The Gathering Storm

Winston S. Churchill

Jun 2010 · Winston S. Churchill The Second World Wa Book 1 · RosettaBooks

About this ebook

“It is our immense good fortune that a man who presided over this crisis in history is able to turn the action he lived through into enduring literature.” —The New York Times
 
This book is the first in Winston Churchill’s monumental six-volume account of the struggle between the Allied Powers in Europe against Germany and the Axis during World War II. Told from the unique viewpoint of a British prime minister, it is also the story of one nation’s heroic role in the fight against tyranny.
 
Having learned a lesson at Munich they would never forget, the British refused to make peace with Hitler, defying him even after France had fallen and it seemed as though the Nazis were unstoppable. What lends this work its tension and power is Churchill’s inclusion of primary source material. We are presented with not only Churchill’s retrospective analysis of the war, but also memos, letters, orders, speeches, and telegrams, day-by-day accounts of reactions as the drama intensifies. We listen as strategies and counterstrategies unfold in response to Hitler’s conquest of Europe, planned invasion of England, and assault on Russia. Together they give a mesmerizing account of the crucial decisions made as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
 
The Gathering Storm covers the Treaty of Versailles, the rise of Adolf Hitler, the capitulation of Munich, and the entry of Britain into the war. This book makes clear Churchill’s feeling that the Second World War was a largely senseless but unavoidable conflict—and shows why Churchill earned the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953, in part because of this awe-inspiring work.

Ratings and reviews

While I've not yet finished reading it, I've found repeated missing pages. In the most recent example, page 465 skipped to 468 and pages 466 & 467 were nowhere to be found! Bringing up the multipage view showed they were not there. I don't know if it's the book or the Google Books app, because I exited and when I returned later to the bookmark, the pages were now there. Proof reading also appears weak as I've noted a number of instances where I can only assume OCR misunderstood and substituted an incorrect word. Having read the original print edition in the past, I don't recall noticing anything like that (and I tend to notice) so I don't think the misprints came from the print edition.

About the author

Sir Winston S. Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values."

Over a 64-year span, Churchill published over 40 books, many multi-volume definitive accounts of historical events to which he was a witness and participant. All are beautifully written and as accessible and relevant today as when first published.

During his fifty-year political career, Churchill served twice as Prime Minister in addition to other prominent positions--including President of the Board of Trade, First Lord of the Admiralty, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Home Secretary. In the 1930s, Churchill was one of the first to recognize the danger of the rising Nazi power in Germany and to campaign for rearmament in Britain. His leadership and inspired broadcasts and speeches during World War II helped strengthen British resistance to Adolf Hitler--and played an important part in the Allies' eventual triumph.

One of the most inspiring wartime leaders of modern history, Churchill was also an orator, a historian, a journalist, and an artist. All of these aspects of Churchill are fully represented in this collection of his works.