Winston Churchill, Algernon West and “Superfluous Millions,” 1898

Churchill’s did tell West that “a philosopher,” not himself, might be unmoved by the loss of “superfluous millions.” That doesn’t altogether divorce him from what must seem a heartless remark today. In 1898 he was very young. Few of us would welcome hearing some of our words at age 24 represented as our lifetime philosophy. And Churchill is one of the most quoted historical figures.

Challenged to confirm or deny the need for vaccination, Churchill took the common-sense approach: it depends on the evidence, and what one wishes to prevent.

Tucker-Jones offers a balanced study of Churchill as war strategist from his years as a Victorian subaltern to the cataclysm of 1940-45.

Churchill believed any obstacle could be surmounted, while Wavell prepared for the worst. Both traits had served Britain well.

The protracted Atlantic battle hinged on desperate choices between defense and taking the fight to the enemy. The crux came in 1943.

To understand Winston Churchill, should we not be concerned with the truth—the actual evidence of what happened in the past?

“A greater Thanksgiving Day is when this union of action…shall become a lasting union of sympathy and good-feeling and loyalty and hope.”

Jonathan Rose writes that the sea of Churchill's tastes was dominated by melodrama, but he misses the whale among the fish—Churchill's beloved Shakespeare.

The Biography “is true, insofar as diligence and research can establish truth…. All an author can offer is a fragment of reality—that, and the hope that it will endure.” —William Manchester

Churchill said, “Nothing surpasses 1940.” Dr. Harmon explores the latest and past scholarship on the Churchills and the London Blitz.

Churchill is interested in the ultimate ground of human freedom. He is the guardian of that freedom, of the right to be fully human: Man is spirit.

I have often wondered however what would have happened if two hundred thousand German storm troops had actually established themselves ashore. The massacre would have been on both sides grim and great. There would have been neither mercy nor quarter. They would have used Terror, and we were prepared to go all lengths. I intended to use the slogan “You can always take one with you.” - Winston Churchill