Winston's War: Churchill, 1940-1945

Unless I am mistaken, this book was released in some markets, the UK and Australia as "Finest Years, Churchill as Warlord 1940-45" back in 2009. Buyer, beware.

Decades following his death, Winston S. Churchill (WSC) continues to fascinate historians and attract various pundits hoping to make a critical imprint on the landscape of modern moral relativism. His detractors attempt to belittle his many accomplishments by framing them in the context of his many inconsistencies and, failing that, sometimes resort to ad hominem attacks ("alcoholic" being prominent amongst them). Recently, at least three major military historians, John Keegan, Carlo D'Este and Max Hastings, have written focused biographies of WSC in his capacity as "warlord". Keegan's book is essentially a monograph (interesting, nonetheless). D'Este wrote a somewhat more encyclopaedic book (WSC's entire military career). Hastings concentrates on WSC as British supreme commander during the years of the Second World War. While all three books are good, Hastings' penetrating assessments and candid observations on the protagonist and those who enter his orbit make for more enjoyable reading. Hastings nominally begins his story in 1939, the year Great Britain joined France in declaring war on Hitler's Germany. However, necessary historical context from pre-war years is also provided, allowing this book to be read independently of any other biography or study. Despite the book's apparently narrow focus, it can be read without background or understanding of the War, itself. Not too surprisingly to his more strident critics, WSC made many minor and several major errors in his capacity as wartime Prime Minister. He had a penchant for "meddling" in military affairs, one shared with at least Stalin and Hitler. In common with Hitler, WSC had actual front-line combat experience and, also in common with Hitler, demonstrated bravery in battle. Despite first-hand experience with war and direct, personal knowledge of the consequences of leadership error, both men were fond of audacious and risky enterprises, often-times creating consternation in the ranks of their professional military consultants, sometimes with lamentable results. Hastings unfavorably contrasts the British military with its German counterpart throughout the book, with the British falling far short of their adversaries in professionalism, skill, dedication, improvisation, equipment, strategy and battlefield tactics. For that matter, Hastings made the same unfavorable comparison of American troops to the Germans in "Overlord", his history of the D-Day invasion. In order to understand the relatively dismal performance of the British Army (in particular), Hastings provides many examples of the incompetence and timidity of the major British commanders who repeatedly come up short in comparison to their North African theater adversary, Rommel and their foe in Italy, Kesselring. However, even their American counterparts seemed to view them with dismissive attitudes. On the British home front, morale was undermined by the seemingly interminable duration of the war, pro-Soviet attit

What another Churchill story! But certainly well worth it. It describes this amazing leader, warts and all, with an incredible mass of personal details and lovely stories that bring him and his incredible leadership to life in extraordinary detail. As an ex British soldier I thought I knew all about him and WW2 but I still learnt a lot and enjoyed doing so. Can certainly recommend it to all who want to know what really happened.

Mr. Hastings presents another candid and thorough history in clear lucid language. As he admits in the Introduction, this is well trodden ground but his approach is refreshing, something like Cezanne returning to Mount Sainte-Victoire. His tribute to the late Roy Jenkins is a perfect touch. I am docking him one star because the jacket photograph is identified as the Prime Minister watching a "Flying Fortress bomber maneuver over an RAF establishment, July 23, 1941." With such a precise date, they should get the aircraft right and it is not a B-17 Flying Fortress but appears to be a Bristol Blenheim, an aircraft of more mixed virtues. I regret not giving five stars to a writer whose works I so admire but he has written enough military history to understand the responsibilities of command. I am amending this review after another reviewer corrected me. The aircraft is, in fact, one of the earlier B-17's, which I had misidentified as I thought the jacket photograph showed a two-engine plane. The website to which he directed me noted that the first use of this plane and others like it on the RAF's initial attempt to bomb Berlin took place on the date of this photograph. Mr. Churchill is thus watching the very first step on the road back to Berlin.

So many books have been written about Churchill, in particular about the wartime years, that another biography might be needless. However, Max Hastings presents a wonderfully balanced portrait of the man, the politician and the statesman. While in no way a revisionist history, Hastings has used distance and time to place Churchill's immense contribution in historial perspective. It is fascinating to compare the Churchill revealed in the "War Diaries of Field Marshall Lord Alanbrooke" (from which Mr. Hastings quotes) with Hastings' own work. Two brillant accounts, one immediate with short term judgements and Mr. Hastings's more measured and from a distance. Churchill's rhetoric and prose shaped the common view of the conduct of WWII. Brave little Britain fighting alone. "The Few, we will fight them on the beaches and never surrender." How Churchill's phrases captured and continue to color the imagination. Much less widely recognized are Britain's problems during wartime. In a sense disguised by Churchill's masterful language the strikes, the attitudes and the actions of the many Communist sympathizers and the often poor performance of Britain's own Army (especially in the war's early years) have tended to fade from popular viewpoint. Mr. Hastings deals with the good, the bad and the downright ugly without flinching and without using criticism to deflect from what was an overall immense achievement. Whatever Churchill's failings(and he was human), Max Hastings points out without Winston Churchill at the head of government, Britain would have probably capitulated in 1940-41. Churchill did not simply capture the British spirit, he to some extend, created it as this book makes clear. Had Churchill not done so, the outcome could have been entirely different or, at least, more protracted and bloody without Britain as a base to launch the killer blow upon Nazi Germany. Initially, having read many Churchill biographies I was afraid this might be a revisionist history that so many authors are prone to write simply to sell their work. Max Hastings' book about this great man who occupied this pivotal moment is well balanced and researched. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this period of history. I have read many books by Max Hastings and this is one of his best. I also recommend the "War Diaries of Field Marshall Lord Alanbrooke" to gain even further perspective on the effect an individual can have on history. Enjoy the read!