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Churchill Society Home "THE GOVERNMENT IS THE SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE AND NOT ITS MASTER" Winston Churchill Oslo 1948	Churchill Book Discussion Group Five Days In London May 1940 and Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat The Dire Warning: Churchill's First Speech as Prime Minister By John Lukacs Thursday 11 December 2008 8:00 p.m. -10:00 p.m. Combination Room Trinity College University of Toronto 6 Hoskin Avenue Free - Donations welcome Five Days In London May 1940 Eminent historian Lukacs (Thread of Years, etc.) delivers the crown jewel to his long and distinguished career with this account of five daysAMay 24-28, 1940A"that could have changed the world." Lukacs posits that it was during those five days in London "that Western civilization, not to mention the Allied cause in WWII, was saved from Hitler's tyranny." A grand view, to be sure, but the consequences are not in dispute: "Had Britain stopped fighting in May 1940, Hitler would have won his war," writes Lukacs. "Thus he was never closer to victory than during those five days in May 1940." A quarter-million British troops were trapped by the Germans at Dunkirk. The British public, ill-informed about this reality, remained apathetic, and the War Cabinet was divided over what action to take. Neither the United States nor the Soviet Union had yet entered the war, but Churchill resolved to fight "till Hitler is beat or we cease to be a state." Lukacs draws heavily on newspapers and public opinion research of the time to re-create the rapid series of events that turned the tide, swaying both the citizenry and the War Cabinet to rally behind Churchill. Though Churchill did not win the war in May 1940, as Lukacs puts it, he "did not lose it" then. Lukacs covered some of the same turf in The Duel, yet this new work focuses on these five days with a microscopic view. It is the work of a man who lives and breathes history, whose knowledge is limitless and tuned to a pitch that rings true. Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat The Dire Warning: Churchill's First Speech as Prime Minister In this brief essay, historian Lukacs (Winston Churchill) examines a single sentence from one of Winston Churchill's most memorable speeches and his first as prime minister during World War II. In the process, Lukacs evokes the temper of a time when the fate of humankind hung in the balance. Churchill made this moving speech on May 13, 1940. The German mechanized legions were pushing through France, and England's "Darkest Hour" was beginning. Lukacs stresses that this speech, with its famous words, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat," was given to the assembled Parliament and heard only by Churchill's colleagues there. Yet it captured the grim resolve that resonated throughout Great Britain, and when Churchill's words were reported, the British knew they were in a fight to the death-and that Churchill was the man to lead them. Lukacs is an unabashed Churchill admirer, but he is also a highly regarded historian whose work on the early phases of World War II is prolific and influential. This work may be a paean to Churchill, but it is also a perceptive analysis of a seminal moment in world history. Although there are many books on Churchill's speeches, e.g., Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat: Winston Churchill's Famous Speeches, edited by David Cannadine, this concise essay should be in every Churchill collection. By Jim Doyle - Library Journal Biography John Lukacs is the author of over twenty books on topics in European history, including Five Days in London: May 1940, The Hitler of History, and The Last European War. Currently Professor of History Emeritus at Chestnut Hill College, he has also taught at Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and the University of Budapest. He lives in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. PREVIOUS EVENTS Troublesome Young Men The Rebels who Brought Churchill To Power and Helped Save England Lynne Olson December 2007 Churchill's Folly How Winston Churchill Created Modern Iraq Christopher Catherwood February 27, 2007 In Command of History Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War David Reynolds May 30, 2006 In Search of Churchill A Historian's Journey Sir Martin Gilbert January 19, 2006