In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War.

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Author: Bolia, Robert S.1

In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the
 Second World War
David Reynolds.
New York: Random House, 2005. 656 pp. Illus. Bib. $35.00.

More than 40 years after his death, Winston Churchill is still recognized as a great statesman and acknowledged as one of the premier war leaders in history. While he is remembered for his oratory and leadership at the forefront of British politics, he spent the majority of his professional career as a writer. Churchill made history as a cabinet minister, but he made his money as a historian, often by telling his own story.

That this aspect of Churchill's life has been overshadowed by his political achievements is not surprising, given the magnitude of the latter. His accomplishments as an author, however, are by no means trifling. He was among the most prolific writers of all time: four volumes on the Duke of Marlborough, tour more on the History of the English-Speaking Peoples, six on each of the two world wars, and this is only half the list. Moreover, he won the Nobel Prize, not for the peace that he had worked so hard to secure, hut for his written words.

Eminent historian David Reynolds has sought to revive the image of Churchill as author in this, his latest book. He tells the unique story of a dejected Churchill, voted out of Downing Street in 1945, who turns to writing his six-volume memoirs not only as a lucrative enterprise, but also as a means of selling himself and his wartime leadership to the country in the hopes of one day regaining the premiership.

Why would anyone be interested in the story of a cast out prime minister writing his memoirs? First, it is at heart a book about Churchill, one of the most interesting personalities in history, and is replete with fascinating anecdotes. That he made his living as a writer is underscored by the elaborate lengths â€" all within the law â€" to which he went to avoid paying taxes on the income from his books, a methodology so successful other authors copied it. Further, he convinced his American publishers that to complete each volume on schedule, he and his staff required extended vacations â€" to Morocco, France, and Italy â€" which Life magazine and the New York Times obligingly financed.

Second, production of the hook is interesting in its own right. That Churchill and his "syndicate" were able to turn out six massive tomes at nearly a volume a year was in itself a minor miracle, especially since many of the workers â€" including Churchill, still a member of Parliament and nominally opposition leader â€" had other jobs. Then there was the issue of the legality of such a book, which reprinted hundreds of official documents written by Churchill during the war. Moreover, Churchill was plagued with severe health problems, and it was not clear until the final text was delivered that he would live to see the project through.

Finally, there is the historical context in which the book was written. The project began a few months after Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech popularizing that potent symbol of the Cold War. Not only was he conscious of this context as he worked on The Second World War, but his discussions of relations with the Americans and the Soviets suffer from his interpretation of their role in creating the world situation. Although careful not to antagonize his U.S. allies, he does not hesitate to opine that had his policies been accepted, the outcome would have been very different. In this the Americans came off much better than the Soviets, who get little press (Alamein, not Stalingrad, is portrayed as the turning point of the war in Europe) except in the final volume, and there only as the new threat to European security.

More interesting is that because he published early and often, his views helped determine the prevailing interpretation. It was the idea that these six volumes have shaped the way all subsequent historians think about World War II that prompted Reynolds to write his account.

In Command of History is thoroughly researched. Using an archive of Churchill papers made available only in the past decade, Reynolds aptly provides for each volume a description of the research and writing, an analysis in terms of history, and a chapter on its serialization, publication, and reception by British and American reviewers. The work on the production of the text is especially interesting, since it illuminates the fact that large portions of the work were written by Churchill's "syndicate," which raises ethical issues about authorship and attribution that proves difficult for Reynolds to deal with. At least as remarkable are the descriptions of the evolution of the writing, made possible because Reynolds often had access to earlier drafts and communications between Churchill and his colleagues, and hence is able to pinpoint when and why particular passages were added, modified, or deleted.

The book is not for the completely naive reader: It requires at least a cursory knowledge of pre- and postwar British politics and the events of the war itself in order to make sense of it. But it is a lovely book for anyone meeting these few prerequisites. Fast-paced, well-written, and never dull, it provides a comprehensive and engaging picture of Churchill and his books, and their role in the subsequent interpretation of the momentous events they describe.

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Reviewed by Robert S. Bolia

Mr. Bolia is a scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory's Human Effectiveness Directorate at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.