“Churchill was never a dull man, was almost incapable of writing or speaking a dull sentence, and his essays were nearly always imaginative. As a biographical record these essays are therefore unique; as literary yardsticks they are of great interest; and as historical and political footnotes they are indispensable to an understanding of Churchill and his place in the history of his times.” —Michael Wolff

“Suppose Churchill had lost those votes of confidence in 1942. Simply by being in place while the consequences of his earlier efforts played out, his successor surely would have the credit. The reasoning would have been—in a delicious irony—that the triumphs could not possibly be of Churchill, because 1939-42 proved that he simply did not know how to win.”

The 1946 Churchill-Stalin exchange was remarkably similar to Churchill’s with Hitler eight years earlier: “I am surprised that the head of a great State should set himself to attack British members of Parliament who hold no official position and who are not even the leaders of parties.” Martin Gilbert’s official biography informs our knowledge Churchill’s consistency.