Churchill (Paul Johnson)

For those who know me, I like reading biography books. I had been wanting to learn more about Winston Churchill and after "seeing" him in "The King's Speech" I told Karen about how great of a leader I thought he was. So before our January road trip to Florida, my loving wife bought me this short 166 page biography on his life. C.J. Mahaney recommends it and I recommend it!

As a background... Do you know if Churchill was religious? Well...

Churchill read Winwood Reade's atheistic tract which turned him into a lifelong freethinker and a critic of organized religion (though he always conformed outwardly enough to avoid the label "atheist", which might have been politically damaging.) (pg 13)

Heading into our 2011 Canadian election its refreshing to think that Churchill didn't care which political party he was associated with.

He was not a party man. That was the truth. His loyalty belonged to the national interest, and his own. At one time or another he stood for Parliament under six labels: Conservative, Liberal, Coalition, Constitutionalist, Unionist, and National Conservative. (pg 22)

Here's a simple line from the book that made me smile.

Churchill delighted in his marriage. He was a happy man. (pg 28)

Churchill had power and worked hard.

As prime minister and minister of defense, Churchill held power "in ever growing measure" as he himself put it, from May 1940 to July 1945. Probably no statesman in British history had held power for so long in so concentrated and extensive a form. (pg 109)

Churchill himself began to set a personal example of furious and productive activity at Ten Downing Street. He was 65 but looked, seemed - was, indeed - the embodiment of energy. he worked a 16 hour day. (pg 113)

2 famous quotes which are classic!!!!!!

"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival." (pg 112)

"We shall not flag or fail. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender." (pg 116)

As with any great leader Churchill had unique abilities to foresee the future, get priorities right, and relax.

Churchill had a sense of the importance of airpower and his speed in grasping the opportunities it offered. (pg 117)

Churchill had an uncanny gift for getting priorities right. (pg 123)

Churchill's great strength was his power of relaxation. (pg 128)


I'm sure I was probably taught this in Grade 10 History class but I didn't remember it. So when I read that the Allies were decoding the Nazi signals I said to myself, "That's sweet!"

Thanks to possession of the Nazi encryption machine Enigma and the British decoding center at Bletchley, he was getting regular intercepts of top-level Nazi messages. This was the most closely guarded secret of the war, and it says a lot for the precautions Churchill personally took, and his own discretion, that the Nazis never suspected their codes were broken and continued to use them to the end. (pg 121)

And a great final summary the author rights is below, I couldn't say it better myself:

Winston Churchill lead a full life, and few people are ever likely to equal it - its amplitude, variety, and success on so many fronts. But all can learn from it, especially in 5 ways:
1) Always aim high
2) There is no substitute for hard work. (He also manifestly enjoyed his leisure activities, for him another form of hard work, to keep himself fit and rested and to enable himself to do his job at the top of his form. The balance he maintained between flat-out work and creative and restorative leisure is worth study by anyone holding a top position.)
3) Never allow mistakes, accidents, illnesses, unpopularity and criticism get you down.
4) Spend little time and emotional energy on the meannesses of life: recrimination, shifting blame to others, malice, revenge seeking, dirty tricks, spreading rumors, harboring grudges.
5) Be joyful. (No great leader was ever laughed at, or with, more than Churchill).
(pg 162-165)

As we lead, let us learn from Churchill's life and example.