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Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill
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Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill
Unavailable
Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill
Audiobook10 hours

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

Written by Candice Millard

Narrated by Simon Vance

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

From New York Times bestselling author of Destiny of the Republic and The River of Doubt, a thrilling narrative of Winston Churchill's extraordinary and little-known exploits during the Boer War
 
At age twenty-four, Winston Churchill was utterly convinced it was his destiny to become prime minister of England one day, despite the fact he had just lost his first election campaign for Parliament.  He believed that to achieve his goal he must do something spectacular on the battlefield.  Despite deliberately putting himself in extreme danger as a British Army officer in colonial wars in India and Sudan, and as a journalist covering a Cuban uprising against the Spanish, glory and fame had eluded him.
 
Churchill arrived in South Africa in 1899, valet and crates of vintage wine in tow, there to cover the brutal colonial war the British were fighting with Boer rebels. But just two weeks after his arrival, the soldiers he was accompanying on an armored train were ambushed, and Churchill was taken prisoner.  Remarkably, he pulled off a daring escape--but then had to traverse 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.
           
The story of his escape is incredible enough, but then Churchill enlisted, returned to South Africa, fought in several battles, and ultimately liberated the men with whom he had been imprisoned.
           
Churchill would later remark that this period, "could I have seen my future, was to lay the foundations of my later life." 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 he would later share the world stage. But Hero of the Empire is more than an adventure story, for the lessons Churchill took from the Boer War would profoundly affect 20th century history.

From the Hardcover edition.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 20, 2016
ISBN9780307987945
Unavailable
Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Audio book read by Simon Vance.Subtitle: The Boer War, a Daring Escape and the Making of Winston ChurchillMillard writes an interesting and detailed biography of the young Winston Churchill. Long before he became the statesman who shepherded his nation through the darkest days of WW2, he was a young, somewhat rash man eager to make his mark in the world. Working as a journalist and war correspondent, he was captured during the Boer War. He connected with a couple of other prisoners of war and planned a daring escape. Churchill was the weakest member of the team and his comrades considered leaving him out of the escape, but he was the one who managed to get across the fence. Unfortunately, he had no idea what came next. His propensity to talk out of turn had resulted in his mates keeping the complete plans secret from the talkative Winston. Also, they had the maps and supplies that would sustain them on the hundreds of miles of dangerous and wild terrain. So there he was – facing miles of unfamiliar territory, and without food or water to sustain him. He did the only thing he could … he started going forward.It’s a fascinating story and gives a somewhat different picture of the man most of us know only from his prominence during WW2. Yet, the reader gets a sense of the man he will become. Simon Vance does a marvelous job narrating the audiobook. His pace is good and he has the skill as a voice artist to different the many male characters.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The name Winston Churchill causes most of us picture an old man acting heroically during World War II. In her 2016 book “Hero of the Empire,” Candice Millard gives us a new image to consider, a young man acting heroically during the Boer War.As a young man, Churchill yearned to be a hero the way so many young men today yearn to be rock stars. He ultimately wanted a political career, but what better way to win a seat in Parliament than to become a national hero? To this end, he was willing to go anywhere in the world and face any risk, even to the point of riding a white horse into battle. As a journalist he helped start the Boer War, then went to South Africa to cover the war, but carrying a gun and intending to do more fighting than writing.His chance for heroism came when he and others aboard a train were captured by the Boers and imprisoned. Churchill tried to convince the Boers that because he was a journalist he should be released, but too many of them had seen him with a gun in his hands. He was also, even then, too famous to release.When he heard that others were planning an escape from the military prison, he wanted to be part of it. Yet they declined to tell Churchill the whole plan because of his habit of talking too much. They couldn't trust him with the secret. Some four decades later this would be British prime minister trusted