Winston Churchill’s “World Crisis“ as Autobiography

• In Event: Biography and Autobiography of Winston S. Churchill

Abstract

Winston Churchill’s personality and worldview loom large in “The World Crisis,” his multivolume history on the origins, conduct, and aftermath of the Great War. In “The World Crisis,” Churchill demonstrates his outstanding abilities as a narrative historian, military analyst, and political philosopher. As Thucydides did in his classic history of the warring states of ancient Greece, Churchill wrote a compelling eyewitness account of a great war, an immense tragedy in which both victors and vanquished suffered hideous loss. In addition to learning about the politics, strategy, and operations of the First World War, a close study of “The World Crisis“ tells us much about Churchill, who served in high command within the British government and, for a time, fought as a front-line soldier. This paper explores what Churchill reveals about himself as a war leader by examining his history of his times.

Author

• John Maurer, U.S. Naval War College