Churchill: Walking with Destiny

by Andrew Roberts

★★★★☆

Verdict: Consequential but not noble. Churchill was UNDOUBTEDLY "the right man for the right time".

Consequential but not Noble.

At nearly 1,000 pages, Andrew Roberts’ Churchill: Walking With Destiny is a masterclass in biographical scholarship, but it also highlights a deeply polarizing legacy. Here’s my breakdown of the brilliant AND deeply frustrating aspects of this book.

What I liked

THE EDUCATION OF A LEADER: The book is exceptionally detailed about Churchill’s early adventures in Africa (the Second Boer War), the North-West Frontier (modern-day Afghanistan) and the United States of America. He even lived in Bangalore as a young cavalry officer.

FAILING FORWARD: It shows how his catastrophic mistakes at Gallipoli (1915) in the Great War informed his strategic caution and decision-making when he finally became the British Prime Minister in May 1940.

THE BLITZ: The chapter on the Blitz is a masterclass in itself. Churchill didn’t rule from a distant throne; instead he went out to the bombed streets of London, looked people in the eye, and this helped to anchor British morale.

What I didn’t like

WHITE-WASHING COLONIALISM: Roberts frequently glosses over Churchill’s overt racism. Whenever a horrific quote about Indians is mentioned, the book immediately says “But he did which favoured them”. It simply does not hold up, especially in the larger context.

THE IMPERIAL ILLUSION: Churchill FIERCELY opposed Dominion status (much less independence) for India, hiding behind the excuse that a Hindu majority would subjugate minorities in the region. Even if the regional tensions were complex, it was India’s future to determine (as Gandhi pointed out!), not Britain’s. The book attempts to paint him as a benevolent ruler, masking his true belief in the “White man’s burden” to civilize others.

THE BENGAL FAMINE: The book’s defense of his actions during the infamous 1943 Bengal famine feels highly inconsistent. If Churchill is absolved of responsibility for the millions who died UNDER BRITISH rule, we cannot hold leaders such as Stalin and Mao responsible for their respective famines.

Verdict

Churchill was UNDOUBTEDLY “The Right man for the Right time”.