Winston Churchill by Wilco Picture Library is a biography. The book tells the life story of Churchill with text and illustrations. The vivid illustrations bring the text alive. The book begins with Churchill’s birth on 30 November, 1874 in England. It then provides an account of Churchill’s parents and family background. As the book progresses, it highlights Churchill’s childhood and his entry into Harrow School, and his progress at the Royal Military College in Sandhurst.
Churchill was influenced by the writings of Thomas Macaulay, Edward Gibbon and Charles Darwin. He had a thirst for adventure and was posted to India on his first assignment. Churchill was a prolific writer as well as an eloquent speaker. He was also a journalist who initially contributed to the London newspaper, The Daily Graphic and later on worked as a war correspondent for many London newspapers.
An interesting part of Churchill’s biography is when he is captured by the Boers in South Africa in 1899, and his subsequent escape from enemy territory. The most significant part of Churchill’s biography is the section on the integral role he played in defeating Hitler during the Second World War.
The biography illuminates the life of an exemplary war hero who became one of the most illustrious Prime Ministers of Britain. On becoming Prime Minister at the age of 66, Churchill stated, “My whole life has been but a preparation for this hour.” Churchill also received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953.
Reviewed by Ryhanna Salie