Did Churchill ever write a book called Counterattack?

On January 24, 1965, Churchill, a great man of a generation, passed away sadly, bidding farewell to the British people he once tried his best to protect. January 24, 2015, just passed, was the 50th anniversary of Qiu Weng’s death. During his lifetime, there were already a large number of articles and works related to it, and there were even more after his death. So, as Chinese readers, if we want to improve our understanding of this "greatest British man of all time" (2002 BBC British opinion poll results), how should we choose among the many books? Since it is not in the form of a direct book list, in order to make it easier for everyone to find the book list, the following books are basically in bold fonts.

Qiu Weng’s writings are of course a must-read. He kept writing all his life and wrote many books. As early as 1898, when he was only 24 years old, he published "Records of the Malakand Field Army: An Episode in the Frontier War". He wrote "The War on the River" based on his personal experience. Later, he also published the novel "Savorola: The Story of the Lauranian Revolution" (1900), "Ian Hamilton's March" (1900), which chronicled the African war, and "My Journey to Africa" ??(1908). . These works help us understand Qiu Weng's youth.

Perhaps the most noteworthy of Qiu Weng's early works is his 1906 biography of his father, "The Biography of Lord Randolph Churchill," which ostentatiously describes the political achievements of the Churchill family. Of the same nature is the four-volume biography of the Duke of Marlborough, "Marlborough: His Life and Times", completed between 1933 and 1938. This famous duke is the ancestor of Qiu Weng. "My Early Life: Constantly Running" published in 1930 (Jiangsu People's Publishing House released a translation by Kang Wenkai and Jiang Qian in September 1998) received rave reviews, and Qiu Weng was also very satisfied with it. He recalled in his later years that , this book is "the best book I have ever written." The subsequent "Random Thoughts and Adventures" published in 1932 talked about his attitudes and thoughts on important political issues and reviewed some of the major events he experienced, such as "The Battle of Sedenay Street" and "With Clemenceau" days". The important long article "Painting as a Pastime" (Painting as a Pastime) was also written in this year and was later published as a separate volume. This article is crucial to our understanding of Qiu Weng's spiritual world.

Any article that mentions Qiu Weng will probably mention the five-volume "Memoirs of the First World War" (published by Nanfang Publishing House in 2002 by Wu Liangjian, Liu Li, Liu Jingxiang, Wang Yilong, Wang Tiesheng, Gao Zhuo This article is no exception to this article. Emperor Wen of Wei Dynasty famously said in his "Essentials and Treatises" that "the one who writes can accomplish great things in a country and make immortal events". These two books are fully worthy of their reputation. If Qiu Weng knew Chinese, he might have said in his usual arrogant tone: "A certain person's life achievements are all due to this." However, although "Memoirs of World War II" won Qiu Weng the Nobel Prize for Literature, what can really be said about it? What demonstrates his liberal arts is the four-volume "History of the English-speaking Peoples" (translated by Xue Limin and Lin Lin published by Southern Publishing House in 2004). It is said that on the eve of the Normandy landing, Churchill wrote a short note to the military intelligence personnel about the landing plan: "Why do you use intensive here? It is better to use intensive here! You should read Fowler's English Usage Dictionary." (Preface to "English Usage Dictionary" by Ge Chuanchu) Fowler's English Usage Dictionary is the famous The Kings English, and "History of the English Nation" is a book about the origin and evolution of the Kings English written with the Kings English. No matter how hard the Chinese translation works, it is difficult to convey the essence.

To have a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of Qiu Weng, a great figure in the great era, even his own writings can only reflect certain aspects. The British publishing house Houghton Mifflin Company has successively published Churchill's official biography since 1983. There are eight huge volumes, each of which is as thick as 1,3400 pages. It describes Churchill's magnificent life in detail. At this time, perhaps because the volume was too voluminous, there was no Chinese translation. William Manchester, who is well-known to Chinese people for his "Glory and Dreams", also published the widely popular biography of Churchill, The Last Lion. Unfortunately, due to the death of the author, this biography, originally planned as a trilogy, was only completed. The first two parts, and the third part continued by the writer Paul Reid, are more than 3,000 pages long, and there seems to be no Chinese translation.

There are three moderate-length biographies of Churchill worth recommending: Henry Pelling's Winston Churchill (Wordsworth, 1974), Martin Gilbert's Churchill: A Life (Henry Holt and Company, 1992), Norman Rose's Churchill: The Unruly Giant (The Free Press, 1995), and Ian S. Wood's Churchill (St. Martins Press, 2000). The first three biographies have been translated into Chinese respectively: "Churchill" (written by Henry Palin, translated by Shen Yongxing, the latest revision of International Culture Publishing Company in January 2009), "Churchill" ("A Biography of Celebrities for a Lifetime Collection") Series", written by Martin Gilbert, translated by Ma Xin, Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House, June 2013 edition) and "The Biography of Churchill" (written by Norman Ross, translated by Li Jiazhen, People's Literature Publishing House, July 2011 edition). It is worth mentioning that Martin Gilbert was one of Churchill's assistants during his lifetime, and he also wrote the first two volumes of Churchill's official biography. This "Churchill Biography" written by him can be regarded as a simplified version of the official biography. This version or the condensed version is authoritative. When British Prime Minister Cameron visited China in 2013, he presented five biographies to Premier Li Keqiang, and this biography was among the list.

