On 13 May 1940, Winston Churchill stood before the House of Parliament to deliver his first speech as prime minister. German troops were advancing across Europe; Neville Chamberlain's government had fallen three days earlier. Churchill needed to prove himself an able leader, and he also needed to convince an unwilling nation to support his stand against Hitler.
In this taut meditation on a great leader under great pressure, Lukacs demonstrates that Churchill delivered his triumphant speech despite his own sense that England might soon fall to Hitler's armies. A riveting portrait of leadership in its confrontation with radical evil, Lukacs's book is essential reading for WWII buffs, Churchill aficionadi, and anyone interested in leadership.

This is a short audiobook about Churchill and the effect his early speeches had on a nation at war. In most cases they rallied the people and, after a rough beginning, brought him the eventual support of parliament. It is interesting to hear his opinions in relationship with international events. Much is fairly well-known, but this provides more detail of the narrower topic. Not included here, but mentioned are the excellent speeches he continued to make after his party was voted out of office and after the war.

If any of his speeches are familiar to us it is only through reading them, not hearing them, as few were recorded. The title speech, his first as Prime Minister, was only recorded in Hansard, the parliamentary transcript. This is an interesting look at a specific of history and one of the great orators. ( )

An amazingly fast-paced book, its diminutive size hides it cloaks the massive amount of insight and information inside!

Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat springboards from one speech, Winston Churchill's first (and short) message as Prime Minister; this one line echos throughout the book as a not so veiled warning of Briton's upcoming price they will need to pay against Hitler's advances.

Entering the leadership slot at the earliest days of what would become World War II, Churchill was detested by his political opponents and untrusted by his political compatriots. His shaky governmental cabinet (despite being as multi-partisan as it could be) was tested by virtue of distrust or being ignored. It wasn't until Hitler's goals and deeds were finally seen, that Churchill enjoyed some temporary popularity; nothing like countrymen coming together to combat a common foe!

Two things struck me while reading this book. First, at least one phrase was coined by Churchill: "slippery slope;" and "finest hour" became, with Churchill's utterance, a popular term as the author puts "a famous phrase in the prose and speech of every English-speaking nation."

Second was the press treatment of European events prior to the War. It likely gave rise to George Orwell's cynical career. Much of chapter three is dedicated to the lack of, or all out blind eye, given to Hitler's march through continental Europe. Mr. Lukacs explains Briton's lack of apprehension via explanation of Mass Observation, a public polling firm - American can think of Nielsen Ratings meets Gallup, participants would type a notation of their observations and ratings would be metered via this mechanism, specifically cited in this book was Winston Churchill's broadcast speeches.

In the hindsight of history, Winston Churchill was erroneous on several - and important - occasions, yet with whatever brush he is painted with, be it a Conservative hero or Imperialist bastard, he was one of a woefully few men who foresaw Hitler's aggression and worked tirelessly not only against his own countrymen, but Roosevelt and Stalin to maintain England as they knew it. ( )

4557. Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat The Dire Warning, by John Lukacs (read 8 Apr 2009) This is a great little book on Churchill's words and actions in 1940 when he saved Britain from defeat, and is fun to read. About the only thing I can say in criticism of the book is that it is so short and thus does not give the detail which one expects in history books. But Lukacs makes the case very well that it was better to prevent Hitler from having all of Europe than to prevent Stalin from having half of Europe. One thrills anew to the power of Churchillian oratory. An easy to read and satisfying to read book. ( )

Few men have used the English language with such grace and to such good ends as Winston Churchill. John Lukacs focuses on the key phrase in Churchill’s first speech before Parliament as Prime Minister to provide some wonderful insights into both Churchill’s thinking and the nation’s state of mind as continental Europe crumbled before the onslaught of Hitler’s armies and Britain began to realize it was the last, lone defender of the free world.

Churchill’s speech was little appreciated at the time. In fact, the man was himself Prime Minister almost by default. Chamberlain was still the leader of the Conservative Party, Halifax probably could have had the post had he really wanted it since he was the first choice of King George VI, and it was only through Labour’s insistence that they would not join a national government unless it was led by Churchill that the question was finally decided. One of the many telling details Lukacs reveals is that Chamberlain was wildly applauded when he entered the House to hear Churchill speak on May 13, 1940; Churchill’s entrance was mostly ignored.

The speech was significant, Lukacs says, not so much for its poetry as for what it tells us about Churchill’s vision of history as it shaped his leadership both throughout the war and afterward. Early on, Churchill recognized the power of Hitler’s war machine and the strength of the German nation. He also had a truly terrifying vision of a world plunged into darkness by the very possible Nazi victory in Europe. The cold, black science of Fascism would mean the end of civilization, and Churchill knew that Britain was at the very beginning of a long, hard struggle whose outcome was far from certain. ( )