I love books.
For me, books have always been a source of knowledge, entertainment, and comfort.
I like fiction and non-fiction equally and find as I grow older I will nearly always pick up a book given the choice between reading or watching a television show.
Recently I had the occasion to see a notice of a new publication titled, "The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill" by Dominique Enright.
Churchill has always been a hero of mine and I think I have read all of the definitive biographies on him as well as many lesser known works on his life and the lives of his family.
(On a side note of interest perhaps only to me, Churchill's Mom, an American socialite named Jenny Jerome, is credited with inventing the bourbon drink, the Manhattan. Now, how cool is that?)
In any event, I ordered the book, more out of compulsion then really expecting to read anything "new" about WSC.
Imagine my delight upon discovering in this very tiny book a multitude of sayings and quotes from Churchill, the majority of which had escaped my knowledge previous to reading this book.
A sampling:
"When I was younger I made it a rule never to take strong drink before lunch. It is now my rule never to do so before breakfast."
"I have in my life concentrated more on self-expression than on self-denial."
"Do not let the better be the enemy of the good."
And a personal favorite, one Christmas as WSC was about to carve the Christmas goose he was informed that the goose before him had been one of his own from the flock at Chartwell. WSC put down both carving knife and fork and remarked,
"I could not possibly eat a bird that I have known socially."
If you have opportunity take the time to get and read this wonderful small treasure which provides some new (or forgotten insights) into (for me) perhaps the greatest man of the 21st century.
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