You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by kimwin35
Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill: A Brief Account of a Long Life by Gretchen Rubin
4.0
I didn't know much at all about Winston Churchill before I read this. It was markedly different from a typical, straightforward biography, but in a good way. There were 40 different chapters-one was a timeline, one was a map, one was true/false, one was all photos. Most of the others were information/analysis.
A chapter I liked a lot was one with funny quotes from Churchill. -Man: "Vote for you? Why, I'd rather vote for the devil!" Churchill: "I understand, but in case your friend is not running, may I count on your support?"
-"Never stand when you can sit and never sit if you can lie down."
-When voted out of office, his wife said: "It may be a blessing in disguise." Churchill: "Well at the moment it's certainly very well disguised."
It seemed thoroughly researched and attempted to be balanced. A chapter about his marriage presented the argument that it was happy, and that it was unhappy. There were similar chapters on Roosevelt, Churchill's purported depression, his alcoholism, and his parenting.
As Rubin wrote, "All biographers decide their stories and include facts to support them." This felt like a well-rounded, inclusive overview. I wish the JFK edition was readily available.
A chapter I liked a lot was one with funny quotes from Churchill. -Man: "Vote for you? Why, I'd rather vote for the devil!" Churchill: "I understand, but in case your friend is not running, may I count on your support?"
-"Never stand when you can sit and never sit if you can lie down."
-When voted out of office, his wife said: "It may be a blessing in disguise." Churchill: "Well at the moment it's certainly very well disguised."
It seemed thoroughly researched and attempted to be balanced. A chapter about his marriage presented the argument that it was happy, and that it was unhappy. There were similar chapters on Roosevelt, Churchill's purported depression, his alcoholism, and his parenting.
As Rubin wrote, "All biographers decide their stories and include facts to support them." This felt like a well-rounded, inclusive overview. I wish the JFK edition was readily available.