Churchill Book Competition
Test your knowledge and win a copy of this brand new Churchill book
Test your knowledge and you could be a winner
He may be one of the most written-about people in British history, but do you know Winston Churchill as well as you think you do? That’s the challenge being laid down by The Churchill Quiz Book. Written by Kieran Whitworth, book buyer at the Imperial War Museums (IWM) and author of The Ultimate World War II Quiz Book, this new release from
Osprey Publishing, in association with Imperial War Museums, takes you from the life of young Winston all the way up to his post-war years. We caught up with Whitworth to learn a little about his book.
Why do you think Churchill remains such a compelling historical figure?
Acclaimed by his supporters as a war-leader, national saviour, adventurer, innovator and orator, he is deplored by his detractors as privileged, reckless, heavy-handed, militarist and imperialist. He lived and worked through some of the most tumultuous times, knew many iconic famous people, was a modernist who saw both the advantages and perils of newly developing technologies, and was a family man and devoted husband who did indeed deliver Britain and her empire through its then greatest crisis, the Second World War.
Did you learn anything new about Churchill during the writing process for this book?
When researching questions for the book and delving further into the latest biographies on him, I was struck by just how extraordinary and adventurous a life he really had led. I was amazed by his sheer energy and by his enquiring mind, and how mischievous and witty he was. I tried to coin a phrase that encompassed everything I had learnt about him while compiling the quiz book, and ended up calling him an ‘antiestablishment, establishment figure’!
What do you think is the biggest misconception that people have about Churchill?
I think there are so many myths and misconceptions about him, and these can also alter depending on your views. His power as an orator is widely known, but I hadn’t realised that the man responsible for some of the most iconic speeches in history, especially during the war, actually changed his oratory style from when he was a politician earlier in his career to when he was giving those wartime speeches. He wanted to sound more modern in his style, even with his stammer and lisp. You hear the wartime speeches and believe he had always delivered his speeches that way!
What do you hope people will take away from your new book?
I hope readers can learn more about Churchill without having to read long books! If it becomes a gateway for people to want to read more about him then that is great, but many people like to learn their history in more bite-sized chunks, so the quiz format works really well, although encapsulating a lot of historical information and context into short questions and answers is not always easy. Also, despite the numerous books about him, working as book buyer at IWM I’m not aware of their having ever been a quiz book devoted to him, and surely someone who lived such an extraordinary life deserves that accolade?