Buy on Amazon
View on Biblioguides
The Landmark series for children, both American and World, is a wonderful, with few exceptions, collection of books written in the 1950s and 1960s and published by Random House. The publisher chose well-known authors, some of whom were novelists and some of whom had not written for children before, and had a historical consultant for each title to make sure that the writing was accurate. There are 122 American Landmark books and 63 World Landmark books. The reading level is fairly broad, intended for upper elementary to early high school levels. The books were intended to convey sound history or biography but in such a manner as to not detract from the intrinsic interest of the story, as history textbooks often do, but to bring out the fascination and drama of the history or historical character being discussed. History is at heart a series of stories, especially at this level, and should be told as such. For the overwhelming majority of the 185 titles, this effort was successful.
Number 56 in the World Landmark book series is Winston Churchill by Quentin Reynolds. Winston Churchill had a long career serving in the government of Great Britain, through World War I and beyond. He first came to fame around 1900 in the Boer War, where he was a journalist who made a daring escape from his captivity. After his government service, he fell out of popularity in the 1930s and entered into what is called his “wilderness years,” a clear Biblical reference to the Israelites wandering in the desert wilderness until they could enter the promised land. He remained a member of Parliament during this time but had no other role in the government.
During Churchill’s wilderness years, German under Hitler was secretly, and then not so secretly, re-arming. Winston’s voice was almost a lone voice, warning his country and Western civilization in general about the dangers of Nazi Germany. After the complete failure of Prime Minister Chamberlain to face down the Nazi threat, in May, 1940, Winston Churchill was asked to be Prime Minister to lead the government after World War II had already broken out. He was 66 years old, an age where most men have already or are thinking of retiring. There is no question that Great Britain would not have survived the Nazi onslaught without his leadership. It is arguable but probable that World War II itself could not have been won without his leadership role in the Western Allies. I have toured the underground war rooms in London from where the government and the war were run while the Nazis bombed aboveground during the Blitz. These facilities, including Churchill’s bedroom and the secret scrambled telephone to the United States president, disguised as a bathroom, give additional insight into this great man’s character and accomplishments.
Winston Churchill deserves the Landmark biography about him – he was certainly a landmark figure in the 20th century and indeed in the history of the West. He was very skilled with words, both in writing and speaking. In fact, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his six-volume history of World War II. Churchill was also very fast with a witty reply. I’ll give one example. A leading lady who was a friendly enemy of his once said, “Winston, if I was your wife, I would put poison in your tea.” Churchill replied, “Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it!” After reading the Landmark book, it is worth reading more about Churchill and especially his very quotable witticisms.