#319 The Making of Winston Churchill Part 1
Founders
Underestimating the Boer Resolve
This chapter examines the military unpreparedness of the British forces in the face of the Boer fighters' skill and determination preceding the Boer War. It highlights the irony of British overconfidence, culminating in Churchill's capture and illustrating the stark contrasts of warfare strategies between the two sides.
What I learned from reading Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill by Candice Millard.
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(2:30) He was meant not just to fight for his country, but one day to lead it. Although he believed this without question, he still had to convince everyone else.
(3:30) He didn't even have a plan. Just the unshakeable conviction that he was destined for greatness.
(4:00) Churchill by Paul Johnson. (Founders #225)
(4:30) Young Titan: The Making of Winston Churchill by Michael Shelden
(5:00) The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard. (Founders #175)
(8:00) In his open pursuit of fame and popular favor, Churchill seemed far less Victorian than Rooseveltian.
(8:30) Winston advertises himself as simply and as unconsciously as he breathes. Churchill was widely criticized for being a self advertiser.
(9:30) “I am certainly not one of those who need to be prodded. In fact, if anything, I am a prod."
(9:30) Churchill did not need encouragement. He only needed a chance.
(11:00) "I have faith in my star. That I am intended to do something in the world."
(12:30) "I do not believe the Gods would create so potent a being as myself for so prosaic an ending."
(13:30) The Mind of Napoleon: A Selection of His Written and Spoken Words edited by J. Christopher Herold. (Founders #302)
(17:30) Winston had spent the best years of his life composing his impromptu speeches.
(18:00) He had no one who believed in him quite as much as he believed in himself.
(20:30) He was defiantly determined to decide for himself where he would go and what he would do.
(27:00) From studying the outcome of past expeditions, he believed that those that burdened themselves with equipment to meet every contingency had fared much worse than those that had sacrificed total preparedness for speed. — Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. (Founders #144)
(31:00) Nothing but being shot at will ever teach men the art of using cover.
(32:00) The greater the obstacle, the greater the triumph.
(34:00) He had hated his captivity with an intensity that surprised even him. He could not bear the thought of being in another man's control.
(35:00) Who shall say what is possible or impossible, in these spheres of action one cannot tell without a trial.
(36:00) Always more audacity.
(43:30) He read for four or five hours every day.
(45:00) He would be obliged to rely on someone else's intelligence and cunning. This state of affairs was far less appealing to him than the dangerous he would face if he were on his own.
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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