W. Churchill

Churchillt a legtöbben csak úgy ismerik, mint a buldog természetű és buldog kinézetű angol miniszterelnököt, aki legyőzte Hitlert. Kevesen tudják róla, hogy lelkes tollforgató volt és elnyerte az irodalmi Nobel-díjat is. Ebben a - legjobbnak tartott - könyvében élete első harminc évéről ír, ami nem volt mindig felhőtlen. Pocsék tanuló volt, az iskolában verték, fiatal katonaként óriási kalandokban volt része, de többször majdnem megölték, hadifogságba esett, majd megszökött, vérdíjat tűztek ki a fejére és elbukta az első parlamenti választását. Végül minden jóra fordult, de az odáig vezető út élete végéig tartó nyomokat hagyott rajta. Aki nem olvasta ezt a könyvet, sosem értheti meg igazán Churchillt és a 20. század legvéresebb eseményeinek a hátterét sem. Írása azonban nem csak tanulságos, de szikrázóan szellemes stílusának köszönhetően rendkívül szórakoztató is.

K 70. výročí od konce 2. sv. války nové vydání proslulých válečných pamětí britského premiéra sira W. S. Churchilla. Dokumenty shromážděné v těchto svazcích poskytují přehled nesmírně závažných událostí, jak je ve své době viděl člověk, který nesl hlavní tíhu odpovědnosti za válku a politiku Britského impéria i dominií. Pochybuji, zda existuje či existoval podobný záznam o každodenním vedení války a řízení státu. Nepopisuji to jako historii, neboť to přísluší další generaci. Ale s důvěrou prohl ašuji, že je to příspěvek historii, který poslouží budoucnosti. - Winston S. Churchill

"This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues - its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country's past." The Daily Telegraph Spanning four volumes and many centuries of history, from Caesar's invasion of Britain to the start of World War I, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston S. Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history. The first volume - The Birth of Britain - tells the story of the formation of the British state, from the arrival of Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire through the invasions of the Vikings and the Normans, the signing of the Magna Carta and establishment of the mother of parliaments to the War of the Roses.

"This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues - its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country's past." The Daily Telegraph Spanning four volumes and many centuries of history, from Caesar's invasion of Britain to the start of World War I, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history. The Great Democracies is the fourth and final volume of Churchill's history. Here, Churchill reaches the modern era. For Britain, this was the high Victorian era of Palmerston, Gladstone and Disraeli, an age of free trade and imperialism as the British spread to Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Meanwhile the fledgling republic in America endured the great crisis of the Civil War to take its first steps on the road to becoming the world superpower that endures to this day.

"This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues - its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country's past." The Daily Telegraph Spanning four volumes and many centuries of history, from Caesar's invasion of Britain to the start of World War I, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history. The second volume - The New World - explores the emergence of Britain on the world stage and a turbulent period at home: from Henry VIII's break with Rome and the English Reformation to the fending off of the Spanish Armada and the schism between parliament and crown that led to the civil war, the fall and rise of the monarchy and the rule of Oliver Cromwell. The book also covers the historic journey of the 'Mayflower' that saw the English-speaking peoples' arrival in the Americas.

"This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues - its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country's past." The Daily Telegraph Spanning four volumes and many centuries of history, from Caesar's invasion of Britain to the start of World War I, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history. In The Age of Revolution - the third volume of Churchill's history - Churchill charts the rise of Great Britain as a world power and the long rivalry with France, the shadow of the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon and his defeat at Waterloo. The volume also covers the rise of the American colonies, their triumphant overthrow of British rule in the War of Independence and the first great generation of American leaders: Washington, Adams and Jefferson.

THE GREAT REPUBLIC is Sir Winston Churchill's personal vision of American history, from the arrival of the first European settlers to the dawn of the Cold War, edited by his grandson, the historian and journalist Winston S. Churchill. A magnificent r e-telling of the American story, the volume testifies to Churchill's skills as a historian and his deep warmth of feeling for America - the Great Republic, as he called it - and its people. THE GREAT REPUBLIC lays out America's history, character and destiny with the brilliance that could only come from an author with Churchill's gifts as a narrative historian and experience as a national leader and strategist.

THE HINGE OF FATE marks in Sir Winston Churchill's words, 'the turning-point of the Second World War.' It details a period during which almost uninterrupted defeat gave way to almost unbroken success for the Allies. While the Afrika Korps advanced almost to the outskirts of Alexandria and the Japanese struck by land and by sea, despair came to all but the most resolute. However, from this nadir there followed an ever-steady climb. Rommel was thrown back and defeated at Alamein. The British fought shoulder to shoulder for the first time with their American allies in North Africa and the tide turned in the Pacific.

