RE: Winston Churchill's "Gathering Storm", Volume I of The Second World War

I didn't come to this book with a blank slate. I knew a bit about Churchill as I'd written a small book (for children) about colonialism. To say the least, my impression of him was not entirely positive. I knew about his antics in the Boer War (it wasn't just Churchill but the entire British establishment that was ruthless during that war. I'm not sure, but that may have been the first modern instance of concentration camps). As for the Irish, his apologists claim he did not share the racial animus many British expressed, but he did repress and was responsible for great harm.

People are complex. (I'm complex). We can laud him for his actions in WWII, when he was indispensable, and still hold him to account for that other stuff.

Sometimes I can't stop writing. In this case (this review) I forced myself to stop. I just made a glancing reference to his cultural/racial views. The book was about WWII and I had to leave the focus there.

Thanks for reading the long blog :)