Overview

In 1946 Winston Churchill delivered his famous Iron Curtain speech on the campus of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri - now the site of the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library. Inscribed on his statue at the memorial are these words form Churchill's dictum: In War: Resolution; In Defeat: Defiance; In Victory: Magnanimity; In Peace: Good Will. Under the auspices of the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library, the Crosby Kemper Lectureship was established in 1979 by the Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation of Kansas City, Missouri. Lectures have been delivered annually or biennially at the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library by authorities on Winston Churchill and British history. The essays included in this volume constitute the first dozen Crosby Kemper lectures, most by individuals who were personally acquainted with Churchill and all by individuals who had studied his life and work. Lord Robert Blake discusses Churchill's ambivalence toward the Conservative party during his political career. Philip S. Ziegler, Earl Mountbatten's biographer, examines whether Britain should have granted independence to India in 1947, taking as his departure Churchill's unequivocal belief that Britain's rule there was a sacred trust not to be betrayed. Martin Gilbert, Churchill's biographer, examines the origins of the Cold War and the Iron Curtain speech. Sir Michael Howard, Lovett Professor and Naval Historian at Yale University, further examines Churchill's role during the Cold War and the formulation of his two-track strategy that pushed for military strength while persistently striving for peace with the Soviets. John Colville, Churchill's private secretary, ponders the extent to which great men are made by circumstances, citing Churchill's peccadilloes and strengths. Churchill's daughter Mary Soames and granddaughter, the sculptor Edwina Sandys, also give portraits of a family man. This study brings this leader to life in the process of interpreting his political actions, reviewing his historical contributions and sharing anecdotes about his personal life.

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Well versed in literature, art, and history, R. Crosby Kemper III might be thought of as a Renaissance man. Having taught English at the University of Sichuan in China and worked in a bookstore in New York City, he is now Chairman of the Board of UMB Financial Corporation in Kansas City.

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