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Churchill: The Unexpected Hero
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Plot Summary of Churchill: The Unexpected Hero
"This book is part of the Oxford University Press' Lives and Legacies series. It is a short book about Winston Churchill, an extremely famous British Prime Minister. Even though short, the book does a good job of detailing Churchill's long career.

The author's central thesis is that Churchill's huge ego was both his greatest flaw and his greatest strength. He was a genius, but he sometimes made bad choices because he didn't ask other people for advice. For example, during World War I he made the disastrous decision to try to invade Turkey through the Dardanelle Straits. The failure of the operation led to the death of 46,000 allied soldiers at the battle of Gallipoli.

During World War II he redeemed himself. His strong stand against appeasement was key to defeating the Nazis.

After World War II, Churchill coined the phrase the "Iron Curtain". He took the Soviet threat in Eastern Europe seriously before anyone else did."

Susanna Marlowe, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Churchill: The Unexpected Hero
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
War/Cloak & Dagger story? - Led as politician
War/Spying Yes
Period of greatest activity? - 1900+
Which war? - World War II

Subject of Biography
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - politician/elected ruler
Age: - long lived adults
Biography of famous person? Yes
Ethnicity - White
Nationality - British
How sensitive is this person? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Genius (really!)
Physique - quite fatty

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 2 ()
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Century: - 1930's-1950's

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Book makes you feel? - thoughtful
Commentary on society? Yes
Commentary on - capitalism - war
Writer's slant towards subject: - favorable
Story of entire life, or part? - story of nearly entire life
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life? - 26-50% of book
How much is philosophy rather than life story? - 0-25% of book
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Five Chimneys by Olga Lengyel
A Man Called Intrepid by William Stevenson
Soldiering for Freedom by Herman J. Obermayer
Tomorrow Will Be Better by Zdena Kapral


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Paul Addison Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Susanna Marlowe  

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