Understanding Churchill

The atomic bomb, in its immediate aftermath, was regarded by many as just another weapon of war. Churchill him­self spoke pri­vately of using it. But with the arrival of the hydro­gen bomb, Churchill’s thoughts became apoc­a­lyp­tic. These are his words on war and peace in the nuclear age.

Churchill's rep­u­ta­tion as a war­rior tends to obscure his efforts for peace, but from the time he was a young Mem­ber of Par­lia­ment, already pos­sessed of expe­ri­ence in war on three con­ti­nents, Churchill spoke of the fright­ful­ness of mod­ern war and strove to avoid it.