This book was enjoyable from start to finish. The sense of injustice done by the conspirators to a well-loved icon of history was intense, but because the participants in the conspiracy have been fully exposed as failures, the reader can revel in the knowledge that history has judged them.The conspiracy here is the effort of the Chamberlain Ministry to exclude the "war-monger" Winston Churchill from the councils of government in the events between Neville Chamberlain's Munich Pact with Adolf Hitler for "peace in our time" and the German invasion of Poland less than a year later.In reading this account, one gets the sense of discovering enjoyable details: Churchill's uneasy finances and the advantage taken by the conspirators of his need for a loan, his encounter with Guy Burgess that opens the story; the eventual defection of Burgess to the Soviet Union; the growing knowledge in the Ministry that appeasement is failing, and their efforts to keep that knowledge from the British populace.Because I read "Winston's War" at the same time as reading "13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi", the similarities of the two conspiracies were borne in on me: in both cases, one realizes public officials deciding to be less than honest or less than forthcoming is perhaps the result of a belief that a greater purpose is served by the conspiracy. For Chamberlain and the proponents of appeasement, the lack of readiness in Britain for war made peace at all costs the only choice.Fortunately for us all, Chamberlain's policy was destroyed when Germany abrogated the pact, and it was Winston Churchill's leadership that guided Britain through its involvement in WWII. History has yet to reveal the conclusion, fortunate or otherwise, to the conspiracy involving the US State Department, the Obama Administration, and the events of 9-11, 2012, in Beghazi.
‘War comes in many different colours.’On 1 October 1938, Winston Churchill met Guy Burgess. Churchill had already made a mark on the political landscape, Burgess was certainly going to. But what brought these men together? And what political intrigues and other machinations were part of the political landscape in this period immediately before Europe erupted into war?Winston Churchill himself could well be described as ‘.. a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma ..’. At times, while reading this novel, I could hear Mr Churchill’s distinctive voice. But my memory of his voice was of a period not long before his death when he was hailed as a great statesman and recognised as a hero. Guy Burgess is also well known, but not as a hero by many.From this distance, some 70 years later, we live with the consequences of this war: the reshaping of countries and empires; the heroism; the greed and the tragedy. The characteristics of this war are known to many of us through hearsay, heritage and, sometimes, objective attempts to analyse cause and effect. This novel succeeds in making the individuals and the times come to life. This novel is not just about the famous and infamous: it brings to life some of the aspects of everyday life for those who usually bear the burden of decisions made by those more powerful.Mr Dobbs writes of Churchill: ‘He mesmerised colleagues on a diet of pinched views and lean rhetoric.’ In his acknowledgements Mr Dobbs expresses his hope that ‘many readers will have their appetites whetted and their imaginations fired by the deliberate intertwining of fact and fiction to the extent that they will want to dig deeper and find out for themselves what really happened.’I hope so too.
Do You like book Winston's War (2015)?
The problem with historical fiction is you never can tell where the history stops and the fiction starts...and vice versa. A good historical fiction book will create a cast of fictional characters around a historical event. But here, in Winston's War...we have historical characters, Joe Kennedy, Nevelle Chamberlain and of course, Winston Churchill as the main characters of the story built around a series of historical events, Churchill's rise to power and the beginnings of what was to be World War II. So the reader questions did these men say that, or do that. Its as if the author put words in their mouths. I gave it two stars only because it is well-written...its slow going though and it goes on far too long. but really, in the end, all you get some author's vision of what might have happened.
—Paul Leone
I'm torn between needing another star between I liked it and I really liked it, but I don't know what to call it. I feel something more than I liked it, but something less than I really liked it. I never thought much about reading a book about Winston Churchill. I never thougt much about reading a book about the beginning of the 2nd World War in Europe either. Why DID I read this book?Someting about the book cover and and title called to me. The story sounded interesting when I read the review AND my daughter found it for me and loaded it onto my Nook. I did enjoy the story. It was easy to read. Not a lot of empty descriptions and mind boggling detail. The characters were very interesting, and I have to admit that I did spend some time looking names and places up to get a little more background on the times and events. Mr. Dobbs wrote a good story. He will tell you that this is a Novel, not everything spoken is true, not everything that happened is true, but some of it could have been. I guess for me, it just made for a more interesting story than cold hard facts with no personality and feeling.
—Cherie
What a surprisingly good read! I suppose I didn't expect much from this book, despite reading an interesting blurb on it, because Barnes & Noble was giving it away for free, as one of their Free Fridays offerings. Yes, I realize that such things are supposed to build interest in the author or in similar works. Still, many of the giveaways are worth what I pay for them. In this case, that view was in error.Winston's War is an historical novel, focused on the run-up to World War II, as Neville Chamberlain was trying to buy peace from Hitler through appeasement, while Winston Churchill was certain that this policy would only incite a tyrant. Of course, we know how that turned out. What makes this book interesting is the interplay between the characters and the political maneuvering in this very rocky time.A well-written historical novel requires a good grasp of history. Being a student of history myself, many authors lose me through their lack of real historical grounding. That's not the case here. Mr. Dobbs did an admirable job of maintaining historical believability while throwing in a backstory that holds up and adds to the reader's interest. Overall, this is an excellent book!
—Jess
