World War II Database

Readers of my book reviews probably already noticed that I am a big fan of the author William Manchester, so when I picked up the Last Lion: Alone, 1932-1940, one could only imagine this history nerd's anxiousness before actually digging into the book. After all, expectations were high after seeing all the rave reviews about this biography on Churchill. Although I am intrigued by Churchill's life in its entirety, I opted to pick up this book instead of the first volume in the series because this second volume deals directly with the start of the European War.

Coming out of WW1, the British people were tired of war and feared another episode of bloodshed. For the most of the 1930s, only a small handful of politicians, Churchill included, saw the potential dangers of the direction of diplomacy that Britain and her ally France moved toward. The words of warning from Churchill and others only earned them nicknames such as "warmonger", but they remained stern on their position despite all opposition to their views. Skillfully, Manchester's writing gave me as the reader the very feeling of Churchill's isolation and solitude. This was achieved by a subtle change in perspective. In the first sections of the book, as I expected from a Churchill biography, focused much on Churchill; anecdotes about his family life, his writings, and his interactions with other Members of Parliament were plenty. However, as the book progressed into the mid-1930s, the focus of the book slowly drifted toward how Britain, and to a certain degree France, dealt with the tension asserted by Germany. There was a portion of this Churchill biography where Churchill's name was not even mentioned for a significant stretch, or at least I felt it was a significant portion. When I had realized the lack of Churchill in the cast, I was able to get a sense of the frustration Churchill must had felt. Manchester's well-researched chronology gave me an insight on how the series of events led to war, and it also gave me a view into Churchill's frustration of being able to see the on-coming danger but yet unable to persuade others to take the proper course in the attempt to avoid it. The ability of this gripping story to invoke human feelings in me makes me believe that this book is at least as good as my favorite Manchester biography American Caesar.

Of course, like all other works of Manchester that I have read, the writing style was elegant. However, while doubtlessly still works of art, I found the narrative not as descriptive when compared to his other works. This observation might be rather subjective on my part, however, because the last work of Manchester's that I read was his own memoirs, Goodbye, Darkness, where he had the full liberty to use any language he wished without needing to worry about offending the subjects of the books.

Perhaps unimportant in historical perspective but grabbed my attention nevertheless was Churchill's residence, Chartwell. From the narratives alone I could imagine the grandeur of the estate in my mind, and while never had been drawn to architecture, I nevertheless wish for an opportunity to visit Chartwell in the future to see where Churchill wrote his books, met his informants, and lived his life. Perhaps, again, the ability to invoke emotions is what made Manchester a great writer.

Like many biographies, Manchester warned the readers that the book should read as a biography and biography only, and not necessarily as a book of history. After all, it was Manchester who said that "history, like beauty, lies in the eye of the beholder. If it happened, and if the writer believes it to be consequential, in it goes." Even with that in mind, I still could not help but think of all the missed opportunities to avoid the war and all the burden of failure bore by leaders such as the likes of Neville Chamberlain, Lord Halifax, and Maurice Gamelin. Manchester's inclusion of them in the cast almost exclusively focused on their pacifist faults without much discussion on their positive contributions in their respective careers. While their inability to see Germany as an eventual aggressor did indeed guarantee Europe of a devastating war, I should include a word of warning that Manchester's views on the appeasers were very one-sided, and readers should not form opinions on them without having also studied other perspectives.

While reading the Last Lion, I could not help comparing the events of 1932-1939 with what is currently going on in today's world. With pacifist mentality reigning in Britain and the United States, I wonder if today's version of the Western Allies, the United States and Britain, should be reminded of the history of 1932-1939 and then re-evaluate whether their pacifist thinking is still appropriate.

The most valuable thing that I walked away from after finishing the book was to be able to get a sense of what Churchill was like. Manchester was successful in putting Churchill's bizarre daily schedule, the determination and perserverance, and even his eccentricities all together to shine light on how Churchill approached various issues in both his professional and personal lives. He allowed me to see things the way Churchill saw them, and gave me the understanding why he made the decisions that he did. For that, the book was a successful biography.

Similar to my opinions of all Manchester's works, the Last Lion is definitely also a must-read for all who is interested in the history of the European War. There had been an announcement that writer Paul Reid, the former feature writer at a Florida newspaper, has been named to complete the third and final volume of the Last Lion series; this is something that all Manchester fans are eagerly awaiting, and myself is definitely included.