Concluding Sir Winston Churchill's narrative of the Second World War, TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY spans the period from the D-Day landings of June 1944 to the surrender of all Allied enemies 14 months later. In this period, Nazi Germany was crushed, partitioned and occupied; Soviet Russia established herself in the heart of Western Europe and in Japan, the first atomic bombs were cast. Composed from the documents and speeches composed under the daily ordeal rather than being informed by hindsight and subsequent occurrences, TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY gives the truest picture of the momentous events that rocked the world during these fateful months.

Dealing with war on a giant scale, THE GRAND ALLIANCE focuses on events as Britain, after fighting a desperate battle alone, was joined in the struggle against the enemy by Soviet Russia and the United Sates. Hitler's invasion of Russia brought to an end a period of almost exactly a year during which Britain and her Empire had stood alone. Six months later, the United States, attacked by Japan, joined the war and the Grand Alliance was born. It was a momentous turn in the course of the war and Sir Winston Churchill noted, 'United we could subdue everybody else in the world. Many disasters, immeasurable cost and tribulation lay ahead, but there was no more doubt about the end.'

For eight grim months Great Britain stood alone as the only European power still carrying on the struggle against Nazi Germany. Eight months in which the Luftwaffe tried and failed to drive the RAF from the skies; eight months in which the Nazi fleet tried to starve Britain into submission. Focusing on the period from May 1940 to the end of the year, THEIR FINEST HOUR embraces Sir Winston Churchill's first days as Prime Minister, France's defeat, British troops' mass evacuation from Dunkirk and the uneasy summer when the enemy was daily expected upon our shores. However, it also features the first gleams of light as the danger of invasion faded and the year closed with Desert Victory. The descriptions of these times and events, both desperate and hopeful, are drawn from the pen of the man who shaped them and who led his people in resistance to every challenge, bringing the period to a close with the first victorious counter-attack.

CLOSING THE RING covers the decisive 12 months between June 1943 and June 1944. Command of the seas had returned to Allied hands, the U-boats were mastered and the Luftwaffe beaten. These achievements made possible the 'closing of the ring' which was to extinguish Axis resistance and eventually end the war. The danger was no longer defeat but stalemate. Russian armies were driving the German invaders back into their own country, Italy was freed from the fascist yoke and Africa was cleared. However, before the Allies lay the formidable task of invading the aggressors in their own land. Frankly and unreservedly, Sir Winston Churchill reveals the tensions and divergences of opinions concerning how best to achieve this among the three great partners, Britain, USA and Russia.

Hanging the chronicle and discussion of great military and political events upon the thread of his personal experiences, Sir Winston Churchill provides an immediate and current account of all the tremendous events of the coming of war as they unfolded. THE GATHERING STORM explores the events of the period between the end of the Great War and the beginning of the Second World War and details Sir Winston Churchill's belief that the latter should never have been allowed to occur. Mankind, he asserts, must learn from the lessons of the past as 'There was never a war more easy to stop than that which has just wrecked what was left of the world from the previous struggle.'

„...Sohase engedjetek, sohase engedjetek, soha, soha, soha, soha – semmiben, se nagyban, se kicsiben, se fontosban, se jelentéktelenben – ne engedjetek semminek, csakis a becsület és a józan ész meggyőződésének...” Winston Churchill „mozgósította és csatába küldte az angol nyelvet” – John F. Kennedy elnök, 1963 „Néma csend borult Európára... Miféle csend ez? Ó, jaj! A feszült várakozás csendje, sok országban pedig a félelem csendje ez. Hallgassák csak! Hegyezzék jól a fülüket; mintha hallanék valamit – igen, ez most tisztán hallható volt. Önök nem hallják? Hadseregek dobogása ez, gyakorlóterek kavicsa ropog a talpuk alatt, eső áztatta mezőkön tocsognak, kétmillió német katona és több mint egymillió olasz dobogása ez...” – Churchill, 1939. augusztus 8. „...harcolni fogunk a tengereken és az óceánokon, harcolni fogunk egyre növekvő bizalommal és erővel a levegőben, megvédjük Szigetünket, bármibe kerüljön, harcolni fogunk a tengerparton, harcolni fogunk a leszállópályákon, harcolni fogunk a mezőkön és az utcákon, harcolni fogunk a hegyekben; sohasem adjuk meg magunkat...” – Churchill, 1940. június 4. „A Balti-tenger menti Stettintől az adriai Triesztig vasfüggöny ereszkedett le a kontinensre. E vonal mögött fekszenek Közép- és Kelet-Európa összes ősi államának fővárosai. Varsó, Berlin, Prága, Bécs, Budapest, Belgrád, Bukarest és Szófia, mind e híres városok és a körülöttük lévő népesség a szovjet érdekszférába kerültek...” – Churchill, 1946. március 5. ************************** Winston Churchill (1874—1965) korának legékesszólóbb politikusa és államférfia volt. Harrow magániskolájában és a sandhursti katonai akadémián tanult, évekig katonatisztként szolgált, majd újságíró, azután képviselő lett. 1940 májusában koalíciós kormányt alakított, és miniszterelnökként vezette végig Nagy-Britanniát a második világháborún. Az 1945-ös választásokon vereséget szenvedett, és ellenzékbe kényszerült, de 1951-ben ismét visszahódította a miniszterelnöki széket. Utolsó éveiben sokan „a legnagyobb élő angolnak” nevezték. 1953-ban lovagi címet kapott, és ugyanebben az esztendőben elnyerte az irodalmi Nobel-díjat. Unokája, Winston S. Churchill (szül. 1940) ugyancsak író, újságíró, politikus. Kötetünk Churchill több mint 8000 oldalnyi, ötmillió szóból álló beszédtermésének legjavát tartalmazza, első ízben nyújtva válogatást a XX. század legnagyobb szónokának örökzöld orációiból.