with one of the greatest secrets of all time, the D-Day invasion.On the night chosen for the escape, the others decided at the last minute the time was not right, but Churchill went ahead anyway and managed to get over the fence by himself. Thanks to his resourcefulness and a good deal of luck, he managed to travel hundreds of miles to safety. As a national hero, he was easily elected to Parliament.As she did with the story of Theodore Roosevelt's narrow escape in the Amazon in “The River of Doubt” and the unsuccessful attempt to save the life of James Garfield in “Destiny of the Republic,” Millard makes this narrative as suspenseful as a thriller. Biographies of Roosevelt, Garfield and Churchill give these incidents brief attention. Millard inflates them to life-size to show her readers just how significant they actually were at the time they happened.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A great story about a little-known war that also provides a fresh look at one of the preeminent figures of the 20th Century.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The author has an engaging way of writing and I loved her book about Theodore Roosevelt. I liked learning more about Churchill, his mother and the background of the Second Boer War. However, I don't enjoy war stories in general and I was eventually bored by this book and the discussion of military maneuvers. Also, since both sides of the war spent their time subjugating and abusing native Africans, I wasn't very interested in the outcome of the war.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another exciting book by Candice Millard. This book tells the story of Winston Churchill and the Boer War. Millard always does a nice job of intertwining the story of late 19th century British history and their involvement in the Boer War, South African history, and the story of Churchill and his actions during the War. Millard is a master at finding relevant yet obscure historical facts to help her narrative move along (the origins of the terms "sniper" and "trench coat" to name two). A nice quick read that helped improve my knowledge of a war and country I knew little about.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the story of Winston Churchill's adventures as a soldier and correspondent--quite an adventure, and the beginning of what would be a spectacular life.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Candace Millard is a wonderful author of biographical examinations of impressive people and unique events in their lives. I particularly liked her book on President Garfield. But, while I wasn't enchanted by Churchill, I was by her examination of what he went through and how it may have informed his views later in life. Yet another excellent book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    On leave from military duties, Winston Churchill is a civilian war correspondent in the South Africa Boer War. Millard explores how upper-class background and his assumptions that certain allowances be made helped him survive harsh condition and interment while giving him the self-assurance needed to escape and survive. The story provides fascinating descriptions that showed how politics and social status played an integral role in the war. Extensive notes, selected bibliography, and index are provided.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Churchill in the Boer War has been written about as many times as there are biographies of Churchill, which is to say quite a lot. What Millard does in this account is use the events to tell the bigger picture of how the war started, the history of southern Africa and other contexts often missing. She (and others) suggest it was the beginning of the end of the British Empire; and the beginning of a bloody 20th century (though that honor has other claimants). She also tells a great story in detail bringing the period and southern Africa alive, she's a talented writer and researcher. I recently read William Manchester's mammoth first volume The Last Lion and while it's not bad, this is the better telling. I don't think it's a good general history of the Boer War, but it never presented itself as such, rather a good introduction by way of Churchill's genuine heroic adventure.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Hero of the Empire by Candice MillardCandice Millard, author of the The River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic is back with a new book on the early career of Winston Churchill. I found Hero of the Empire every bit as engrossing as Millard's other works. The book deals with Winston Churchill before he begins his long and illustrious political career. Churchill, born into privilege, is convinced that he is destined for greatness (shockingly he is right) but at the time of this story he is struggling to find his footing. Churchill has left the army where he is had a fair bit of success, run for Parliament but lost, and is trying his hand as a newspaper correspondent. When war breaks out in Southern Africa between the British Empire and the Boers (Dutch settlers), Churchill heads to the battlefront.Churchill is unable to content himself with simply reporting and observing