Book: Churchill & Orwell by Thomas E. Ricks

Churchill & Orwell, The Fight for Freedom by Thomas E. Ricks:  a book I read one week prior to seeing Dunkirk.  If you’re a fan of either Winston Churchill or George Orwell, I think you will  enjoy this book.  It is a very readable 270 page account of these two men.  Although both made their historic marks during the 1940’s, Churchill and Orwell never met.  The book devotes a short chapter to each man’s life prior to the 1930’s.  We then pick up with Churchill being politically ignored prior to 1939 and Orwell’s education by way of his brief participation in the Spanish Civil War.  Each man is given separate chapters as world events leading up to WW II unfold and the subsequent fight for freedom.  The author points out the commonalities that existed in Churchill and Orwell’s lives, notwithstanding the fact that they had completely different upbringings.  Both men were capable of looking directly at reality; both were seekers of the facts.  The chapter relating to Orwell’s experience during the Spanish Civil War and his reaction to what actually occurred versus Hemingway’s version, is reason enough to read this book.   The chapter about the German air blitz and the reaction of the British people, including Orwell’s personal observations, is excellent.  There are 50 pages of notes and citations at the end of the book.  A recurring theme throughout the book is the importance of language and the fact that words truly mattered to both men.  Ricks was a journalist for the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal; Ricks is not an academic.  His account of two of the most famous British men of the 20^th century is presented in a very engaging manner.  I highly recommend this book.