CHURCHILL ON THE AGE OF REVOLUTION

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28542, 22 March 1958, Page 3

CHURCHILL ON THE AGE OF REVOLUTION

A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. Volume III: The Age of Revolution. By Winston S. Churchill. Cassell and Co. 332 PPThis third volume of Sir Winston Churchill’s great project is a little disappointing. There are several reasons. For one thing, the period, though not much more than a century, is so full of the kind of history that fascinates him that he often gives the impression of having had to hold’ himself in check to get it within a single volume. His writing has not quite the easy sweep of the earlier volumes. Or have we come to expect too much?

Again, the social background to his great events was of possibly decisive importance in this period, as it was not in ancient and mediaeval England. For instance, his treatment of the underlying causes of the American Revolution (or War of Independence) is hardly sufficient for a history of the American as well as the tish branch of the family. Indeed, was this war. not the keystone of what the author himself has named the Age of Revolution? Still, it is unfair to complain if 'Xpectations have been too great, for within his terms of reference he has written another fine, rousing volume of popular history. And what a period it covers—Britain’s defence of the Balance of Power in Europe, her loss of an empire in. North America and the acquisition of another in Asia and Africa, and the emergence of the United States. And what great figures throng the pages the first great Churchill, Wellington, Nelson, Napoleon, Clive, Washington. Sir Winston Churchill does not argue, as perhaps he might have done, taat the one most powerfully to influence subsequent history was Washington; but his tribute to Washington is at once an acute study, of a great man and a fine piece of writing:

George Washington holds one of the proudest titles that history can bestow. ’ He was the Father of his Nation. Almost alone,, his staunchness in the War of Independence held the American colonies to their united purpose. His services after victory had been won were no less great. € His firmness and example while first President restrained the violence of faction and postponed a national schism for 60 years. His character and influence steadied the dangerous leanings of Americans to takes sides against Britain or France. He filled his office with dignity and inspired his administration with much of his own wisdom.

Sir Winston Churchill’s special gift lie. { n reducing complicated political and military manoeuvres

to the essentials that the ordinary reader can grasp clearly. The marching and counter-marching of the Duke of Marlborough make an excellent case in point, not surprisingly, since Sir ‘Winston Churchill is a recognised authority on the exploits of his great ancestor, if at times an uncritical one. The same skill is shown, however, in discussions of the War of Independence and the Napoleonic wars. The account of the great, and successful, delaying action of Sir John Moore is a small gem, doing justice to a great soldier.

Some of Sir Winston Churchill’s broader judgments are open to question, they have been questioned, but they are tenable points of view, presented with force and broad human sympathy.