the war which is not going well for the British. Churchill wrangles himself a place on an armored train that is ambushed by the Boers. Churchill, despite not being part of the army at this point, grabs a commanding role of the defense of the train and manages to free the train from the ambush but is taken as a prisoner of war in the process. Churchill manages to escape the Boer prison, evade a massive manhunt and make contact with a handful of British still living in Boer territory who manage to smuggle him out of the war zone to neighboring Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique). The escape transforms Churchill into a national hero and helps successfully launch his political career when he returns to Britain.Millard is an excellent writer and is gifted in her ability to bring history to life. What struck me most about this book is what a larger than life character Churchill turns out to be. Churchill never seems to doubt that he is destined for greatness and thus displays foolhardy amounts of courage both in battle and in escape. As described by Millard, Churchill goes through life with the belief that the ordinary rules simply do not apply to him and he is mostly vindicated in this belief. To give two examples - in the book Churchill is helped in his escape by British sympathizers that he meets at a coal mine. Churchill basically walks up to a house in the middle of the South African veldt where he does not speak the principal language (Afrikaans) and asks for help as an escaped prisoner. The person he meets turns out to be a naturalized citizen formerly of England who on the spot decides to help Churchill despite a very real threat that he will be arrested and perhaps executed for doing so. Similarly, after Churchill escapes and returns to British lines he demands command of a regiment despite the fact that he is a newspaper corespondent. Moreover, following his earlier work in the Sudan where he acted as both a soldier and a corespondent, there is a specific rule expressly prohibiting people (like Churchill) from acting as both a corespondent and a soldier. Despite the clear rule prohibiting it, the commander in charge acquiesces and gives Churchill a command which he proceeds to lead throughout the remainder of the Boer war. Millard never attempts to answer the question of whether Churchill was born under a lucky star or persevered due to a personal force of will or whether it was both. However, she certainly makes it clear that Churchill was an extraordinary man and that that greatness was present long before he became Prime Minister.Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is about Winston Churchill the early years. Right from the start here is a young man full of ambition attempting to be elected to Parliament. After that effort fails he becomes a war correspondent covering the English effort during the Boer Wars in South Africa which does not go well. The majority of the book is about his capture, imprisonment and escape form a Boer prison camp. His escape makes him a national celebrity and is a springboard to his later political career. A must read for any history buff.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A truly gripping page turner. However full of gripping detail that clearly has now been extensively researched. What a writer, many thanks to Candice and her detailed research.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Candice Millard could probably make a grocery list interesting. I loved this book as I have the others that she has written. I was drawn to it especially due to the fact that we have been to South Africa where much of the action took place.Winston Churchill is portrayed as arrogant but filled with audacious bravery. After losing an election in England, he feels he must make a name for himself on the battlefield so he deliberately puts himself in danger when he becomes a journalist in South Africa covering the Boer War. Just two weeks after his arrival the soldiers he was accompanying are taken prisoner by the Boers and held in a remote prison. Churchill makes an incredible escape and has to cover hundreds of miles of enemy territory, alone with nothing but a bit of cash and a small amount of chocolate.The story reads like a novel and if it wasn't true would almost be hard to believe as a novel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Extraordinary and captivating story-telling about Churchill in his early years.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another winner by Candice Millard! She has the ability to take a historical event that little is known about and make it interesting to read and learn about. I no knowledge of the Boer Wars and the struggle in Africa with the British. Great story telling.