No comments about The Life of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield: Volume 2. 1837-1846.

No comments about Eminent Churchillians.

No comments about Winston Churchill: Winston Churchill (Historic Lives).

No comments about Alternative America: Henry George, Edward Bellamy, Henry Demarest Lloyd and the Adversary Tradition.

No comments about Winston S. Churchill: Finest Hour, 1939-1941 (Winston S. Churchill).

1 comments about Disraeli (Profiles in Power Series).

1. Of the great political figures of Victorian Britain, few have attracted the attention of Benjamin Disraeli. A converted Jew from a family of merchants and the son of a noted literary scholar, he rose in an aristocratic age to become Prime Minister of Great Britain. While numerous biographies have been written about him, most concentrate on his ostentatious personality, the style that characterized the man. Ian Machin's brief study, a volume in the "Profiles in Power" series, focuses instead on the political side of Disraeli's life, examining the positions and tactics he adopted over the course of his long career in public life.
   
   Machin's book offers a good introduction to Disraeli and his politics, examining both his rise through the Tory ranks and his attitudes towards the prevailing issues in mid-Victorian politics.. His contention is that the quest for power is the dominant theme running through Disraeli's career. To achieve it, Disraeli adopted an opportunistic approach in advocating policies or principles, trimming his sails to catch the prevailing political wind. This is most readily apparent in his economic policy, where Disraeli's advocacy of protectionism (which led to the destruction of Sir Robert Peel's government in 1846) was abandoned six years later in an attempt to improve his party's odds of winning seats in Parliament. Even after the Conservatives finally took office with a majority government in 1874, Machin notes, Disraeli possessed no legislative agenda beyond pursuing reform measures that would appeal to the public in an increasingly democratic age.
   
   Though some might object to Machin's interpretation of Disraeli's career, this should not overshadow the overall qualities of the book. Balanced and insightful, it does a remarkable job of surveying Disraeli's life and career in such a short number of pages. For readers seeking to learn about this larger-than-life political figure, this is an excellent place to start.

1 comments about A Charge to Keep: Life of Earl Gladstone Hunt, Jr..

1. The folks in Earl Gladstone Hunts early life helped shape this East Tennessee leviathan - a giant, a bridge builder, a preacher in the Methodist itinerant ministry - one who occupied the episcopal office for twenty-four years. He is also an educator - college president, and evangelist - President of the Foundation for Evangelism. Throughout his ministry his central theme was telling the message of Jesus Christ, His birth, life and teachings, sacrificial death and resurrection, to an anxious, disoriented world.

   In the "Bridge Builder" chapter, Hunt is likened to a bridge with tensile strength allowing traffic in both directions. The biographer relates a number of areas that seemed almost impossible to bridge. Yet with respect for those with whom he worked, he diplomatically built those bridges.

   While driving on icy roads, if one overcorrects in any direction, it could bring disaster. Bishop Hunt has steered with a strong, steady hand through many treacherous roads. Racism was addressed all across his tenure but he names the homosexual issue as the one that stimulated the most mail response. Hunger, the Bomb, disintegration of family life, drugs, poverty, housing, struggle for freedom, excesses of affluence, and he even addressed the process of episcopal elections. He considered the most important assignment of his career the task of working with a committee and preparing a statement that would reflect the needs of Wesleyan tradition in the contemporary world.

   His experience as a College President, his commitment to evangelism and his visibility within the church was providential for the Foundation for Evangelism. The chairs of evangelism in the seminaries will insure that his contribution will live in the lives of seminarians for decades to come.

   Dr. James Logan has done a masterful job of reporting on one of the heros in the faith. Bishop Hunt is not only tall on the outside - he is tall on the inside. Would that there were hundreds more like him!

1 comments about Winston Churchill: His Life As a Painter.

1. I enjoyed reading this oversized book, I went through it like water! The book is well illustrated and gives a good sampling of his works (landscapes, still lifes & portraiture). It is an easy read, this book was not written for those in academia--its a very approachable book.
   The author, the daughter of Winston Churchill, Mary Soams, did a marvelous job of creating a lively narrative. She goes into the reasons why he began to paint, what his philosphy on painting was and how he learned (via a wide circle of artist friends). She also mentioned that he was accepting of using modern inventions (photos) to aid in his memory and composition of creating his paintings. She also included many humorous stories of her father.
   The book is very inspiring in that Churchill, who already had an extremely full life and who started late in life painting, was able to create such beautiful works of art. The book shows that he did have natural talent, BUT, that he also worked hard to build upon that talent and the book clearly shows this.
   The chapters are lavishly illustrated with his paintings, and many times the book describes the creation of the paintings that are in the book (and it includes the page number where you can find them). My only complaint is that in the last few chapters there are virtually no paintings and I wish I could have seen more of his later works, even though they may not have been up to the same artistic value of his earlier works.
   This was a fun and inspiring read, go out and buy this book.

No comments about If Love Were All...The Story of Frances Stevenson & David Lloyd George.

No comments about David Lloyd George: A Political Life : Organizer of Victory, 1912-1916 (David Lloyd George).