My Early Life: 1874-1904

This 372 page long book would be good, but no more, if it wasn't for the first 40-or-so pages, which are a gem. The book covers the first 30 years of Churchill's life and the first forty pages cover his childhood. Although Churchill had a miserable childhood - his father was distant, his mother more interested in lovers than in her son, and he was bullied at boarding school - Churchill narrates his story with unsurpassed wit and without any hard feelings for the ones that failed him. Some passages, like the description of how he was grappling with the beast called maths, are just hilarious. The first forty pages alone make this book a must read. In the rest of the book, the most interesting part is the story of Churchill's capture by the Boers and escape. You don't need to be interested in Churchill, the statesman, to like this book. Here he is at his most human and disarming.

This is a very interesting, fast-paced book that provides a good introduction to Winston Churchill. Indeed, after reading this I was compelled to read "The Unruly Giant", which is a very solid biography recently written by Norman Rose giving further insight into this fascinating historical charactor.I agree with the other reviewer in saying that Churchill provides an amazing amount of detail about the early exploits of his life, leading one to wonder just how much of it really happpened and how much he chose to embellish when writing this book some years later. Also, Churchill's constant references to contemporary events are sometimes confusing and frustrating unless one knows a lot of the history of the British empire and its political scene during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.None the less, it is a good book to start with if one wishes to learn about one of the 20th century's truly great men.

For a book written by the author when in his 30s (I may be off by a few years), this is incredible. First, because Churchill himself wrote it, and not some professional writer. Second, because of the extreme detail, which suggests either an incredible memory, or a willingness to make up finely constructed overlays of fiction. Maybe this is a little of both. Churchill either covers his tracks well, or presents the facts very pleasantly.His mom ignores him and his dad holds about 3 substantive conversations with him. In return, he idolizes and idealizes both, consoling himself by getting in trouble at school, and playing army at home. Like a latter-day Peter the Great, his childhood army games lay a foundation for adult army leadership, although Churchill stays more constrained than the despotic Russian. He maintains, however, a raw animal side to his spirit which stays intact his whole life, resulting, in one memorable event about 40 or 45 years after this book cuts off with Churchill's marriage, where Churchill pauses on an inspection of a European battlefield after the defeat of Germany to urinate on the famed "Siegfried Line" in front of a group of military dignitaries. Naughty boy to the end.Churchill convincingly puts himself back into young boy mode and preserves for us portraits of his nurse, Mrs. Everest, the hatefulness of boarding school, and the release of achieving self-actualization in the form of military school at Sandhurst, and then a whirlwind of military adventures on several continents, arranged mostly by his influential and adulterous mother. Not much adultery here, but William Manchester goes through it in detail in his first of the two-volume set "The Last Lion." Churchill never criticizes his mother; he just takes maximum advantage of her contacts.In a double inversion of himself as the subject, this is a great summary of how Churchill decided to become a great man by first getting noticed in the middle of adventures, and writing about them during and afterwards. Plus getting paid for the writing to support himself on a scale correlative to other British subjects who either inherited it, or made it big in business. But it was all substrate for his political ambitions.Teddy Roosevelt thought Churchill was a "show off." Which is probably true, and which comes out clearly in the video-ization of this book, under the name of "Young Winston." But he seems to have been a lovable showoff, and if Kennedy had not intervened, American political aspirants may instead be more self-consiously modeling themselves on Young Winston. One problem: John Churchill had no male offspring, according to the family tree Winston added to his biography of Marlborough. No problem, just call yourself a Churchill, not a "Spencer-Churchill" or even a "Spencer" and just go to market as a Churchill. Plus make yourself great. He definitely did, and this book records what it also produces.

I interrupted my reading of Manchester's biography of Churchill in order to read this one, hoping to gain a richer understanding of the man. I was not disappointed! It is easy to see why Churchill won the Pulitzer prize for writing. He is indeed a master. The book itself is just plain fun and good reading. But the best part is that you get a real flavor for the true personality of the man himself. He has the ability to make even the very dullest facts interesting,and even adventuresome; whether he is describing a polo match or one of him many "close calls" in war. His amazing writing abilities and style are like a refreshing drink of water compared to many of today's authors.

Although most of Churchill's huge output of books were written a little too fast (apparently, he had other demands on his time) to endure as classics, in this very personal story of his boyhood and youth his prose is superb. Further, he follows the brilliant strategy of looking back on his younger years with the wisdom of age. He describes the events of his childhood with exactly the same boyish emotions he felt at the time. His account of his struggles with schooling remain justly famous, and there's adventure aplenty in Afghanistan, Cuba, the Sudan, and South Africa. A great book for boys (or former boys), especially ones with large vocabularies. --- Steve Sailer