Churchill; Speaker of the Century

New York, N.Y.: Stein and Day, 1980. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. Very good/Good. xiii, [1], 334 pages. Several chips and small tears to dust jacket edges. Signed and inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper. Inscription reads: To the Fendig Family, Personally inscribed with the very best wishes of the author. James C. Humes, 7-31-1980. Includes Acknowledgments; Prologue; Chapters on Destiny; Youth; Soldier; Apprentice Speaker; Writer; Candidate; Conservative Back-bencher; Liberal Reformer; War Minister; Conservative Chancellor; Prophet in Exile; Prime Minister; Champion of Freedom; and World Symbol. Also includes Appendixes on Wit and Wisdom; Escapades and Encounters; Barbs and Blasts; Mockery and Parody; Predictions and Prophecies; Milestones in Churchill's Life; as well as a Bibliography and an Index. James C. Humes is an author and former presidential speechwriter. Humes, along with William Safire and Pat Buchanan, is credited for authoring the text on the Apollo 11 lunar plaque. James C. Humes was Ronald Reagan's speechwriter. He also wrote speeches for George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon and Dwight Eisenhower. He has served as a communications advisor to major U.S. corporations, including IBM and DuPont. He is the author of at least twenty-three books, sharing his extensive knowledge of the modern history and political landscape. Winston Churchill decided early that mastery of the English language would be his staircase to power. The emphasis in this biography is on how Churchill used that mastery to advance his career and to defend the West. Mr. Humes, an American who is a friend of the Churchill family, presents the reader with many interesting insights into Churchill's life and career, especially Churchill's carefully thought out techniques for writing and delivering his speeches. The Appendix contains a treasury of Churchilliana organized by subject matter, some of it never before published. Derived from a Kirkus review: From the author of Podium Humor and Instant Eloquence: an eloquent run-through of the rich, complex Churchill career through a series of heart-felt orations. Young Winston, believing that he had a great destiny but would die young, was a lad in a hurry who saw words as "his escape". Basing his rhetoric on Gibbon and Macaulay, capitalizing on his stutter, disguising his lisp, and taking inspiration from his father and from U.S. orator Bourke Cockran, WSC was ready to follow up his early journalist career with politics: first as Conservative M.P., then as a renegade Liberal and WW-I Admiralty Lord, then back with the Tories in fits and starts till. of course, he was there to replace Chamberlain and become the beloved orator of "blood, toil, tears, and sweat." Throughout, Humes presents both the man and the politics--focusing on the oratory and by pointing out U.S. equivalents for British history (equating, for instance, the Supreme Court's resistance to the New Deal with the House of Lords' opposition to Liberal legislation). An appreciation of Churchill's speechmaking not intended to serve as a general biography.