The Last Lion

FINALLY! This afternoon I finished the 883-page biography of Winston Churchill The Last Lion (this was actually just Vol. 1--I'm going to need some time before launching into Vol. 2). Churchill was a complex, conflicted, brilliant, flawed child of privilege who overcame extreme parental neglect and mined his prodigious gifts deeply.

Churchill's greatest gift was his incredibly nimble mind. But, a close second was his unequaled skill as a communicator. Whenever he addressed Parliament, the cloak and smoking rooms were emptied as Members would not miss his presentations.

His career was marked by a unique combination of conservative and liberal ideas and proposals. He wasn't immune or dull politically; Churchill was incredibly astute politically and not above taking calculated positions for his own political advantage. But, he had a remarkable aptitude for discerning the flow of history and the appropriate response or approach to national and international events. It was almost like, more often than not, he chose a course of action that he felt was right rather than what was politically expedient or the party line.

What a concept.