The Great Courses: Churchill

 

Professor J. Rufus Fears

 

 

A very well done series of lectures.

If you want the whole story in minute detail, you can read one of the many biographies written about him. If you want just the precis, this lecture series is what you are looking for. Professor Fears has done an excellent job of culling all the important bits, the turning points and even the missteps.

For me, the most interesting part came at the beginning, where Fears labels Churchill a statesman not a politician and then goes on to define what makes a statesman:

We distinguish a statesman from a politician by four criteria: 1. A bedrock of principles. 2. A moral compass. 3. A vision. 4. The ability to build a consensus to achieve that vision.

Fears goes on to shows us how he thinks that Churchill meets the criteria and why he thinks Churchill was the greatest statesman of the twentieth century.

Four stars.