CHURCHILL: TAKEN FROM THE DIARIES OF LORD MORAN: The Struggle for Survival, 1940-1965

by Lord Moran ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 23, 1966

In World War I, Lord Moran had the task of keeping soldiers in the lines in France, and from his diaries he drew The Anatomy of Courage. In World War II, he found himself charged with the Prime Minister's health, with this resultant record of Churchill. His initial demur (""I do not like the job, and I do not think the arrangement can last"") altered with time (""I do like a really full sized man""), and the precarious ""arrangement"" endured twenty-five years. It placed Lord Moran in a position to supply a unique view of the ""one indispensable man."" Lord Moran accompanied Churchill on all his historic journeys throughout the war. He witnessed and at times took a hand in Churchill's dealings with FDR and Stalin, stood by as Churchill faced the fall of Tobruk and waged his own private war to maintain leadership, assured by El Alamein for the rest of the war. He was on and a part of the scene in Washington, Casablanca, Moscow, Tehran, Quebec, Yalta, Potsdam. He was there to record ""the small change of a great friendship"" with FDR as well as to assess for posterity Churchill's performance in the later years of the war, with consideration for the detrition of age. The story is a sad one of mounting decrepitude, and the second half of the volume tends to diminish in interest and significance with the powers of its subject. The last five painfully private years are omitted. Lord Moran's contribution to Churchill's struggle for survival is every-where, although modestly, evident. He kept him at the front during the war and as long after as was possible, saw him through his last illness and finally ""committed to English earth, which in his finest hour he had held inviolate."" His diagnosis of Churchill's greatness in a word: singlemindedness. An important part of the record, which has the sanction of the Establishment and a sendoff by the Book-of-the-Month Club.

Pub Date: May 23, 1966

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1966

Categories: NONFICTION