Winston S. Churchill Essays and Other Works Series

The first volume in a collection essays and journalism from the legendary politician and Nobel Prize–winning author explores his artistic pursuits.   Legendary politician and military strategist Winston S. Churchill was a master not only of the battlefield, but of the page and the podium. Over the course of forty books and countless speeches, broadcasts, news items and more, he addressed a country at war and at peace, thrilling with victory but uneasy with its shifting role on the global stage. In 1953, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for “his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values.” During his lifetime, he enthralled readers and brought crowds roaring to their feet; in the years since his death, his skilled writing has inspired generations of eager history buffs.   Best known for his political genius and keen eye for military tactics, Churchill was a man of many talents—not the least of which was painting. Throughout his life, Churchill painted to relieve his mind from the demands of leadership and to keep the “black dog” of depression at bay.   Included in this volume are Churchill’s meditations on painting as a salve for the spirit and an essential creative pursuit. His love for the craft comes to life in this concise yet impassioned work. This volume includes eighteen reprints of Churchill’s original work in oil, giving the reader a window into the little-known creative and artistic skill of this prominent figure in twentieth century history.

Insightful biographical sketches of major historical figures of the twentieth century, from the incomparable British statesman.   Winston S. Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on the strength of “his mastery of historical and biographical description.” Nowhere is that mastery more evident than in Great Contemporaries—which features Churchill’s profiles of many of the major figures of his time.   These short biographies cover political and cultural personalities ranging from Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, Lawrence of Arabia, and Leon Trotsky to Charlie Chaplin, H. G. Wells, Rudyard Kipling, and George Bernard Shaw. This edition includes five previously uncollected essays and a number of photographs, plus an enlightening introduction and annotations by noted Churchill scholar James W. Muller.   Written in the decade before Churchill became prime minister, these essays focus on the challenges of statecraft at a time when the democratic revolution was toppling older regimes based on tradition and aristocratic privilege. Churchill’s keen observations take on new importance in our own age of roiling political change. Ultimately, Great Contemporaries provides fascinating insight into these subjects as Churchill approaches them with a measuring eye, finding their limitations at least as revealing as their merits.

The second volume in this enthralling collection of the British prime minister’s journalistic work, tracing Hitler’s rise to power and the threat of Nazism.   Legendary politician and military strategist Winston S. Churchill was a master not only of the battlefield, but of the page and the podium. Over the course of forty books and countless speeches, broadcasts, news items and more, he addressed a country at war and at peace, thrilling with victory but uneasy with its shifting role on the global stage. In 1953, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for “his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values.” During his lifetime, he enthralled readers and brought crowds roaring to their feet; in the years since his death, his skilled writing has inspired generations of eager history buffs.   This thrilling collection brings together Churchill’s reporting for the Daily Telegraph and the Evening Standard from 1936 to 1939—tracing Hitler’s rise to power, the Nazi invasion of the Rhineland, and the looming specter of war.   In the first few years of Nazi ascendance, many European intellectuals and leaders advocated negotiating with Hitler, reluctant to take steps towards outright war. Churchill is one of the few who understood the scope of the Nazi threat and advocated armament against Germany early on, a position that contributed to Britain’s early entry into World War II. This collection is a must-read for anyone interested in this pivotal moment in world history, as told by one of its central figures.

A powerful, emotional short story from the prime minister and Pulitzer Prize–winning author, detailing a conversation with the ghost of his beloved father.   Legendary politician and military strategist Winston S. Churchill was a master not only of the battlefield, but of the page and the podium. Over the course of forty books and countless speeches, broadcasts, news items and more, he addressed a country at war and at peace, thrilling with victory but uneasy with its shifting role in global politics. In 1953, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for “his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values.” During his lifetime, he enthralled readers and brought crowds roaring to their feet; in the years since his death, his skilled writing has inspired generations of eager history buffs.   In this rare work of fiction, Churchill imagines a visit from the ghost of his father, Randolph. Churchill reveals to his father all that has happened in the world since his death in 1895, leaving out one crucial detail: his own critical role in determining the unfolding of world events. His yearning for his late father shines through his terse, careful prose, lending emotional weight and nostalgia to this unusual foray into fiction.