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I can think of no greater way to start this review that to say I am now a Candice Millard devotee. That means I have some work to do as I did not take the opportunity to listen to her first book River of Doubt. This was a huge oversight as Teddy Roosevelt is a favorite historical figure of mine. I was blinded by lack of interest in his golden years and, truth be told did not want to read about an Amazon River debacle. Again, a terrible mistake. But this review is not about that. Hero of the Empire by Candice Millard chronicles the early career of Winston Churchill in the Boer War at the turn of the century. This war, a fight picked by the British, in South Africa, did not go well. The British expected a quick victory, but met unexpected carnage from the Boers, who had perfected guerrilla warfare. This is right where Churchill wanted to be. He was already supremely confident and knew that there was a destiny ahead of him. He already had a name, he was the son of a well know member of parliament. But what he needed to start his own career was a name propped up by wartime heroics, acts of bravery and courage. He would get that chance soon enough. The book focuses, most specifically, on an armored train ambush, Churchills' captivity, and his subsequent escape. First, I have to praise Millard for making history so accessible. In some ways, this book read very much like a novel. Millard's narrative voice can get you lost in the story so well that you forget that these are actual events.Secondly, I was enamored of the Winston depicted here. He is supremely confident without being arrogant. Millard continues to remind us that Churchill knows he has a destiny to be prime minister and that his brave, sometimes reckless behavior in battle was all in the service of this future. Like George Washington and Teddy Roosevelt, the young man would place himself in the middle of the fiercest fighting and miraculously emerge unscathed. This is not to say he was not injured, but he would escape intact when many others did not. I highly recommend this hard-charging ride through the Boer war and challenge you not to come away wanting Winston to win. 5 of 5 stars
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    "...the one scenario that Churchill had not envisioned was crossing enemy territory alone without companions or provisions of any kind. He didn't have a weapon, a map, a compass, or, aside from a few bars of chocolate in his pocket, any food. He didn't speak the language, either that of the Boers or that of the Africans. Beyond the vaguest of outlines, he didn't have a plan-just the unshakable conviction that he was destined for greatness."Young Churchill trying to find fame and glory, in South Africa, around the turn of the last century. He is a journalist covering the British and Boer war, which had become a very bloody and brutal battle. When Churchill is captured by the Boers, things become interesting and he hopes that this might be his chance to shine.Ms. Millard has done it again. She has taken a little known historical nugget and turned it into a fast-paced, smartly written and impeccably, researched NNF gem. I am currently batting a 1,000 with this author. Three books. Three Keepers.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Another great book from my brother, Geza, thank you so much. And thanks to Denise, also. Hero of the Empire by Candice Millard is exciting and informative. As in her book River of Doubt, she teaches us history by telling a riveting, true story about great adventures in history. Events often overlooked, while important in creating events that followed and the people who determined the outcome of these events. Well written and well researched it is an easy lesson in history and, I think well worth anyone's time.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoy Millard's story telling abilities. I had read Manchester's 3 tomes on Churchill and was a bit reluctant to read even more, but as the topic of this book was one of the most interesting to me parts of Manchester's biography, and the fact that I really enjoyed Millard's other two books I went ahead and read this. It was well done, conveyed Churchill's character as a young man well, and gave interesting insight into South Africa's history.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a partial biography of the British prime minister, focusing on his exploits early in life in the Second Boer War in 1899-1900, which generated publicity and helped launch his political career. The audiobook was read by Simon Vance (who makes anything he reads good!).
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love Millard as a writer and I love Churchill. For people who admire Churchill this book gives a foundation of who this giant of history was and what made him who he was. Churchill was a brave man this book really gives us insight into him.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Sir Winston Churchill was an accomplished, larger-than-life, somewhat pompous and unlikeable, yet oft-revered historical figure. He was born a British nobleman, the son of Lord Randolph Churchill, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer and his wife, Jennie Jerome, an American socialite. As such he was a direct descendant of John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough and his parents were personal friends of the Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria’s oldest son and heir. For a member of Churchill’s high social class, the highly bold and unabashed ambition he had was a novelty, if not an outright scandal. Every move Churchill made from early adulthood was in conquest of glory and the strong belief that he would someday be Britain’s Prime Minister. Indeed, not only did Churchill serve two separate and very memorable terms as Britain’s Prime Minister, he has also been remembered through time as a brave soldier, a great journalist and a riveting orator. Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill concentrates on Churchill at the age of 24. He had already served in two wars and while working as a journalist he wheedled his way to the frontlines of south of Africa during the Second Boer War. The Boers were Dutch-speaking settlers, mostly farmers, who had lived in southern Africa for centuries, but rose up to defend their land against annexation by the British in the 19th century. The Boer Wars had turned out to be more of a challenge than the British expected. Having lived, fought and learned alongside the fierce Shaka Zulu of the Zulu Nation, the Boers were more accomplished in military tactics than the British understood. Churchill proves himself to be a man of courage while accompanying a scouting mission on an armored train that is ambushed, but he is subsequently captured by the Boers and interred as a POW. Churchill, who was absolutely used to being master of his own fate, manages to escape from the prison and cross 300 miles on his own. When he reaches safety, he wants only one thing, a commission, so that he can go back and wreak revenge on those who held him. This, despite the fact that he knew the War Office had a rule barring correspondents from being soldiers and soldiers from being correspondents. This was my first foray into any kind of bio on Churchill and it was a great place to start. This particular glimpse into the history of Churchill definitely gives us a deep understanding of who the man was. Winston Churchill was definitely a man to be remembered and Candice Millard managed to not only gave me a fantastic primer on the man himself, she also broadened my knowledge of South African history and the Boer Wars. I have to say I really admire her writing style. She managed to bring the adventure, the tragedy and the terribly inhumane conditions of the experience to life for the readers. This author paints beautiful scenes and her background research is impeccable. This is not a bio to be slogged through, it is thoroughly enjoyable. I want to thank the publisher (Doubleday Books) for providing me with the ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    As she’s already proved in The River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic, Candice Millard really knows how to tell a gripping story, and this account of young Winston Churchill’s incredible prison escape during the Boer War made me postpone all other activities as I stayed glued to its pages, but--as with her other titles--the event that inspired the book isn’t the only thing that makes Millard’s telling so interesting. For me it’s maybe not even the primary thing, though it’s true that episodes like Churchill desperately leaping onto a moving train and hiding out for days in a pitch-black, rat-infested coal mine were the parts that kept my heart racing.But the insights into the history and cultural norms of the peoples involved in the story were even more fascinating for me than Churchill’s harrowing escapades. Millard gives concise but detailed backstories of the too complacent British and their empire in the waning days of Victoria’s rule, the fiercely independent and resourceful Boers who after a hundred years felt bound and entitled to the lands they’d settled in southern Africa, and the native African tribes of the area, including the Zulu and the Xhosa, some of whom had inhabited the space for thousands and thousands of years. The book also gave me a deeper understanding of Churchill’s character, in all its admirable and infuriating glory. The roles of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela (who lived years after the Boer War) and a number of officers in the British and Boer military are also well described, and the influences or thoughts of Catherine the Great, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Theodore Roosevelt, and the American President William McKinley are noted. All three of Millard’s books cover the late nineteenth century and/or early twentieth century, an era that to the benefit of her readers she seems to know well and is certainly able to bring to life.I read an advanced review copy of this book supplied to me at no cost or obligation by the publisher. Review opinions are mine.