An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

239: Young Churchill: Born to Lead (Part 1)

October 03, 2022

Description

‘The child is the father of the man.’ In the first episode of this mini-series on Young Churchill, Tom and Dominic explore the early life of Winston Churchill. They discuss the cruelty of his...
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Books Referenced

Churchill: Walking with Destiny

Author: Andrew Roberts

Context:

Referenced multiple times as 'Andrew Roberts' biography' - described as the most recent biography of Churchill, discussing the theme of Churchill's sense of destiny

My Early Life

Author: Winston Churchill

Context:

Churchill's autobiography, described as 'an absolutely wonderful read' and 'one of the great autobiographies' - referenced multiple times for anecdotes about Churchill's childhood and school years

Adventure novels

Author: Rider Haggard

Context:

Referenced as adventure tales Churchill was 'addicted to' while at Harrow - 'Ryder Haggard and all that kind of stuff'

King Solomon's Mines

Author: H. Rider Haggard

Context:

Explicitly mentioned as a book Churchill had read, referenced when discussing his love of imperial adventure stories

Pax Britannica trilogy

Author: Jan Morris

Context:

Referenced as 'her great trilogy about the British Empire' when discussing the colour and swagger of empire that Churchill loved

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Author: James Joyce

Context:

Referenced when praising Churchill's prose about childhood memories, noting 'Joyce would be proud of that' and comparing Churchill's child's perspective to Joyce's technique

Flashman

Author: George MacDonald Fraser

Context:

Referenced as a comparison to Churchill's life - 'it's like Flashman, isn't it? It's like the very Flashman pops up in every major campaign going'

The Churchill Factor

Author: Boris Johnson

Context:

Mentioned in the Unheard advertisement as a biography of Churchill by Boris Johnson, described as attempting to blur the line between Churchill and Johnson