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  • Churchill: A Life, Part 1 (1874-1918)

  • By: Martin Gilbert
  • Narrated by: Christian Rodska
  • Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (107 ratings)
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Churchill: A Life, Part 1 (1874-1918) cover art

Churchill: A Life, Part 1 (1874-1918)

By: Martin Gilbert
Narrated by: Christian Rodska
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Summary

Churchill: A Life follows Winston Churchill from his earliest days to his moments of triumph. Here, the drama and excitement of his story are ever-present. Martin Gilbert gives us a vivid portrait, using Churchill's most personal letters and the recollections of his contemporaries, both friends and enemies, to go behind the scenes of some of the stormiest and most fascinating political events of our time.

Part 1 takes us from Churchill's birth to the end of the First World War. Christian Rodska reads the first part of Martin Gilbert’s epic, definitive biography of Winston Churchill.

©1991 Martin Gilbert (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Churchill: A Life, Part 1 (1874-1918)

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • R
  • 22-03-12

Fascinating account of Churchill's early days

I chose this book because I knew little of Winston Churchill other than his role in WWII. This book covers his childhood, early days in the Army and as a writer and his days as a Liberal MP through to the end of WW1. It is beautifully read and this defintely adds to the experience. The writer had full access to the full archive of letters from the time and the extensive quotes from these and other contempary accounts give you confidence that the book is primarily based upon objective fact rather than subjective opinions. It is astounding how much one person can cram into their first 40 years and who knew what a succesful writer he had been prior to the move into politics ? The book covers some parts in quite a bit of details e.g in fighting during WW1 and leaves you with the feeling Churchill was defibitely a marmite type character.

I throughly recommend this for anyone who wants to understand more about not just Churchill but this this period in history.

Just one complaint, come on Audible where's part 2 !

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Churchill

An excellent book which gives a real insight to the character, strengths and weaknesses of the great man. The naration is also very good and keeps you hoping for more.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great account

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this biography of Sir Winston. It was very well written and read.
I would highly recommend it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Eager for the next

Thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am eager to listen to the next part of Churchill’s life. A good insight into this great man’s early years and his climb up the political and military ladder, placing emphasis on how relationships and how these made him who he was. The narrator attempts to mimic Churchill’s voice making readings from his letters/diary more authentic . I was disappointed when the book ended, didn’t seem 10 hours long.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

From arrogance to reality Churchill s story

A really well written and honest account from the formative brash younger years too the genesis of a statesman, with a well tailored Audible production with a perfectly pitched spoken presentation from Rodska. Thoroughly enjoyed it,a real window into that era.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The inimitable Winston Churchill

Loved this very interesting auto-biography of Churchill's youth and up to his early middle age. What a self-motivated man he really was.
He had trend does will power and above all determination in his own destiny.
Great book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining, and enlightening..

The narration was excellent, the impersonation of W was enjoyable to listen to. I was impressed by Churchills energy, IQ , courage, perception and ability to prophecise the future. He was a gift to his country and the world.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

It was a fantastic book! Really enjoyed seeing Churchill's point of view on things. Also the first biography I read but definitely will not be the last. Can't wait to go through part 2.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

great book

time went by ,great book, well read .Can't wait to read second part of biography

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An account of an extraordinary life

Where does Churchill: A Life, Part 1 (1874-1918) rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Well, hard to say as I rank the titles between genres. In biographies it is somewhere between first 20. Not the best but nicely put.

What about Christian Rodska’s performance did you like?

I liked his change of voices, it helped in this kind of book with so many references. I would definitively give young Winston a different voice, however. It felt as if he had been an old guy since childhood.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The way Sir Winston addressed his wife was very cute and I think that many women might envy Clementine such an affection. I definitely do.

Any additional comments?

Not being familiar with details from Sir Winston's youth and his early involvement in politics this book brought me a welcome insight. I was a bit taken aback by sometimes overwhelming details of particular political issues and, not being really into this topic, I would appreciate less digging into them. When comes to Great War, I expected a bit wider view but I respect author's focus on the events immediately involving the main protagonist and the role he played within their course.
I do not think I would listen to this again, at least not in full, but I will at some point purchase the second book.

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