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Hero of the Empire, Candice Millard, author; Simon Vance, narratorWinston Churchill was both courageous and confident. He was fascinated with the military and studied at the Royal Military College from which he graduated in 1894. In 1896 he went to India to fight the Pashtuns. In 1898 he fought the Mahdists in the Sudan, and then he resigned from the service hoping to gain a foothold in government. Given to self-aggrandizement, he believed he had a political destiny to fulfill, which was prophetic, a destiny that would place him at the head of the British Empire. Born of an American mother, Jennie Jerome, whom he was very close to, and a noble father, Lord Randolph Churchill, who eventually succumbed to mental illness and fell from grace, Winston took advantage of every opportunity that presented itself to advance his career. When he ran for office and lost, he became a journalist/war correspondent in what is now known as South Africa, to enhance his reputation, and after a valiant effort, braving bullets and cannon fire, to try and save the soldiers on a British armored train he was traveling on as a reporter, he was captured and taken to a POW camp located at the Staats Model School in Pretoria, which is today the location of the executive branch of the government of South Africa.Churchill could not abide his captivity and contrived to escape with two other POW’s by insisting that he be included in their plan, even against their wishes. Things did not go as planned, though, and young Churchill found himself on the run, alone, without any provisions or help in the offing. In addition to his own precarious position, his daring escape placed his fellow prisoners at greater risk, causing them to lose any of the minor privileges they had once enjoyed. His own escape was not without drama. Determined to either die trying to escape or succumb to being recaptured, a thought which horrified him, he ventured out into the night with only his legendary brashness to guide him. Serendipity always seemed to rescue him when all seemed lost. Alone, without food or weapons, without water or a plan, he simply soldiered on, eternally hopeful. He winged everything as the moment demanded it, and the timing of his near discoveries was almost providential, as each time he thought the end was near, by sheer chance, he escaped notice and was able to continue on his journey to safety. Churchill was impetuous and rushed headlong into his life with a loose tongue and a brave heart, both of which served him well. He often seemed fearless, unaware or unable to recognize the danger facing him. His indomitable spirit was a source of other’s admiration for him. Most often, it was his uncanny timing and arrival at a fortuitous place that helped him to rise to power and create his star-studded future. He was simply in the right place at the right time to advance his cause.Winston’s mother was a great source of support as was his father’s title. His mother was also known as a bit of a bon vivant, engaging the affection of many men, one of whom was George Cornwallis, a man of almost the same age as Winston, a relationship to which Winston had great objection, to no avail. Winston gained fame because of his bravery in the face of danger, and he, rather than the war, soon monopolized the news in Great Britain. Survivors who had served with him spoke of his enormous exhibition of valor in the face of mortal danger. He was expected, by many, to make a name for himself, and even to rise eventually to the level of Prime Minister. The book makes mention of many interesting little facts. The British rode into battle in red coats so that they could be seen on the battlefield by their fellow soldiers, so they would not be mistaken for the enemy. In later years, the uniform became khaki colored and the book explains the origin of the word. It came from the Urdu word for dust. These little bits of information, sprinkled here and there, throughout, added a bit of humanity and levity to the book, making it even more readable for the average person than many a non-fiction book.Simon Vance reads the book with impeccable expression. His tone is perfect for interpreting each scene in the book whether it is about the background of Winston Churchill or the battlegrounds on which he found himself, both military and domestic. The book concerns itself largely with the time in Churchill’s life when he was a young man in his mid twenties and was captured by the Boer’s during the Anglo-Boer War. His escape from the prison camp in Pretoria is covered in rich detail by the author who thoroughly researched and footnoted the book. It is an excellent read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Candice Millard may well be the next David McCullough in her ability to make history come alive on the page. Her latest release, “Hero Of The Empire,” details the Boer War and the rise of Winston Churchill in a manner more suggestive of a Tom Clancy or Brad Thor novel than a stuffy, fact laden history of an obscure, turn-of-the-century conflict. Ms. Millard imbues her characters with life and lineage, fleshing out their backgrounds and motivations against a splendidly rendered historical backdrop.Of particular note is Churchill’s escape from the Pretoria prison camp and his amazing trek across the Transvaal (South African Republic) to the port of Lourenco Marques in Portuguese East Africa via freight trains and on foot. Repeatedly – and improbably – he eludes discovery despite a nation-wide search and then, running out of options, desperately knocks on a door to ask for food and help. Opening the door is a pro-English sympathizer who, at great personal risk, aids and abets his escape, including meals, shelter, and a protracted stay in the pitch black of an abandoned coal shaft, two