Churchill
By: Paul Johnson
Thomas Nelson; Reprint edition (May 29, 2018)
240 pages
Churchill is a superb read. But all of Paul Johnson’s work is fantastic. This book makes for a solid historical account while highlighting some of the elegant details so often lost. It made me laugh learning that Churchill claimed to have never owned or slept in pajamas. Unlike so many volumes out there on Churchill, this one was mercifully less than 500 – 600 pages. Long books can be great too, but every so often, one needs a quick read.
Two of my favorite quotes:
In 1946, when I was seventeen, I had the good fortune to ask him a question: “Mr. Churchill, sir, to what do you attribute your success in life?” Without pause or hesitation, he replied: “Conservation of energy. Never stand up when you can sit down, and never sit down when you can lie down.” He then got into his limo?
Before the Boers surrendered Johannesburg, Churchill contrived to tour the city on bicycle, speeding up when he saw armed parties of the enemy. We tend to epitomize Churchill by his later sedentary existence. In youth he was hyperactive.
