The Churchill Series – July 5, 2007

(One of a series of weekday posts on the life of Winston S. Churchill.)

Something different today: a post built on responses to reader comments.

One person who comments often noted the few comments the series draws, and said he wonders sometimes whether I was doing the series just for him.

I think the best answer I can give is no but …

No, in that I think there are many who read the series but for a variety of reasons feel no need to comment. For example, they simply like the posts and perhaps once a year say “Nice job, John.” Or perhaps they never say it. They’re under no obligation to do so.

Sometimes when people comment on the series, it’s often not on a series thread but on the tail of comment regarding another post: “And something else. I enjoy the Churchill series.”

Pundit Michael Barone once commented he liked JinC because its “a reliable and serious blog.” He added: “I like the Churchill series, too”

But the first commenter is right in so far as many people (it’s impossible to get an exact number) who visit the site avoid the series posts for one reasons or another. On the other hand, there are some who come to JinC only for the series.

Go figure.

Tomorrow I’ll say a bit more about why I think there are a good number of people out there reading the series. My reasons include the historical knowledge and technical expertise commenters reveal. I’ll start with Insufficiently Sensitive’s recent comments about Churchill's physical risk-taking and an Anon’s recent comment about a hand-held Mauser pistol which Churchill used at Omdurman being adaptable to a shoulder fired weapon when a wooden butt was added.

I hope you are back tomorrow for part 2.