Tretí zväzok monumentálnej historiografickej práce jedného z najvýznamnejších politikov a spisovateľov XX. storočia, nositeľa Nobelovej ceny za literatúru, mapuje obdobie vlády Viliama Oranžského, boje na nezávislosť Spojených štátov, vojnu s Napoleonom až po víťaznú bitku pri Waterloo. „Počas obdobia zahrnutého v tomto zväzku, menovite v rokoch 1688 až 1815, ovplyvnili vývoj ľudstva tri revolúcie. Odohrali sa v priebehu jedného storočia a všetky vyústili do vojny medzi Britániou a Francúzskom. Anglická revolúcia z roku 1688 viedla k vypudeniu katolíckeho kráľa z britských ostrovov a Britániu vohnala do neľútostného zápasu s posledným veľkým francúzskym kráľom, Ľudovítom XIV. Americká revolúcia z roku 1775 rozdelila po anglicky hovoriace národy na dve vetvy s rozdielnymi postojmi a osudmi, napriek tomu, že ich v zásade aj naďalej spájal spoločný jazyk, tradície a právny poriadok. Silou a terorom, ktorý nemal až do boľševickej revolúcie z roku 1917 vo svete obdobu, vyhlásilo roku 1789 Francúzsko princípy rovnosti, slobody a práv človeka. V tieni týchto politických otrasov prebiehali revolučné zmeny aj vo vede a výrobe. A práve tie položili základy priemyselného veku, v ktorom dnes žijeme. Reformačné náboženské nepokoje konečne ustali. Od týchto čias už Britániu rozdeľovali vždy iba praktické stranícke otázky, nie vierovyznanie a Európu už odvtedy sužovali len mocenské a národnostné spory. Zatiaľ čo staršie ideály smerovali k vízii náboženskej jednoty, teraz sa na kontinente rozhorel zápas za povznesenie jednotlivých národných záujmov. No v tomto boji už náboženské prúdy zohrávali zanedbateľnú úlohu.“

Štvrtý a záverečný zväzok výnimočnej historiografickej práce nositeľa Nobelovej ceny za literatúru sira Winstona S. Churchilla. Po Napoleonovom páde sa Británia dostala do pozície nespochybniteľnej vládkyne veľkej časti sveta. V nasledujúcich desaťročiach otriasli mnohými európskymi veľmocami revolúcie a občianske nepokoje, z ktorých sa zrodili nové národné spoločenstvá. Zatiaľ čo Amerika zamerala svoje úsilie na osídľovanie zvyšnej polovice severoamerického kontinentu, Británia sa postupne zmocňovala mnohých doposiaľ neobsadených území po celom svete. Kolonizácia Austrálie a Nového Zélandu i podmanenie Južnej Afriky podnietili vznik nového a ešte rozsiahlejšieho Britského impéria. Na čele tejto impozantnej ríše stála kráľovná Viktória. Krvavá občianska vojna v USA aj za cenu približne milióna ľudských životov vykorenila otroctvo v Spojených štátoch, no Únia napriek tomu prežila. Nová britská ríša bola založená na základe konsenzu a dobrovoľného spojenia autonómnych štátov pod záštitou Koruny. Po smrti kráľovnej Viktórie sa zdalo, že problémy minulých storočí sú na najlepšej ceste k postupnému vyriešeniu. V Európe sa však medzičasom začala dvíhať neskrotná a vulkanická energia teutónskej rasy, ktorú až doposiaľ utlmovala jej politická roztrieštenosť a prežívajúce stredoveké vládne formy.