hundred feet below ground. Reclining on a mattress on the shaft floor, Churchill extinguishes his candle and sleeps but wakes in total darkness. His candle has gone missing. With no choice but to stay put, he waits until a flickering light approaches but doesn’t realize until the last minute that those bearing the light are collaborators and not the ZARP (South African Police). He learns too that he’d spent the night in the company of white rats who had the annoying habit of making off with unsecured candles and anything else they deemed edible. After days spent in the company of rats, he’s shepherded above ground and spends the remaining days of his plight wedged between cotton bails on a freight train to Lourenco Marques.Churchill’s escape and survival is a stunning tale made more fascinating by its authenticity. It is simply hard to believe that the stodgy old man whose images flickered on fifties newsreels and sixties TV could have possibly been this swashbuckling audacious patriot, but he was. “Hero Of The Empire” is a fascinating, page-turning read that has earned my first five-star recommendation for anyone who enjoys history. Parting note: In the hands of a tenured history professor, “Hero Of The Empire” would very likely find use as a sleep aid. In Ms. Mallard’s hands, it’s the reason you stay up past midnight turning pages. Kudos to Ms. Mallard on a spectacular job. Again, five stars.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book, subtitled “The Boer War, a Daring Escape and the Making of Winston Churchill” is a history of Winston Churchill’s early life, with a focus on the years 1899-1900. It was during this time that Churchill traveled as a journalist to the Boer War in South Africa, ended up a prisoner, and effected a daring escape.Churchill believed that he was destined for power and fame. In fact, his self-confidence and belief in his special destiny were quite remarkable. It is true he came from a powerful family; his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, had served as Secretary of State for India and later Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons. His mother, Jennie Churchill, was considered to be one of the most beautiful and influential women of her time. But the extent of Churchill’s belief in his singularity was still astounding. As just one of many examples, while taking part in 1897 Siege of Malakand in colonial British India's North West Frontier Province, he wrote his mother he wasn’t worried about bullets: “I do not believe the Gods would create so potent a being as myself for so prosaic an ending.”What he wanted most though, was to gain a reputation for personal courage, and by all accounts, he consistently acquitted himself well in that respect. As Millard writes: “Although Churchill had been called many things - opportunist, braggart, blowhard - no one had ever questioned his bravery.” He didn’t have much of a chance to evince it however until the Second Boer War broke out in South Africa in October of 1899.The Boers had lived in the region relatively unmolested until they discovered diamonds and gold. The area was previously occupied by the San, Khoikhoi, Xhosa, and Zulu peoples. When the Dutch and German Huguenots arrived, later known collectively as Boers, their diseases wiped out a large number of the natives. The whites thought the surviving native people only suitable for slavery. The British had outlawed slavery; although they believed whites to be superior to darker races, and that these darker races might merit abuse and social scorn, they drew the line at enslaving them outright. But the Boers persisted in doing what they wanted, and thus the British became convinced that the “insolent” Boers must be curbed. Churchill in particular had argued that “war was the only answer.” [Whether the British umbrage was over the outrage of slavery or over the outrage that the Boers, rather than the British, had control of the gold and diamonds is not entirely clarified. It seems as if it were a bit of both.] When Churchill arrived in South Africa, he gushed over the land: “All Nature smiles, and here at last is a land where white men may rule and prosper.” Although, as Millard points out, “the white men Churchill had in mind for ruling and prospering in South Africa were certainly not the Boers . . . " Nevertheless, she reports:“. . . the [Boers] had had the same rush of desire and deep sense of entitlement when they first laid eyes on Natal. Since the earliest days of the war, both the Boers and the British had held an unshakable belief in the righteousness of their cause and the unworthiness of their enemy. Neither group, however, had given a moment’s thought or would have cared if they had, to the fact that the land over which they were fighting did not belong to either one of them.”On November 15, 1899, a month after Churchill arrived in South Africa, champing at the bit to see action, he joined a reconnaissance mission on an armored train. Louis Botha and his Boers successfully attacked the train, and took some sixty captives, including Churchill.Although the officers, with Churchill among them, were housed in surprisingly good accommodations, Churchill could not bear not being