The Churchill Series – Sept. 26, 2007

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

First, in the last week or so a number of you have made affirming and appreciate comments about the series, mostly as part of comments on non-series threads and in a few instances on series post threads. I thank each of you. Your kind words mean a lot.

On a very different matter, regular series readers know I often draw material from the works of Sir Martin Gilbert, Churchill’s official biographer and one of the greatest historians of the twentieth century. Recently, Gilbert suffered what’s descried as “a mild heart attack,” from which he is now making a steady recovery.

I want to share with you a group email I received yesterday, after which I’ll make a few comments:

I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR GOOD WISHES.

MY HEART IS STILL BEATING, AND I AM SLOWLY AND
STEADILY ON THE MEND.

I AM SORRY TO HAVE DISAPPOINTED THOSE WHOM I WAS SO
LOOKING TO SEE AT THE BOOK LAUNCHES OF "CHURCHILL AND
THE JEWS". HOPEFULLY YOU WILL FIND THAT THE BOOK CAN
(AS IT WERE) SPEAK FOR ITSELF.

MY MAIN FOCUS, AS SOON AS I AM BETTER, WILL BE THE
REMAINING CHURCHILL DOCUMENT VOLUMES, WHICH ARE TO BE
PUBLISHED BY HILLSDALE COLLEGE PRESS, HILLSDALE
COLLEGE, MICHIGAN.

I HAVE ALREADY SET UP A SPECIAL 65-FOOT LONG DESK IN
LONDON ON WHICH THE DOCUMENTS ARE - EVEN AS I WRITE
THESE WORDS - WAITING FOR MY RETURN, AND FOR MY
ATTENTION.

REGARDS

MARTIN GILBERT

I know we all wish Martin Gilbert well and will keep him in our thoughts and prayers.

The next two series posts will concern Gilbert’s work which, in addition to his eight-volume magisterial life of Churchill, includes outstanding works on the Holocaust and both world wars. I also plan to say a few things about his many acts of help and kindness over decades to those – amateur as well as professional – to those who've contacted him with questions or comments regarding Churchill.

Some of you may have seen this past June the kind comment he left here concerning the series. I was not in direct contact with him at the time. It’s very unlikely he’s a series regular. More likely, he found the series by using a search engine and googling “Winston Churchill” or “Martin Gilbert.” Very few in Gilbert’s position, having found posts by an obscure blogger would give them more than a cursory look. Even fewer would take the trouble to write a thoughtful email. But Gilbert did both. That’s typical of him.

I hope you are back for the next two posts.

John