Churchill - Hardcover

Gilbert, Martin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0907486274 ISBN 13: 9780907486275

Publisher: Chancellor Press, 1983

The photographs and cartoon portraits in this volume, selected from a total of more than five thousand collected by Martin Gilbert over several years, vividly portray the variety and span of Churchill's life. More than a third of the photographs and most of the cartoons came from Sir Winston's own albums. Many of these photographs have appeared nowhere else. Many were rescued from fading originals, or from glass-plate negatives on the verge of destruction.

As here displayed, they are supported by a rich historical commentary, often in Churchill's own words or those of his contemporaries. Martin Gilbert has been able to date many of the photographs precisely, and then to find in the archives what Churchill was writing or saying at that time.

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Review:

Churchill's official biographer, Martin Gilbert, has brought together over 360 photographs and cartoons in a volume that bears witness to the length of his public life and gives tantalising glimpses of the private man. Taken from a host of archives and from Churchill's own albums, many of the photographs reflect the figure so well known to the British public. But the man with the trademark pout and fat cigar is also a young Sandhurst cadet in fancy dress, a mounted war correspondent during the Boer War, a writer and painter and an elderly man overcome with emotion at the reaction to one of his speeches. Although the images may be browsed selectively, a cover-to-cover perusal reveals their full impact, showing how Churchill's rise to greatness is reflected in his face. As a child, he already seems poised and mildly imperious. A Member of Parliament at 25, by the time he reaches his 30s, his expression seems heavy with the weight of public duty. Captions accompanying each image place them in context and many include quotations from Churchill's own writings and speeches. Gilbert's photographic portrait will appeal to a wide audience. It should make a valuable addition to existing collections of Churchill literature and will prove an impelling appetiser for further reading. --Karen Tiley

Review:

"As fine a collection of photographs as has yet been collected" (New Statesman)

"A wonderful pictorial anthology." (Sunday Times)

"A vivid and exciting introduction to Churchill's life." (Books & Bookmen)

"A continuously intriguing and wholly admirable collection of the best pictures of Churchill in transit and in repose." (Tablet)

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