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The first question one needs to ask when faced with a new biography of Churchill is what new does it offer to justify its production? Churchill is after all one of the most documented and studied of people, the subject of countless biographies. In this particular case the main justification is that the book is part of a new series of biographies of British Prime Ministers, so one really does have to include Churchill!
The main focus of this book is on Churchill’s wartime experiences and leadership, in both World Wars. Caddick-Adams argues that Churchill’s experiences of the First World War, where he had to deal with the complex war at sea, saw the perils of the U-boat war, and after his time out of office came back to help run Britain’s centrally controlled armaments industries, all helped him during the Second World War, when he had to deal with many of the same problems. He also argues that his ‘Wilderness Years’ in the 1930s were actually of great importance, giving him the freedom to campaign for re-armament with a vigor that wouldn’t have been possible if he had been within government.
Caddick-Adams doesn’t avoid the controversies that sometimes surround Churchill – allegations of racism, the handling of the Bengal famine or his handling of trade union disputes. The most famous of these union disputes came in South Wales, where Churchill as Home Secretary reluctantly agreed to send troops to support the local authorities, although only after trying to use the Metropolitan Police instead. A myth has since developed that the soldiers shot and killed several miners, but this is entirely untrue – there was only one death during the riots, and the soldiers weren’t involved in that incident. Indeed there is no evidence that they fired a single shot during their time in South Wales, and appear to have acted more sensibly that the local police. The issue of the Bengal famine is perhaps dismissed a little too quickly, but this is a massively complex and controversial issue, with the famine coming at a time where Allied shipping was under pressure in every ocean, with the upcoming D-Day landings drawing much attention.
The focus of this book is on Churchill as the succesful wartime leader. His flaws and errors are acknowledged, but they aren’t over-emphasised. Caddick-Adams knows the period and he knows his subject, so this is a good starting point for someone wanting to learn about Churchill’s life and achievements.
Part I
1 – Frontiers and Wars
2 – Gathering Storm
3 – World Crisis
4 – Roving Commissions
5 – While England Slept
Part II
6 – Twilight War
7 – Into Battle
8 – Finest Hour
9 – Blood, Sweat and Tears
10 – Unrelenting Struggle
11 – Onwards to Victory
12 – Liberation
13 – Sinews of Peace
Author: Peter Caddick-Adams
Edition: Hardcover
Pages: 176
Publisher: Swift
Year: 2024