I'm reading Churchill's "The Second World War" -- can I trust what I'm reading?

by GoodGuyOmar

Hi AskHistorians -- I love this sub and I'm sorry in advance if this is a poor question. I'm reading Churchill's "The Second World War," I've finished volumes 1 and 2, about to start 3, and previously read volume 4. I'm wondering to what extent I should be taking Churchill's insights and accounts with a grain of salt. I love Churchill's writing, I revere the man historically, and I find the whole thing fascinating. But I have this nagging sense of "am I getting the whole story?" just because I know I'm reading history written by the victor. Those of you who know the area well, does it stand up well on its own as accurate and reliable?

(Suggestions about where to go after I'm finished for more WW2 history are appreciated as well.)

Almostatimelord

It depends on what you're reading it for, if you're reading it for fact (in the manner of "this is an impartial historian writing about a time period"), read with a salt shaker in hand. While for the most part he is fair, he does exercise personal vendettas on a few occasions. In addition to that, if you Take into account when he wrote this, several key aspects of history are intentionally left out in order to ensure secrecy. However, If you're reading it as a memoir of Churchill and his participation in the war and accept that it's going to have that bias and tinge it's a great read.

Either way it is still a valuable historical resource simply because it's unique, it's biased towards the British, but no other major leader on either side wrote a memoir.

Also if you don't mind my asking, which edition are you reading?

Venmar

Since /u/Almostatimelord said it well regarding how to take Churchill's work, I thought I'd recommend some other historical works regarding WW2.

The Third Reich Trilogy (The Coming of the Third Reich, The Third Reich in Power, The Third Reich at War) by Richard J. Evans

  • Probably considered by most historians to be one of the best works on the Nazi's and Germany as a whole in this time period (1920's-1940's). This could be a good piece of work to go over to to get the other perspective for the Germans and the Nazi's.

To Lose a Battle: France 1940 by Alistair Horne

  • My personal favourite book on the Battle of France. I hold this book in very high esteem, and is a great piece of work on France during WW2 as a whole up to 1940. Also has insight into France as a nation in the interwar years.

The Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson

  • A history of the American involvement in the European Theatre, from the naval and aerial conflicts in the very beginning, to North Africa, to the very end of the war. Thorough and expansive, one of the definitive works on the American involvement in the European side of the war.

Blitzkrieg: From the Rise of Hitler to the Fall of Dunkirk by Len Deighton

  • Covers the Battle of Poland and the Battle of France on a military level. Has great illustrations and in-depth analysis of more military matters such as equipment, weapons, tanks, planes, army statistics, etc, for Germany and France. Not the most expansive book, but a very good book to read for information on the Battle of Poland and the Battle of France, especially the latter.