The Boer War (Winston Churchill Early Works Collection Book 1)

As a young, ambitious soldier, Winston Churchill managed to get himself posted to the 21st Lancers in 1899 as a war correspondent for the Morning Post - and joined them in fighting the rebel Boer settlers in South Africa. In this conflict, rebel forces in the Transvaal and Orange Free State had proclaimed their own statehood, calling it the Boer Republic. Perhaps the most riveting personal account is found in London to Ladysmith via Pretoria, where Churchill is captured in Pretoria not long after he arrives to join the British forces - and is frustrated not by the conditions in the prison but by the fact that he was missing the action. Churchill tells the story of how he escaped and made a daring overland crossing, travelling only at night to avoid detection. Over a 64-year span, Churchill published over 40 books, many multivolume definitive accounts of historical events to which he was a witness and participant. All are beautifully written and as accessible and relevant today as when first published. During his 50-year political career, Churchill served twice as Prime Minister in addition to other prominent positions - including President of the Board of Trade, First Lord of the Admiralty, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Home Secretary. In the 1930s, Churchill was one of the first to recognise the danger of the rising Nazi power in Germany and to campaign for rearmament in Britain. His leadership and inspired broadcasts and speeches during World War II helped strengthen British resistance to Adolf Hitler - and played an important part in the Allies’ eventual triumph. One of the most inspiring wartime leaders of modern history, Churchill was also an orator, a historian, a journalist, and an artist. All of these aspects of Churchill are fully represented in this collection of his works. A fascinating piece of first-person reporting from the British statesman's early years as a war correspondent in South Africa. As a young, ambitious soldier, Winston S. Churchill managed to get himself posted to the 21st Lancers in 1899 as a war correspondent for the Morning Post—and joined them in fighting the rebel Boer settlers in South Africa. In this conflict, rebel forces in the Transvaal and Orange Free State had proclaimed their own statehood, calling it the Boer Republic. This book consists of two separate works in one volume, “London to Ladysmith via Pretoria” and “Ian Hamilton's March.” In the former, Churchill is captured in Pretoria not long after he arrives to join the British forces—and is frustrated not by the conditions in the prison, but by the fact that he was missing the action. Churchill tells the story of how he escaped and made a daring overland crossing, traveling only at night to avoid detection. Recounting Churchill's own adventures and observations during the conflict, this book is fascinating for both its historical and personal perspective. “We never think of Churchill as a reporter. That is our loss... His dispatches from the 1899-1902 Boer War in South Africa to the London Morning Post... sizzle with energy and daring.” —The Washington Times London to Ladysmith and Ian Hamilton’s March were published in book form by Longmans, Green on 15 May and 12 October, 1900, respectively.Both tell of Churchill’s adventures in South Africa during the Boer War and both are based on the despatches he sent to the Morning Post between November, 1899, and July, 1900.When the Collected Works were published by the Library of Imperial History in 1974 it was decided to issue both books in a single volume, since both are quite short and the one follows straight on from the other. The combined volume was called The Boer War and the same practice has been followed in this edition, but it must be borne in mind that Winston Churchill never actually published a book under that title.