Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill
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Candice Millard. (2016). Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Candice Millard. 2016. Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Candice Millard, Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2016.

Candice Millard. Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2016.

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The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill

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   • bioText: CANDICE MILLARD is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic. She lives in Kansas City with her husband and three children.   
   • name: Candice Millard

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Hero of the Empire

fullDescription

From the bestselling author of Destiny of the Republic, this thrilling biographical account of the life and legacy of Wintson Churchill is a "nail-biter and top-notch character study rolled into one" (The New York Times).
At the age of twenty-four, Winston Churchill was utterly convinced it was his destiny to become prime minister of England. He arrived in South Africa in 1899, valet and crates of vintage wine in tow, to cover the brutal colonial war the British were fighting with Boer rebels and jumpstart his political career. But just two weeks later, Churchill was taken prisoner.  Remarkably, he pulled off a daring escape—traversing hundreds of miles of enemy territory, alone, with nothing but a crumpled wad of cash, four slabs of chocolate, and his wits to guide him.
Bestselling author Candice Millard spins an epic story of bravery, savagery, and chance encounters with a cast of historical characters—including Rudyard Kipling, Lord Kitchener, and Mohandas Gandhi—with whom Churchill would later share the world stage. But Hero of the Empire is more than an extraordinary adventure story, for the lessons Churchill took from the Boer War would profoundly affect twentieth century history.
Look for Candice Millard’s latest book, River of the Gods.

reviews

1. • premium: True
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   • content:

     June 27, 2016
     Millard (Destiny of the Republic) takes a relatively minor episode in the life of Winston Churchill—his escape from prison during the Boer War—and makes hay with it, painting young Churchill as a brilliant soldier, talented raconteur, and politician in waiting. Churchill’s escape from a jail cell in Pretoria and subsequent trek through enemy territory are presented as the first signs of the grit and determination he would later show as prime minister. Apart from some enjoyable biographical detail (Millard has a weakness for hair “shining like a dark jewel” and interiors of “rich yellow silk”), the book contains little of interest for readers who are not already die-hard Churchill buffs. Churchill’s racism is consistently underplayed, the politics of the Boer War are ignored, and figures such as Leo Amery are reduced to drawing-room caricatures. By dwelling on Churchill’s privileged upbringing, Millard effectively extinguishes any sympathy the reader might feel for a pompous young man who once wrote, in typically overblown fashion, that if his plans for political office fell through, “It will break my heart for I have nothing else but ambition to cling to.” Not even some late attention to the wider world beyond Churchill can save the book from its hagiographic bent.

2. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     Starred review from July 1, 2016
     A history of the danger-seeking young Winston Churchill during the Boer War, which "had turned out to be far more difficult and more devastating than the amusing colonial war the British had expected."Although Churchill's life has been amply documented by himself and many others, Millard (Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President, 2011, etc.) ably weaves a seamless and gripping narrative of the future statesman's early career and involvement in the Boer War (1899-1902). It is the story of a man unfailingly convinced of his destiny to lead, undaunted by setbacks, and supremely confident of success. "I do not believe the Gods would create so potent a being as myself for so prosaic an ending," Churchill wrote to his mother from the bloody battlefield of Malakand. As the author demonstrates, even as a child, Churchill shared his countrymen's idea that war "was about romance and gallantry." "There is no ambition I cherish so keenly," he said, "as to gain a reputation for personal courage." At 24, he passionately urged Joseph Chamberlain to recover Britain's prestige in South Africa by avenging a humiliating defeat; in an electrifying speech, he whipped up fervor for war. In October 1899, Churchill's wish was realized: Britain was at war, and he was off to battle, this time as a journalist. He meant to travel in comfort: along with his personal valet, he brought wine, spirits, liqueur, and luxurious accessories from London's finest shops. Although he became dramatically involved in the army's travails, he, along with around 60 officers and soldiers, was taken prisoner. For Churchill, it was a fate almost worse than death. "With the loss of his freedom," Millard writes, "he had, for the first time, also lost his ferocious grip on life." In vivid, entertaining detail, the author chronicles Churchill's audacious escape, which was reported in British newspapers with pride and glee. As Millard concludes, he had proved himself exemplary: "resilient, resourceful and, even in the face of extreme danger, utterly unruffled." A fresh, captivating history of the enduringly colorful Churchill.

     COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

3. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     Starred review from June 1, 2016
     Biographer Millard gets at her subject by a somewhat out-of-left-field path that leaves the reader satisfied and feeling that her approach is right and perfect. In The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey (2006), she lets TR's post-presidency activities speak for the great president's natural rough-rider attitude toward life. In Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President (2011), she defines James Garfield's extraordinary qualities by reconstructing his slow, gruesome death by an assassin's bullet. Now she writes about one of the most famous statesmen of the twentieth century, British prime minister Winston Churchill. Rather than facing the man in full bloom during WWII, she casts dramatic light on the incidents that brought to the attention of a rapt British public a young Churchill. In 1899, he was already aware of his future importance in the political world and certain that he would need to show glory on the battlefield during the colonial Boer War in South Africa. The perfect opportunity arose when he was taken prisoner and managed not only to escape but, after great hardship, also return to the fight. Millard's rendering of the exciting details of Churchill's heroic exploits result in a magnificently told story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

4. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     Starred review from June 1, 2016
     

     In the best-selling The River of Doubt, Millard chronicled Theodore Roosevelt's dangerous exploration of an uncharted river in the Amazon. Here the author documents the equally risky adventures of Winston Churchill (1874-1965) during the Second Boer War, in which Churchill and his fellow soldiers were captured upon arriving in South Africa. Churchill managed an escape, eventually returning to South Africa to free the men with whom he was imprisoned. The details of these exploits describe endless walking, narrow getaways from captors, and Churchill toting nothing but a squashed bit of foreign currency and some chocolate. Even more incredible is Churchill crossing paths with future historical greats such as Mahatma Gandhi and Rudyard Kipling. Millard shows how the hard lessons learned during this period influenced Churchill's character, decision-making, and personality. Riveting, bizarre, heroic, and sometimes humorous, this thrilling history will cause readers to shake their heads in disbelief throughout. VERDICT Enjoyable for all readers, especially fans of Churchill, military and world history, narrative nonfiction, and survival stories. [See Prepub Alert, 3/28/16.]--Benjamin Brudner, Curry Coll. Lib., Milton, MA

     Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

5. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     April 15, 2016
     

     Having given us New York Times best sellers about James Garfield and Theodore Roosevelt, Millard leaps across oceans to profile the young Winston Churchill as he determines to make a name for himself during the Boer War.

     Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

6. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     June 1, 2016
     

     In the best-selling The River of Doubt, Millard chronicled Theodore Roosevelt's dangerous exploration of an uncharted river in the Amazon. Here the author documents the equally risky adventures of Winston Churchill (1874-1965) during the Second Boer War, in which Churchill and his fellow soldiers were captured upon arriving in South Africa. Churchill managed an escape, eventually returning to South Africa to free the men with whom he was imprisoned. The details of these exploits describe endless walking, narrow getaways from captors, and Churchill toting nothing but a squashed bit of foreign currency and some chocolate. Even more incredible is Churchill crossing paths with future historical greats such as Mahatma Gandhi and Rudyard Kipling. Millard shows how the hard lessons learned during this period influenced Churchill's character, decision-making, and personality. Riveting, bizarre, heroic, and sometimes humorous, this thrilling history will cause readers to shake their heads in disbelief throughout. VERDICT Enjoyable for all readers, especially fans of Churchill, military and world history, narrative nonfiction, and survival stories. [See Prepub Alert, 3/28/16.]--Benjamin Brudner, Curry Coll. Lib., Milton, MA

     Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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From the bestselling author of Destiny of the Republic, this thrilling biographical account of the life and legacy of Wintson Churchill is a "nail-biter and top-notch character study rolled into one" (The New York Times).
At the age of twenty-four, Winston Churchill was utterly convinced it was his destiny to become prime minister of England. He arrived in South Africa in 1899, valet and crates of vintage wine in tow, to cover the brutal colonial war the British were fighting with Boer rebels and jumpstart his political career. But just two weeks later, Churchill was taken prisoner.  Remarkably, he pulled off a daring escape—traversing hundreds of miles of enemy territory, alone, with nothing but a crumpled wad of cash, four slabs of chocolate, and his wits to guide him.
Bestselling author Candice Millard spins an epic story of bravery, savagery, and chance encounters with a cast of historical characters—including Rudyard Kipling,...

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The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill

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