Blood, Mud, and Oil Paint: The Remarkable Year That Made Winston Churchill

Description:

Winston Churchill's impressive military and political career suggests that he had been preparing to lead Great Britain out of the darkness of the Second World War his entire life. Conveniently missing from this rendering of his accomplishments is that, long before his wartime triumph, Churchill failed frequently, publicly, and catastrophically.

Author J. Furman Daniel argues that the events of May 1915-May 1916 proved the most difficult of all the obstacles the future prime minister would encounter. In this year of defeats, Churchill faced blame for the British disaster at the Dardanelles, resigned from his position as First Lord of the Admiralty, and struggled with policy initiatives and personal finances. Yet during this tumultuous time, Churchill served in the trenches of the First World War, gaining vital insight into modern warfare. He also found unlikely inspiration in painting, which he pursued for the remainder of his life and later credited as a crucial outlet during moments of personal despair and professional frustrations. Together, these experiences aided Churchill's eventual redemption within the British government and taught him how to weather future career-defining storms.

Presenting a deeper understanding of one of the most consequential personalities of the twentieth century, Blood, Mud, and Oil Paint: The Remarkable Year That Made Winston Churchill reveals how the famous statesman rebuilt both his fragile mental state and political career and set the stage for his greatest political comeback.

Brief description: J. Furman Daniel III, associate professor of political science at Concordia University Chicago, is author of 21st Century Patton: Strategic Insights for the Modern Era and Patton: Battling with History as well as coauthor of The First Space War: How Patterns of History and Principles of STEM Will Shape Its Form. He has written on a wide range of subjects, including international relations theory, figures such as Edmund Burke and Carl von Clausewitz, fiction's role in shaping foreign policy, and homefield advantage in Major League Baseball.

Review Quotes:

J. Furman Daniel lays out a brilliant narrative exploring the importance of failure informing future success. His exploration of Churchill's experiences during World War I reveals much about the depth of the man who would lead the allied powers to victory in World War II. This is a must read for scholar and layman alike.