Churchill fought the war twice over - as Prime Minister and again as its premier historian. In 1948-54 he published six volumes of memoirs which secured his reputation and shaped our understanding of the conflict to this day. Using the drafts and correspondence for The Second World War, David Reynolds opens our eyes to Churchill the author and to the research 'syndicate' on whom he depended. We see how the memoirs were censored by Whitehall to conceal secrets such as the codebreakers at Bletchley Park, and how Churchill ...
Read More
Churchill fought the war twice over - as Prime Minister and again as its premier historian. In 1948-54 he published six volumes of memoirs which secured his reputation and shaped our understanding of the conflict to this day. Using the drafts and correspondence for The Second World War, David Reynolds opens our eyes to Churchill the author and to the research 'syndicate' on whom he depended. We see how the memoirs were censored by Whitehall to conceal secrets such as the codebreakers at Bletchley Park, and how Churchill himself censored them to avoid offending current world leaders. This book forces us to reconsider much received wisdom about the war and illuminates an unjustly neglected period of his life - the Second Wilderness Years of 1945-51, when Churchill, now over seventy, wrote himself into history, politicked himself back into Downing Street and delivered some of the most important speeches of his career.
Read Less
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
May have some shelf-wear due to normal use. Your purchase funds free job training and education in the greater Seattle area. Thank you for supporting Goodwill's nonprofit mission!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fair. Item in acceptable condition including possible liquid damage. As well answers may be filled in. May be missing DVDs, CDs, Access code, etc. 100%Money-Back Guarantee! Ship within 24 hours! !
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Good condition. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains.
This book is about the writing of "The Second World War", which was written by a syndicate led by Winston Churchill. Churchill planned to write about the war and was able to have policies put in place allowing him access to papers that others would not. He was alleged to have said we'll leave that to history but "I'll be one of the historians." As with most memoirs, issues were left out, conflated and/or distorted to put the 'author' in the best light possible. This was important to Churchill because he remained in politics. Reynolds does a great job of showing the politics involved in writing Churchill's 'memoir' and of the difficulties in publishing "The Second World War." It's a great book about writing even if you only have time to read the first half.
QA_laska
Sep 25, 2008
Riveting & revealing
A fascinating figure, definitely recommended for history buffs.