Churchill: The Unexpected Hero (Lives and Legacies Series)

click here for more details, find new or used items	Paul Addison New from £6.85 Used from £3.01 Pages: 320 (Hardcover) ISBN: 0199279349 Pub: Oxford University Press Pub date: 2005-01-13 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 251780

Reader Reviews:

The best short biography of Churchill to date (10/10 people found this helpful)

I emphatically agree with the review by Mark Klobas. I judge this book to be the best short biography of Churcill that has so far been published. While there have been several good short bios by outstanding historians such as Piers Brendon, John Keegan, Geoffrey Best and Ian S. Wood, this book incorporates the most up-to-date scholarship and will I believe stand as the milestone text for some years to come. Prof. Addison's experience writing his 1992 study "Churchill on the Homefront" combined with his role as Director of the Centre for Second World War Studies at the University of Edinburgh has enabled him to keep on top of the facts and the historical arguments related to Churchill's life and career. The result is a balanced and thoughtful book that even those already well-versed in matters Churchill will find worth their time. I recommend it for university students especially.

Excellent introduction to Churchill's life and career (12/12 people found this helpful)

Though Winston Churchill has never wanted for biographers, over the past few years the publication of brief studies of his life have come into vogue. Written by some of the leading historians of the period - John Keegan, Geoffrey Best, Stuart Ball - they offer accessible (if condensed) examinations of one of the dominant figures of the twentieth century. Paul Addison's book is the latest addition to their ranks, and one that deserves to be ranked as among the best of these efforts.

Addison argues that the heroic status that Churchill enjoys today belies much of his career. Considered an irresponsible genius by his contemporaries, he was a polarizing figure who was never completely trusted by any side of the political divide. Yet as prime minister during the Second World War he went on to become 'the embodiment of national unity,' a symbol of Britain's determination to defeat Nazi Germany. Addison provides a more nuanced view of Churchill's career, noting his ideological consistency in a politically turbulent age. When war came, the man and the moment were ideally matched; indeed, many of the traits that his opponents deplored - his enthusiasm for war, his advocacy of impossible ideas, even the fact that he was half American - became assets in the conflict and were keys to his successful leadership.

Developed from his entry on Churchill for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Addison succeeds in providing an insightful introduction to the life of one of the dominant figures of the twentieth century. Though hardly a hagiographical account - he freely acknowledges such faults as Churchill's massive egotism - his portrait is a sympathetic one, depicting the prime minister as 'a hero with feet of clay.' The result is a good read and a great starting point for anyone seeking to learn more about this fascinating figure.

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