Posted on 06/01/2004 3:23:39 PM PDT by HAL9000
Thanks for the ping.For some reason,I thought that he was already dead and I don't know why.
Exactly the same for me, too. It was easy to ignore his obvious liberal bias, it was so info-packed. My favorite American history book.
I also very much enjoyed the two Churchill books, and Goodbye Darkness.
Thus ended William Manchester's first volume ("Visions of Glory") of the intended trilogy The Last Lion.
Most folks of my generation and later, I suspect, think of Churchill as a pivotal WW2 figure, but not as much more. But a reading of "Visions of Glory" -- covering the years from Churchill's birth (1874) until his entry into the political "wilderness" in 1932 -- should serve as proof that Churchill would have been a towering historical figure had he passed from the scene in his late 50s.
Manchester's second volume ("Alone," covering the years 1932-1940) was equally fascinating. Churchill's political power in this period had largely ebbed, and Lady Astor's dismissal was viewed as fact by most people, I suspect (to the extent they even thought about the old has-been). And yet, it is in this volume that Manchester set the table for the greatness that was to come, by recounting Churchill's speeches in Parliament and his writings, both in the press and in private correspondence.
What a great shame (though hardly a surprise) that we won't see the final volume. Certainly there's no shortage of Churchill biographies, and Churchill's own extensive writings, notably the brilliant six-volume The Second World War, while not intended to be autobiographical, nonetheless were so to an extent. Still, the lack of the conclusion of The Last Lion will leave a gap. I hope that whatever Manchester had completed will be posted in its incomplete form.
So true. That book inspired me to study writing and love history. Nearly 30 years later, it's still vivid in my head.
Aw, damn....
So9
I wish he had been able to do the third volume, but a biography ending with his becoming PM does highlight what a fantastic figure Sir Winston.
Jennie: The Life of Lady Randolph Churchill, by Ralph G. Martin the two volume biography of his mother is also excelent.
She was as outsized a character as he was.
So9
Historian and writer William Manchester is seen with President Bush (news - web sites) and first lady Laura Bush during the National Endowments of the Arts Awards ceremony in this April 22, 2002, photo in Washington. Manchester, author of popular biographies on Winston Churchill and Douglas MacArthur and the controversial chronicler of President Kennedy's assassination, has died, a spokesman at Wesleyan University said Tuesday, June 1, 2004. He was 82. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
A great writer.
I read the first two volumes, and eagerly awaited the final one for years. I am being selfish when I say that I am disappointed I will never be able to read it.
"The Last Lion" should be required reading. Superlative biography.
You will be missed, Mr. Manchester. You were a master of your craft.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.