For the Western related works introduced next, priority will be given to Chinese translation. (Recommendations for good books are at: www.tuijianshu.net)

"The Love of Giants: De Gaulle and Churchill" written by Fran?ois Kelsaudy (translated by Zhou Yihua, Huaxia Publishing House, 1990 ) takes World War II and about 25 years after the war as the background, detailing more than 30 meetings between de Gaulle and Churchill in the past fifty years. The conflicts between Britain and France involved are particularly intriguing. "Roosevelt and Churchill" written by Jon Meacham (translated by Han Changqing et al., CITIC Publishing House, 2005) focuses on the relationship between Roosevelt and Churchill during World War II. The author also distinguishes the different natures of the friendship between the two leaders: Some are motivated by personal feelings, while others are motivated by political motives. The book draws on previously unpublished letters from Roosevelt's secret lover Lucy Russell Serford, the personal archives of Pamela Churchill Harriman, and interviews with several elderly people who dated both leaders. In addition, "Chiang Kai-shek and Churchill" (Hubei People's Publishing House, 1998 edition) written by Zhang Zongbao, Wang Song, and Jiang Shimin uses the relationship between Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek as a clue to study the diplomatic relations between China and Britain during the Republic of China. It is also worth paying attention to.

Many memoirs of Qiu Weng's long-term followers have also been published, such as "The Bodyguard Reveals Churchill" by Walter Henry Thompson (translated by Ma Jichuang, Shandong People's Publishing House, 2000), Leah Sanders wrote "Churchill's Early Life" (translated by Ma Yonggang and Yue Fengmei, Hainan Publishing House, 2001) and "Tracing Churchill: Winston Churchill's Journey" (the author was translated as "Celia... "Santis", translated by Liu Xin and Gong Xiangfei, Oriental Publishing House, 2006), "Memoirs of Harriman: Dealing with Churchill and Stalin" by Eli Abell (translated by Wu Shimin, Oriental Publishing House, 2008; as early as 1975 In 2008, the Shanghai People's Publishing House had launched a translation by the "Compilation Group of the Institute of Capitalist State Economics of Fudan University". The 1978 translation by Sanlian Bookstore was renamed "Special Envoy: Dealing with Churchill and Stalin"), Charles McMorran Weill Sen's "The Diary of Churchill's Personal Physician" (translated by Yuan Lvzhuang and Tan Zhenhua, Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2008), Tom Hickman's "Churchill's Bodyguard" (translated by Wu Libo et al., Northern Literature and Art Publishing House, 2011), etc. . Among them, "Churchill's Early Life" is the recollection of him by Celia Sanders, Churchill's granddaughter. The book contains a large number of letters, diaries, manuscripts, etc. between Churchill and his relatives and others. "Tracing Churchill" is a record of Sanders and Churchill's daughter Mary Soames revisiting Churchill's life journey. The photos of Churchill, the journey route map, and Churchill's paintings included in the book are all precious. "The Memoirs of Harriman" is written by Eli Abell, dean of the Columbia University School of Journalism and a famous journalist. He is based on the notes, memos, correspondence and other documents and dictation of the famous American diplomatic activist W. Averell Harriman. This book was written to record Harriman's personal experience during and after World War II (1941-1946) as a mission to Britain and the Soviet Union. The negotiation with Churchill is an important part of the book.

The aforementioned "Diary of Churchill's Personal Physician" written by Wilson disclosed that Churchill was seriously ill in his later years in office, which caused an uproar in the West. According to Wilson's account, Qiu Weng suffered from heart disease, arteriosclerosis, motor aphasia, encephalopathy, etc.

But what really troubled Qiu Weng for a long time and finally defeated him, according to the book "Churchill's Black Dog" (written by Anthony Storr, translated by Deng Bochen, Peking University Press, August 2014 edition), was actually Melancholy - Qiu Weng called it "the black dog", which was also his own nickname, and his ancestor, the Duke of Marlborough, also suffered from depression for a long time. Although under the lens of the famous photographer Yusuf Karsh, who is known as the "Rembrandt of photography", Churchill made "a ferocious expression like a bulldog", this was just a deliberate The purpose of performance is to show determination and will to the world. In fact, negative emotions such as loss, melancholy, and despair have always been with Qiu Weng. Historian David Coombs's 2003 Sir Winston Churchill's Life Through His Paintings (Chaucer Press) and 2004 Sir Winston Churchill "Sir Winston Churchill: His Life and His Paintings" (Running Press) mentioned that since he picked up a paintbrush at the age of 40, Qiu Weng relied on painting in his spare time and was able to break free from depression from time to time. Come out and experience the joy of life. His daughter Mary Soames also said in "Winston Churchill: His Life As a Painter, Houghton Mifflin" published in 1990 that it was painting that gave Churchill the courage to relieve his depression. Qiu Weng once said with emotion: "If it weren't for the spiritual support that painting gave me, I probably wouldn't be alive today." Only by reading several books together can you understand the heavy weight of this sentence.

Since we are talking about painting, let me finally introduce two books about Qiu Weng’s life interests: "Dinner with Churchill: Policy-Making at the Dinner" (Dinner with Churchill: Policy-Making at the Dinner) Table, Pegasus Books, 2013) and Churchill Style: The Art of being Winston Churchill, Abrams Image, 2012. The former book systematically introduces Qiu Weng's hobbies of cigars, fine wine, and food. The author is Cita Stelzer, a senior reporter who has done extensive research on Qiu Weng's life; the latter book specializes in Qiu Weng's clothing. After researching the clothes, shoes and hats he liked to wear, the author is writer Barry Singer, who opened a bookstore specializing in Churchill himself and Churchill-related works. It is a pity that these two books, including David Coopers's writings on Qiu Weng's painting career, have no Chinese translations.