate perhaps a more introspective Churchill, but one as fiery, brilliant, and human as he was during his wartime years.
