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800 pages, Paperback
First published October 28, 1988
"...But now, fourteen years after the Armistice of 1918, the Weald (of Kent) is an idyll of peace, and the explorer on foot finds that it possesses camouflaged delights... There, among eighty sheltering acres of beech, oak, lime, and chestnut, stands the singular country home of England's most singular statesman, a brilliant, domineering, intuitive, inconsiderate, self-centered, emotional, generous, ruthless, visionary, megalomaniacal, and heroic genius who inspires fear, devotion, rage, and admiration among his peers."
“Nazi aggression, one might think, should have lent support to Winston’s candidacy. At this, of all times, it seems inconceivable that Baldwin would pick a weak man to supervise the defense of England. Nevertheless, that was what he did. Baldwin said outright: “If I pick Winston, Hitler will be cross.” In his biography of Chamberlain, Keith Feiling writes that the Rhineland was “decisive against Winston’s appointment”; it was “obvious that Hitler would not like it.” As the prime minister’s heir apparent, Chamberlain encouraged Baldwin to think along these lines. He suggested that Baldwin choose a man “who would excite no enthusiasm” and “create no jealousies.””I found through Maschester's work, memorable for always including Churchill's own words, that WSC was indeed a remarkable figure: so few of his contemporaries, or none that cried it out so loud out and clear despite never being heard, captured Hitler's essence as he clearly did. In Hitler he was able to see the menace he represented for Europe and all mankind.
London is less celebrated for its beauty, though there are those who prefer it because, among other reasons, it never occurred to Londoners - and certainly not to Churchill - that England's capital should be surrendered rather than be submitted to the ravages of battle. The British were prepared to sacrifice London house by house, to be destroyed rather than dishonored. The French loved honor, but loved Paris more, as they would demonstrate before summer arrived.