August 30, 2022

Finest Hour 194, Fourth Quarter 2021

Page 48

Review by David Freeman

Fred Glueckstein, Sir Winston Churchill: Published Articles by a Churchillian, Xlibris, 2021, 423 pages, $36.99.
ISBN 978–1664184152

Full disclosure: I wrote the preface to this book. Fred Glueckstein is a longtime contributor to Finest Hour. He has also written about Winston Churchill for various other publications. Fred has now collected sixty of his articles and book reviews that reveal many of the different facets of a multi-faceted man.

What emerges from this anthology is a picture of the kaleidoscopic interests and pursuits that made up the life of the most extraordinary person of the twentieth century. Churchill was fascinated by new technology, and we read here about his early interest in aviation. Churchill knew the great families of his time, and we read about his efforts to assist the son of Theodore Roosevelt. We also learn about the people whose lives orbited that of Churchill, such as several of his bodyguards.

Fred’s Churchillian interests are both catholic and eclectic. He can tell us in detail about members of the Churchill family, such as the seventh Duke of Marlborough; Churchill’s mentors, such as J. E. C. Welldon, the head master of Harrow; and political patrons, such as Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, who gave Churchill his first government office. But Fred can also tell us about the lighter side of Churchill’s life, including the name of every racehorse that Churchill ever owned.

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Through the historical potpourri collected in this book, we discover the many dimensions of a man who was at once a proud heir to—and guardian of—old traditions, while also looking to the future and welcoming the innovations that brought improved conditions to people’s lives. Part of Churchill’s genius was his ability to hold these views in a fine and healthy balance.