James Ward

Typical Martin Gilbert

Reviewed: 11-11-2020

These are excellent biographies and an enjoyable distillation of the great man's life. However, I have a note of caution. The entire text seems to have been adapted from Churchill's autobiographies. Gilbert, thanks to his close working relationship with Winston's son Randolph, was the greatest expert on the life of Churchill. While his biographies of Churchill seem to be accurate and interesting throughout, they lack a sense of analysis and critical insight. Anybody who has read a Martin Gilbert history will have no complaint with the interesting way he presents facts and events, but at the same time there is a corresponding sense of having been cheated out of any deeper examination of those facts and their wider implications. Too much is from Churchill's own perspective and not enough from those around him. The nitty-gritty of his relationships and later historical perspectives are missing. Of course the opposite could be said of dialectic historians who distort and reinterpret history into a tool for the propagation of their own political doctrines or ego. Gilbert could never be accused of distorting history to further his own doctrines or ego. In other words, these companion biographies are a pleasant stroll through Churchill's life rather than a tour de force. Therefore, I would not dissuade anyone from enjoying them. Just regard them as primary rather than tertiary material.

Marxism; The Deadliest of Poisons

Reviewed: 28-10-2020

These books haven't aged, but are even more relevant in today's age of the Cancel Movement's and BLM's not so subtle neo-Marxism. They pretend they care about people and their rights, but they are the antithesis of truth, freedom and compassion. Orwell saw all this eighty years ago and his books remain must-read classics.

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A must read

Reviewed: 20-12-2019

Well researched, well written and well read. Everyone dealing with the public should read this book.