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Churchill and the “Wizard War,” Part 2
01
Mar
2017
“Are There Men on the Moon?”: Churchill on Alien Life, 1942
17
Feb
2017
1
The worldwide media was exercised over the surfacing of what was alleged to be an unpublished Churchill article, held by the National Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri, in which our author contemplates the possibility of extraterrestrial life. The Museum, which received the typescript from the wife of Churchill’s literary agent Emery Reves, believed the manuscript to be a new discovery. As much as we’d be pleased to find new Churchill material, however, the “Aliens” article is not new. Whole passages mark it as a variant of Churchill’s essay, “Are There Men on the Moon?” published by London’s Sunday Dispatch on 8 March 1942. In 1975 it reappeared in volume form in The Collected Essays of Sir Winston Churchill.
“Churchill and the Bomb” – by Kevin Ruane
17
Feb
2017
“There are many valuable accounts of Churchill’s nuclear thinking during his second premiership, notably in books by Klaus Larres and Peter Hennessey. But, for me, the account Ruane gives here is outstanding for the breadth of its scholarship, the richness of its narrative and the acuity of its judgements.”
The Italian Navy in “The Churchill Documents,” Volume 19
15
Feb
2017
After the surrender of Italy to the Allies in September 1943, the Italian Fleet was apportioned between the Allied powers and absorbed into their navies. Although the Axis had by then been cleared out of the Mediterranean, German forces having surrendered in Tunis that May, the ships played a significant part in the rest of the war. Negotiations regarding the apportioning of the Italian Fleet, in volume 19 of Hillsdale’s "The Churchill Documents," Fateful Questions, September 1943 to April 1944, provide a fascinating backdrop and insight into relations between Britain, America and Russia leading up to the November 1943 Teheran Conference and its aftermath.
“Churchill: The Life” – by Max Arthur
10
Feb
2017
When a photo editor considers creating a Churchill “pictorial biography,” is he ever deterred by the stacks of just such books accumulating along shelves of libraries since the 1940s? One cannot be sure, but Max Arthur has been “toiling in the Churchill vineyard” for many years. There must be a hundred picture books dedicated to Churchill. After all, he lived his entire life in the era of the camera. In this new volume, about 260 pages hold photographs, a few in color. The large format gives great impact to many we’ve seen before, but the print quality, the lighting, is enhanced.
Fresh History: “The Churchill Documents,” Volume 19
10
Feb
2017
5
The longest biography in history takes a long step to completion with publication of The Churchill Documents, Vol. 19, Fateful Questions, September 1943-April 1944. Fastidiously compiled by the late Sir Martin Gilbert and edited by Dr. Larry Arnn, these 2700 pages serve up another fresh contribution of documents crucial to our understanding of Churchill in World War II. It is a vast new contribution to Churchill scholarship.
“Churchill & Ireland” – by Paul Bew
03
Feb
2017
It is a good sign of a book’s quality when readers wonder why points so obvious have never before been made. Indeed it seems incredible that Churchill’s long, multi-layered and ambiguous relationship with Ireland has never before received the detailed and forensic treatment that Paul Bew now provides us. His book is readable, reliable, and brings new perspectives to the topic. For example, Lord Bew points out that Gallipoli, usually seen as an tragedy for the Australia New Zealand Army Corps, produced stirrings of nationhood in the Emerald Isle as great as in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Few historians have addressed this point before. Lord Bew reminds us that Churchill was intimately involved in the Curragh Mutiny, and the incredibly sensitive Irish negotiations up to the outbreak of the First World War—and that this formed his “training” in handling nationalist extremism and domestic political violence.
The Arts: “What are we fighting for”?
03
Feb
2017
1
There is a story that when Churchill was asked to cut funding to the arts in order to support the war effort in World War II, he responded “Then what would we be fighting for?” Although this quotation is not present in his writings, Winston Churchill valued the arts, especially painting and sculpture, as an essential component of national life.
Question Time: Churchill on Inconsistency
03
Feb
2017
Churchill’s “Vast Gaps” of Knowledge
30
Jan
2017
Churchill, it appears, took the view that the mind is not infinitely expandable. Time and again, he exhibited vast gaps in economic and financial knowledge. His salvation was that he studied when he had to, and kept close knowledgeable friends to fill in the gaps. When it mattered, he sought out what he needed to know.
Criticizing Your Country Abroad
30
Jan
2017
As far as we can tell, there are no examples of Churchill criticizing British politics in speeches abroad. It is sometimes argued that criticizing one’s country is a sign of strength. Refraining from doing so, even if criticism is warranted, is a sign of greater strength. Churchill offered many apologies for British actions privately, when warranted, including overseas, in the course of World War II—but not in public forums.
The Art of Winston Churchill: An Exhibition at Hillsdale College
24
Jan
2017
Hillsdale College will host an exhibition of nine original paintings by Winston Churchill from January 30 to March 10. This traveling exhibition, which also includes memorabilia from Churchill's life and times, is organized by the National Churchill Museum at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.