WINSTON CHURCHILL: The Yankee Marlborough

Working from the thesis that Churchill's achievements as a politician and catalyst in world affairs can be traced to his ancestry (aristocratic Yankee blood gave him energy, blue aristocratic British blood gave him the romantic background to build on) Mr. Thompson has produced a book that can only be accepted by those who really believe in blood lines. Smoothly written and organized in regard to the facts of Churchill's career, the author's taste in speculation can only be described as bad. That Churchill is egocentric is not a new charge, but that his was a narcissism so complete that the only person capable of interrupting his self-adoration was his Nanny is a charge repeated and examined at ridiculous length. In the same vein, Churchill is not supposed to have ever felt true friendship, all others in his life existed to be used, etc. The author was evidently fascinated by rather than admiring of the man on whom he took notes for years. As a personality portrait, this is sketchy-- even naive-- guesswork. As a biography of the public man, it is a denigration.