Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat: The Dire Warning: Churchills First Speech as Prime Minister | 
 enlarge | Author: John R Lukacs
Publisher: Basic Books
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 66392
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 147
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.8
ISBN: 0465002870
Dewey Decimal Number: 320
EAN: 9780465002870
ASIN: 0465002870
Publication Date: May 12, 2008
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Product Description
On May 13, 1940, Winston Churchill stood before the House of Commons to deliver his first speech as Prime Minister. Europe was in crisis: Three days earlier, Germany had invaded France and the Low Countries. Facing only feeble resistance, Hitler’s armies were rapidly sweeping westward. Accused of mishandling the war, Neville Chamberlain’s government collapsed, and Churchill was chosen to succeed him. Churchill had little support within the new government when he rose to address it on May 13. “I have never believed in him,” wrote one MP. Another described Churchill as a “disaster.” In fact, Churchill lacked confidence, both in himself and in his ability to lead his nation to victory, for he recognized far earlier than most the military genius of Adolph Hitler, and the potency of the German military. “I hope it is not too late,” Churchill had confided to his bodyguard on May 10. “I am very much afraid that it is.” In Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat, the eminent historian and master storyteller John Lukacs recreates this pivotal moment in world history, and reveals Churchill as he has rarely been seen before: as a man both unsure of himself and deeply fearful of his nation’s defeat. Churchill made no promises to his country in his speech, because he knew he had none to make. And yet he rallied England onward in the face of a vicious enemy. For Churchill-and Churchill alone-understood what was at stake: the fate not only of nations, but of civilization itself.
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 The impact of change on a crisis October 7, 2008
Once again an astute analysis of the few very grim days in May 1940 when Panzers swept into Western Europe and the British chose a new leader to win the war.
Obviously, it's similar to 'Five Days in London'. The message is similar: The selection of a strong, even though flawed, leader to rally the nation in a time of crisis. The heart of this book is the implied contrast between a leader who promises "blood, toil, tears and sweat" and one who responds with a flippant "let's go to the mall' plea.
Of course, the Brits have an advantage. Instead of suffering four years of incompetence, bragging, folly and hubris, once a failed leader is persuaded to resign the king asks a new leader to form a new government. It doesn't make Lukacs a 'Barack Obama' or 'John McCain' supporter in any sense; there is no mention of current politics in any country. He merely explains a different form of politics.
It marks Lukacs as a great historian with a clear focus on the role of a leader in a democracy. In that, he speaks for all time; his intense focus on Churchill helps explain leadership from the Athens of Pericles to today's world and change we can believe.
My picayune complaint is Lukacs' apparent avoidance of a basic quality of the British (and Americans): their stubborn dedication to fairness. The Munich "appeasement" said Sudeten Germans had a right to be part of Germany (which even Churchill supported); occupation of the rest of Czechoslovakia infuriated the British who felt the Czechs and Slovaks had a right to independence.
Britain declared war on Germany because they felt the Royal Navy could blockade Germany into surrender. When this turned out to be an illusion, due to massive imports from the Soviets, new leadership was vital. Besides, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was literally dying on his feet. 'Five Days in London', very worth reading as a companion to this book, examines the infighting to select a new policy and a new leader.
Strangely, he glides over the impact of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbour. The United States declared war on Japan the next day, but not on Germany. Two days later, Hitler declared war on the U.S. If not ... would the U.S. have joined Britain in the European war?
Perhaps this issue will be covered in another volume; Lukacs now has two astute gems analysing the means and impact of Churchill's call to power and greatness. Surely, someone needs to go beyond the Pearl Harbour syndrome and examine the U.S. entry into the European war.
What if Hitler had not declared war on the U.S.? Lukacs has written two gems on the role of Churchill, but what if Roosevelt had not been forced into a European war by the folly of Hitler?
Inquiring minds want to know.
 Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat October 6, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's a good book to follow other books on Churchill dealing with the years 1935-1942. Otherwise these speeches lose their true significance.
Insight Through Context July 26, 2008
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Few men have used the English language with such grace and to such good ends as Winston Churchill. John Lukacs focuses on the key phrase in Churchill's first speech before Parliament as Prime Minister to provide some wonderful insights into both Churchill's thinking and the nation's state of mind as continental Europe crumbled before the onslaught of Hitler's armies and Britain began to realize it was the last, lone defender of the free world.
Churchill's speech was little appreciated at the time. In fact, the man was himself Prime Minister almost by default. Chamberlain was still the leader of the Conservative Party, Halifax probably could have had the post had he really wanted it since he was the first choice of King George VI, and it was only through Labour's insistence that they would not join a national government unless it was led by Churchill that the question was finally decided. One of the many telling details Lukacs reveals is that Chamberlain was wildly applauded when he entered the House to hear Churchill speak on May 13, 1940; Churchill's entrance was mostly ignored.
The speech was significant, Lukacs says, not so much for its poetry as for what it tells us about Churchill's vision of history as it shaped his leadership both throughout the war and afterward. Early on, Churchill recognized the power of Hitler's war machine and the strength of the German nation. He also had a truly terrifying vision of a world plunged into darkness by the very possible Nazi victory in Europe. The cold, black science of Fascism would mean the end of civilization, and Churchill knew that Britain was at the very beginning of a long, hard struggle whose outcome was far from certain.
Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds: A Novel of Scandal, Love and Death in the Congo
typo problem in the first batches May 30, 2008
1 out of 8 found this review helpful
I have received the book, but it has blank pages on page #67, 70, 71, 78, 79, 82, 83, 86, 87, 90, 91, 94, 95, 98 & 99. Think it is probably due to printing/binding errors. Thus I have just requested for a replacement copy from Amazon today.
The Power of Words May 23, 2008
9 out of 16 found this review helpful
This concise book goes beyond the actual speech of the title and allows for Professor Lukacs' informed and strong views about Prime Minister Churchill's bedrock thinking on the immense issues of civilization that were at stake in 1940.
I think this book will be most enjoyed by those readers having a fair prior understanding of the dismal political realities in Europe and America at the start of World War II.
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