HERO OF THE EMPIRE

Candice Millard’s third book is more than satisfactory, but not as exciting as her first two narrative nonfiction efforts. The first book, Destiny of the Republic (see my review of 1/17/2012) was about the assassination of President James Garfield and the second book, The River of Doubt (see my review of 2/19/2012) was about the near death of Theodore Roosevelt on an unmapped tributary of the Amazon River. They were rousing page-turners. This novel is about the younger years of Winston Churchill, and it did not stimulate me like the first two books did. Maybe the deadpan or dry British wit got to Candice Millard...I’m not sure. Since she writes in the style of Erik Larson and David McCullough, she is still one of my favorites. What is amazing though is that by 1913 (eleven years after the Boer War was over), the British still controlled 24% of the earth’s total land area and 23% of the world’s population (412 million people). How did that little country do that? And don’t forget that those numbers were after they lost the American territory in the Revolutionary War. Does Queen Victoria (who reigned for over 63 years) get credit for the great expansion of the British Empire? One would have to say...yes.

Winston Churchill was born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. That said, he wasn’t a person that always took advantage of that fact. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was Chancellor of the Exchequer and the leader of the House of Commons. Winston’s parents were personal friends of the Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria’s heir. Notwithstanding, Winston, since childhood, wanted to win his own glory and gallantry in battle. He practiced his battle plans with his 15,000 toy soldiers as a youth. When he was finally able to join the army, The Daily Chronicle called him a whippersnapper. “Churchill knew that the surest and quickest route to recognition, success and perhaps, if he was lucky, fame was a military medal.” For that “He was willing to risk anything, even his life.” Churchill believed that, by hook or by crook, he was predetermined to be famous and that was the crux of his bravery. “Churchill had seen real fighting for the first time in 1895. Instead of spending his leave playing polo or foxhunting like most young officers, he had gone to Cuba as a military observer, joining a fighting column of the Spanish army during an uprising that was a prelude to the Spanish-American War.” It was during this time that he began the life-long habit of smoking cigars (preferably, Cubanos).

In 1896, Churchill arrived in India hoping to fight in the Pashtun revolt, but commander Sir Bindon Blood sent him a telegram saying, “Very difficult; no vacancies...come as a correspondent; will try to fit you in.” Churchill saw for himself how astonishingly accurate the Pashtun riflemen were. “Even more frightening than the Pashtuns long-range marksmanship was the ferocity with which they fought hand to hand, face-to-face.” Churchill observed, “Careless of what injury they may receive, they devote themselves to the destruction of their opponent...unflinching in the face of their own suffering, the Pashtun were merciless when it came to the enemy’s. They did not just kill but slaughtered, slicing men’s bodies to ribbons with their long, curved swords.” That is the review of the first 14 pages. The rest of this 381 page narrative nonfiction book deals with Churchill’s time in South Africa during the second Boer War, his incredible bravery, capture and daring escape to freedom. Now that I know what made Churchill “tick”, I have the utmost respect for him. Candice’s book or historical fiction novel (I’m never sure what to call a narrative nonfiction) is backed up by 63 pages of notes. It’s worth reading this obscure piece of history.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: What surprises me is that in 1899 the British were still a believer in the fair fight. Didn’t they learn their lesson during the Revolutionary War? “Unlike the Boers, who had been sharpshooters nearly all their lives, this was an entirely new world to the British. So alien (are you kidding me?) was the concept of a man who shot from a distance and in hiding, rather than in a highly visible battlefield formation, that even the word “Sniper” was new to them.” Don’t they remember the American ambushes? Finally after many lost battles, the British were waking up, “Whether they liked it or not, however, battle by battle the British were learning from the Boers. They were beginning to see the advantages of blending into their surroundings, being quiet and quick, and even ducking.”