1 comments about Churchill, the Member for Woodford.

1. Sir Winston Churchill is one of the most thoroughly biographied people in history, so it's surprising to find a biography that really covers new ground. This one does.

   Woodford is the London suburb that Churchill represented in Parliament during the most important decades of his sweeping career. And even while he was striding the world stage, he had responsibilities to the community that elected him. This is an intriguing, and at times surprisingly touching, view of the Great Man's relations with his constituency committee, the candidates who stood for office against him, and the men and women of Woodford.

   Most touching is the story of Churchill's ultimate decision to leave Parliament, and the mixture of sadness and relief this occasioned in Woodford. They knew they were lucky to have him. So were we all.

No comments about Benjamin Disraeli: The Fabricated Jew in Myth and Memory.

1 comments about Disraeli (Past Masters).

1. I bought this because it was part of a good series, and I was interested in learning a bit more about Disraeli. Basically, I was interested in finding out what it is about Disraeli that makes the man worth remembering.
   
   This book was a disappointment. The author doesn't seem to like Disraeli very much or to respect him very much. In the first half of the book (which is all I could bring myself to finish) he basically presents Disraeli as a mediocrity. Not a hint of why the man might be worth remembering or discussing.
   
   So if, like me, you're interested in finding out what it was about Disraeli that makes the man worth remembering, I'd recommend that you look elsewhere.

No comments about Winston S. Churchill: Companion, Youth 1874-1896, Part 1.

No comments about Winston S. Churchill: The War Years : Finest Hour 1939-1941, Road to Victory 1945-1945/Volumes 6 and 7.

1 comments about Young Disraeli 1804 - 1846.

1. Jane Ridley really gets to grips with most of the complex and exotic early life of the great Victorian novelist, "outsider politician" and remarkable statesman who became Prime Minister of the largest empire the world has ever seen. Dizzy's critical relationships with his father and sister are fully explored (material about his mother is much harder to find). His reckless financial speculations, debt and near bankrupcy are used to explain his unlikely switch from literature to politics (MPs couldn't be imprisoned for debt). His romance and marriage to Mary Ann is given sympathetic and illuminating treatment. Jane Ridley spent several years extensively researching this book (witnessed by the hundreds of footnotes and references)but it reads well - not only a respectable academic biography but also a very good read. Disraeli himself would have been pleased.

No comments about The Political Life of the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone: Illustrated with Cartoons and Sketches from 'Punch'. Volume 2.

No comments about Gladstone and the Liberal Party (Lancaster Pamphlets).

No comments about Churchill and Hitler: In Victory and Defeat.

No comments about Disraeli's Disciple: The Scandalous Life of George Smythe.