Another volume in the series of short Prime Minister biographies, Churchill was of course always going to be the standout, a figure of truly historical proportions.
His life was indeed extraordinary, as is well documented. Points that stood out for me above and beyond things I have previously read about the man:
- He was incredibly well read and briefed on world affairs, military strategy, and wider technological progress. He deliberately built a network of leading and loyal experts in various fields which meant that even when out of office in his wilderness years ahead of WW2, he was likely better briefed and prepared than many cabinet ministers. (Which, ironically given the buffoonish Boris Johnson’s desperate desire to ape Churchill, actually feels to me to align very much with how ex-Tory minister and leadership rival Rory Stewart now conducts his life)
- Like many of his peers, his entitlement to a lavish lifestyle meant he often lived beyond his means and therefore the ordinary man suffered if unlucky to be one of his creditors – an example being an invoice from his gunsmith still unpaid after 3 years…
- A fact I had already read but leaps out every time I see it. In his youth he participated in a cavalry charge, while later in life became the first national leader to sanction a nuclear weapons programme. Just an unbelievable span of history in a single life.
Of the millions of words written about Churchill (many by himself!) this is an excellent overview of an amazing person that seemed perfectly suited for the critical role he played at a crossroads in history.
