My thanks to all for all their "Action This Day" with so many helpful and supportive suggestions. By a felicitous coincidence I saw a billboard of a Churchill quotation while driving yesterday.
I'm going to sift through all the ideas and also some submissions I've received off group. My mandate is to stimulate discussion rather than lecture or overly present. I think "My Early Life" will be high on my list and of course speeches for the excellence of their messages, coupled with some exposure to how he crafted them. Also, an article or two from "Thoughts and Adventures." I think I'll show some slides of paintings and work in something from "Painting as a Pastime." Pulling together timelines from the website will give a good outline of his long and varied career, of which his WWII premiership was but the culmination. A couple of passages from Savrola will be illuminating: "Vehement, high and daring" (if memory serves) is one resonant phrase, the fictional tribute to Mrs. Everest is heartwarming, and the soliloquy about pay now or pay later when it comes to self-improvement versus indolence is extremely prescient coming from a 23 year old. We suffer with an embarrassment of published riches. It's a nice problem to have. Some of the military biographies such as D'Este and Russell may be both too long and too specific for an introductory course of only 9 hours. Manchester is gripping but at 2 volumes it is a little daunting. But I will get to the enrollees in advance a recommended reading list for their leisurely self-study. Joe -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Harlan Cooper Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 1:39 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ChurchillChat] Churchill Adult Ed minicourse - solicitng suggestions Agree, "My Early Life" is excellent for all ages. "Thoughts & Adventures" is a great treasure. Something else that might be both fun and relevant to current affairs, should your group have tolerance for the politically incorrect in today's world, is Chapter One of "The Story of the Malakand Field Force," entitled "The Theatre of War." Certainly, a war speech or two? The last few pages of "The World Crisis" are absolutely unforgettable, beginning with "It was a few minutes before the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. . ." (Pages 846 - 849 in my 1931 Scribner's one-volume edition) Please do share your syllabus with us when completed. -Harlan Cooper On 8/6/2010 3:37 AM, Paul Courtenay wrote: > Joe > > You must certainly include "My Early Life". Other recommendations are: > > "Thoughts & Adventures" (Jim Muller's new edition) > "Savrola", with its very revealing philosophical and political > ideas at age 21 > "Churchill: A Study in Greatness" by Geoffrey Best > > I also agree with Mike Campbell's choice of Doug Russell's "Winston > Chuchill, Soldier". > > I am a great fan of David Reynolds' "In Command of History", but this > might be too big a mouthful for first-timers. > > Paul > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe Hern" <[email protected]> > To: "ChurchillChat" <[email protected]> > Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2010 8:46 PM > Subject: [ChurchillChat] Churchill Adult Ed minicourse - solicitng > suggestions > > > I am developing a five week (1 hour and 45 minutes per session) mini > course for seniors at a nearby college. I want to assign readily > available weekly readings. Since almost all enrollees have email > addresses, I will not be shy about using on-line resources of The > Churchill Centre. Course description is below. I'm aiming to develop > an appreciation for his whole life, beyond the familar WWII Churchill. > > I welcome course content suggestions, particularly from anyone who has > conducted similar adult ed or even college/high school introductory > seminars: curriculum; books readily available at public libraries and > on Amazon.com. > > The course starts in late September and I can give them in advance > some suggestions for book-length pre-course self-study. (Gilbert's > one-volume distillation? Manchester? Jenkins? My Early Life? > Others?) During the course itself I'd like to keep to shorter > readings. All are invited to weigh in with suggestions on general > readings. > > [COURSE DESCRIPTION] > #1202 Winston Churchill: A True Polymath Best known for his courageous > defiance of Nazi might during World War II, Winston Churchill (1874 - > 1965) led a long and active life as a statesman, orator, soldier, > journalist, Nobel-laureate author, painter - and bricklayer! He > entered the army in 1895 and served in Parliament from 1901 to 1964. > Using his own words and writings about him, we will examine > Churchill's long and storied careers, the issues of his times and the > legend he became. > > Course materials: speeches, articles and on-line resources of The > Churchill Centre (www.winstonchurchill.org). Students will be > encouraged to share their own memories of him. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. 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