Finest Hour – July 2019

sure of circumstances around him,

and not feeling in any way as if he

had to perform or impress. They

arguably saw the worst side of the

great man, and yet all stayed with

him, knowing that his tempers and

frustrations would soon pass, and

seeing the bigger picture of how

their role could affect events and,

in turn, the course of history.

If I were to lay one minor

criticism at Stelzer’s door, it would

be that there are instances where

key players are not introduced or

given any context—something

which may be needed for those

just dipping their toe in the water

of Churchill-history. We at Chart-

well are very mindful of this, and

as we see new audiences coming

through our doors, we work hard

not to impose a presumed level of

knowledge on them and instead

are finding an increased need to in-

troduce individuals who were once

household names. For example, I

have no doubt that many readers of

Finest Hour will be instantly aware

of who is being spoken about when

a reference to Beaverbrook is made,

but for those newer to the subject,

which we will see more of as time

passes, perhaps a brief explanatory

note would be appreciated. As the

subject of Churchill’s life passes

from living memory into history,

this is something that all of us who

share the stories of his life will

need to be increasingly mindful of.

This really is a minor niggle,

and overall this book is excellent

in offering unique insights and a

fresh approach that does so in a

way where you quite simply cannot

put this book down. The reader

becomes completely in awe of those

who worked with Winston, with a

hint of jealousy in the mix. These

remarkable individuals each had a

front-row seat at the making of his-

tory itself and witnessed proceed-

ings of national and international

importance in one of the most ex-

traordinary periods in our history.

It is clear though that through their

thick skin, fierce loyalty, and in

many cases personal sacrifice, there

are few who could have been more

worthy of those very seats. ,

Katherine Carter is Projects Curator and

Collections Manager at Chartwell.

T

his Republic had its begin-

ning...under the protection of

certain unalienable political

rights...these political rights proved

inadequate to assure us equality in

the pursuit of happiness. We have

come to a clear realization of the fact

that true individual freedom cannot

exist without economic security and

independence. Necessitous men are

not free men. People who are hungry

and out of a job are the stuff of which

dictatorships are made. All of these

rights spell security, and after this

war is won we must be prepared to

move forward, in the implementation

of these rights, to new goals of human

happiness and well-being.

Thus President Franklin D.

Roosevelt in his 1944 State of the

Union address introduced what

he called the second bill of rights.

These comments reflect key values

that drove his vision for a new

world order following the Second

World War. FDR’s continued em-

phasis that Americans must care

about social issues beyond their

own borders laid the foundation

for the United Nations. We are

the beneficiaries of FDR’s views of

enlightened self-interest.

This is the third and final

installment of Nigel Hamilton’s

biography of FDR during the

war, and it is well worth the read.

(See reviews of vol. I in FH 168

and vol. II in FH 176.) Hamilton

crafts a gripping tale of how this

visionary leader guided the world

to final victory against the Axis

as his health steadily got worse.

FDR’s vision, eloquence, diplomacy,

and charming ability to connect

diverse perspectives is frankly

hard to match in modern history.

Hamilton deftly guides the reader

through the momentous years of

1943 through 1945 encompassing

incredible accomplishments in a

context where the stakes could not

have been higher while guiding a

coalition of the barely willing.

One could hardly find a more

unlikely coalition anywhere in the

history of mankind. FDR managed

to hold Churchill and Stalin togeth-

er as an alliance against the Axis

powers through some of the most

contentious debates imaginable.

Churchill was an open critic of com-

munism with an established record

of anti-Communist rhetoric. Stalin

was the extremely authoritarian

dictator of the Soviet Union and

distrustful of anyone. Somehow

FDR was able to bring these incred-

ibly diverse perspectives together

to a unified purpose towards a

postwar world that most people at

the time could not even imagine.

Hamilton continues his de-

scription of the close yet often con-

tentious relationship between FDR

and Churchill. FDR had his hands

full trying to prove to Stalin that

a Western front through France

would be opened, all the while

BOOKS, ARTS, AND CURIOSITIES

Fight to the Finish

Nigel Hamilton, War and Peace:

FDR’s Final Odyssey, D-Day to

Yalta, 1943–1945, Houghton

Mifflin Harcourt, 2019, $30.00.