the master of his own fate, and became obsessed with escaping. He was supposed to be a part of a group of three escapees, but after Churchill climbed over the fence, the others had no opportunity to join him. Thus he was on his own, with hardly any food and not much of a plan.In spite of these negative odds, the incredible luck he had always experienced continued to favor him, and the author details how Churchill traversed the 300 miles from Pretoria to freedom in what is now Mozambique. She manages to outline the journey in a way that is full of suspense and excitement, even though we know the outcome. Discussion: It’s hard to warm up to Churchill. He was spoiled and full of a sense of entitlement, both from being born to a rich noble family and just from being a white male. He insisted that whites were “a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race,” and thus believed deeply and ardently in Britain’s right to rule over others. His confidence and “chutzpah” knew few bounds.Yet he also had many admirable qualities, and this book in particular highlights his fortitude, and how he proved himself to be “resilient, resourceful and, even in the face of extreme danger, utterly unruffled.” The book also provides a good analysis of the situation in South Africa and the Second Boer War.The hardcover edition includes maps and photos.Evaluation: This is a very entertaining, informative, and perhaps lesser-known (at least in the U.S.) story about someone considered to be one of the great leaders of the 20th Century. A Few Notes on the Audio Production:Simon Vance performs up to his usual impeccable standards, and is especially convincing when he speaks in the voice of Winston Churchill.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Enormously interesting, but also terribly dismaying. The British behave badly, the Boers behave badly, and the young Winston Churchill is brave and romantic, but also appallingly reckless, selfish, and opportunistic. Still, even in a stupid war characterized by hubris and cruelty, some actors here show astonishing generosity and decency. Mostly, though, what I enjoyed were the background and side stories that Candice Millard presents along with the narrative of Churchill’s capture and escape. While mostly focusing on British and Boer characters, we also get interesting cameos by Shaka of the Zulus and Mohandas Gandhi.As far as I understand it, the British in South Africa were being grabby imperialists, trying to annex the Transvaal from the Boers after the discovery of lots of gold made the region valuable. Their outrageous arrogance, which leads them again and again to waste the lives of their soldiers rather than recognize the challenges presented by particular terrains and opponents, is pretty repulsive. The Boers, here the underdogs, are appealing with their simplicity, toughness, and pluck, but their treatment of the native South Africans makes it hard to root for them either.Churchill's choices and actions which lead to his capture by the Boers are generally so absurdly impulsive and youthful that it's hard to think of anyone who more needed to spend time as a prisoner of war. Really, I think the world is a better place thanks to the time he spent imprisoned in Pretoria. Millard provides plentiful excerpts from his letters and later writings about his experiences, and Churchill is marvelously candid about his fears and fantasies. Millard discusses some of the ways that his experience as a prisoner impacted his later policies towards the imprisoned, and one supposes that his witnessing British commanders making foolish decisions which ended in the slaughter of their men must have affected his later thinking. While Churchill's capture was the result of reckless eagerness to save injured British soldiers, which one can hardly condemn, his escape from prison involved some pretty scoundrelish behavior. After horning in on the escape plan of two fellow prisoners, who made it clear that they were reluctant to have him because they doubted his discretion as well as his physical fitness, he uses their plan to make a break when they are not able to join him, thus spoiling the scheme for any future use. And then all the prisoners suffer the wrath of the outraged guards and supervisor not only due to his escape, but also thanks to the outrageously cocky letter he leaves behind. Not only do his wronged friends forgive him, though, but all the prisoners go to great effort to cover his escape as long as they can. I was impressed by their kindness, and also by the courage and generosity of the many strangers who helped Churchill travel to safety after he climbed that fence. Millard is a wonderful storyteller, providing just the right amount of background information and engaging personal details for a whole field of characters without ever losing the energy of her narrative. I listened to this as an audio book, read, beautifully, by Simon Vance.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The book follows WInston Churchill during his time as a correspondent in Africa during the Boer War.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Extraordinary and captivating story-telling about Churchill in his early years.