ISBN 978-0544876804

Review by Richard A. McConnell

sureofcircumstancesaroundhim,
andnotfeelinginanywayasif he
hadtoperformorimpress.They
arguablysawtheworstsideofthe
greatman,andyetallstayedwith
him,knowingthathistempersand
frustrationswouldsoonpass,and
seeingthebiggerpictureofhow
theirrolecouldaffecteventsand,
inturn,thecourseofhistory.
If I weretolayoneminor
criticismatStelzer’sdoor,it would
bethatthereareinstanceswhere
keyplayersarenotintroducedor
givenanycontext—something
whichmaybeneededforthose
justdippingtheirtoeinthewater
ofChurchill-history.WeatChart-
wellareverymindfulofthis,and
asweseenewaudiencescoming
throughourdoors,weworkhard
nottoimposea presumedlevelof
knowledgeonthemandinstead
arefindinganincreasedneedtoin-
troduceindividualswhowereonce
householdnames.Forexample,I
havenodoubtthatmanyreadersof
FinestHourwillbeinstantlyaware
ofwhoisbeingspokenaboutwhen
a referencetoBeaverbrookismade,
butforthosenewertothesubject,
whichwewillseemoreofastime
passes,perhapsa briefexplanatory
notewouldbeappreciated.Asthe
subjectofChurchill’slifepasses
fromlivingmemoryintohistory,
thisissomethingthatallofuswho
sharethestoriesofhislifewill
needtobeincreasinglymindfulof.
This really is a minor niggle,
and overall this book is excellent
in offering unique insights and a
fresh approach that does so in a
way where you quite simply cannot
put this book down. The reader
becomes completely in awe of those
who worked with Winston, with a
hint of jealousy in the mix. These
remarkable individuals each had a
front-row seat at the making of his-
tory itself and witnessed proceed-

ingsofnationalandinternational

importanceinoneofthemostex-

traordinaryperiodsinourhistory.

Itisclearthoughthatthroughtheir

thickskin,fierceloyalty,andin

manycasespersonalsacrifice,there

arefewwhocouldhavebeenmore

worthyofthoseveryseats.,

KatherineCarterisProjectsCuratorand

CollectionsManageratChartwell.

T

hisRepublichaditsbegin-

ning...undertheprotectionof

certainunalienablepolitical

rights...thesepoliticalrightsproved

inadequatetoassureusequalityin

thepursuitofhappiness.Wehave

cometoa clearrealizationofthefact

thattrueindividualfreedomcannot

existwithouteconomicsecurityand

independence.Necessitousmenare

notfreemen.Peoplewhoarehungry

andoutofa jobarethestuffofwhich

dictatorshipsaremade.Allofthese

rightsspellsecurity,andafterthis

wariswonwemustbepreparedto

moveforward,intheimplementation

oftheserights,tonewgoalsofhuman

happinessandwell-being.

ThusPresidentFranklinD.

Rooseveltinhis 1944 Stateofthe

Unionaddressintroducedwhat

hecalledthesecondbillofrights.

Thesecommentsreflectkeyvalues

thatdrovehisvisionfora new

worldorderfollowingtheSecond

WorldWar.FDR’scontinuedem-

phasisthatAmericansmustcare

aboutsocialissuesbeyondtheir

ownborderslaidthefoundation

fortheUnitedNations.Weare

thebeneficiariesofFDR’sviewsof

enlightenedself-interest.

Thisisthethirdandfinal

installmentofNigelHamilton’s

biographyofFDRduringthe

war,andit iswellworththeread.

(Seereviewsofvol.I inFH 168

andvol.II inFH176.)Hamilton

craftsa grippingtaleofhowthis

visionaryleaderguidedtheworld

tofinalvictoryagainsttheAxis

ashishealthsteadilygotworse.

FDR’svision,eloquence,diplomacy,

andcharmingabilitytoconnect

diverseperspectivesisfrankly

hardtomatchinmodernhistory.

Hamiltondeftlyguidesthereader

throughthemomentousyearsof

1943 through 1945 encompassing

incredibleaccomplishmentsina

contextwherethestakescouldnot

havebeenhigherwhileguidinga

coalitionofthebarelywilling.

Onecouldhardlyfinda more

unlikelycoalitionanywhereinthe

historyofmankind.FDRmanaged

toholdChurchillandStalintogeth-

erasanallianceagainsttheAxis

powersthroughsomeofthemost

contentiousdebatesimaginable.

Churchillwasanopencriticofcom-

munismwithanestablishedrecord

ofanti-Communistrhetoric.Stalin

wastheextremelyauthoritarian

dictatoroftheSovietUnionand

distrustfulofanyone.Somehow

FDRwasabletobringtheseincred-

iblydiverseperspectivestogether

toa unifiedpurposetowardsa

postwarworldthatmostpeopleat

thetimecouldnotevenimagine.

Hamilton continues his de-

scription of the close yet often con-

tentious relationship between FDR

and Churchill. FDR had his hands

full trying to prove to Stalin that

a Western front through France

would be opened, all the while

BOOKS, ARTS, AND CURIOSITIES

Fight to the Finish

Nigel Hamilton, War and Peace:

FDR’s Final Odyssey, D-Day to

Yalta, 1943–1945, Houghton

Mifflin Harcourt, 2019, $30.00.

ISBN 978-0544876804

Review by Richard A. McConnell