Churchills First War: Young Winston and the Fight Against the Taliban

Churchill's First War: Young Winston at War with the Afghans

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Coughlin has the reporting skills to draw those parallels, and that makes this book compulsory reading for any military personnel deploying in that part of the world. For many young lives, it is unfortunately too late. If you like history, and the lessons of history, this book's for you. Read more, including a couple of snippets from Kipling, on my blog Aug 19, Chris rated it liked it Shelves: The Taliban is nothing new.

Winston fought the Talibs in and they had suicide bombers back then too. I came away from this book not too enchanted with Young Winston. He was a shameless self-promoter, sycophant, and spoiled rich kid who seemed too ambitious for his own good. However, he was courageous, competent, and could write. His intent to use the army as a stepping stone to a political career did not endear him to either his peers or his seniors.

He and his mother would never take no fo The Taliban is nothing new. He and his mother would never take no for an answer, constantly bombarding the King, prime minister, etc.. The racist imperial comments about the character of the peoples are illuminated with the perception that nothing has changed since Winston's time there except maybe the technology of the weapons. Coughlin actually visited the sites in Pakistan where Churchill fought and provides maps and pictures from the past as well as the present. A good read that leaves you wondering why we are wasting national treasure American lives in a land that violently reacts to any foreign interference in their affairs.

May 29, Christopher Shay rated it liked it.

Chruchill's First War was worth a read, mainly because it draws an interesting comparison between historical and modern military interventions in Afghanistan. Turns out, they never work very well. It also explores Churchill, himself, who seems like an interesting dude. I feel like Coughlin made his point about Afghanistan fairly effectively, if a little snobbishly, and without a truly sophisticated insight into the region.

His grasp of or at least his writings on South Asian history is not im Chruchill's First War was worth a read, mainly because it draws an interesting comparison between historical and modern military interventions in Afghanistan. His grasp of or at least his writings on South Asian history is not impressive compared to Peter Tomsen's epic "The Wars of Afghanistan". But, then again, Tomsen's books was something like a thousand pages long.

Churchill's First War: Young Winston at War with the Afghans by Con Coughlin

For the amount of time I invested in reading "Churchill's First Especially concerning the perspectives of the British elites who formed South Asian policy. Coughlin is a more effective biographer of Churchill than he is a South Asia historian. But this is my first Churchill biography, so I have no idea how the work compares with other biographers or Churchill as an autobiographer.

From the quotes included in "Churchill's First", I tend to think the autobiography would have been a better read. Still, "Churchill's First" was a pretty OK. Jan 07, M rated it really liked it Shelves: This well written, very readable account is a good background read when considering what is going on in Afghanistan today.

The early chapters explain the Churchill family circumstances that led Winston Churchill to volunteer for service in Afghanistan. Then the history of the British involvement in the region is discussed. Churchill was twenty-one years old at the time and this operation, and his subsequent writing about it, was the basis of the reputation that led to his later political successes.

Con Coughlin's account of young Winston’s battles in Afghanistan entertain Keith Lowe.

May 29, Alex rated it it was amazing Shelves: A great read which cleverly weaves contemporary information about the fight against the Taliban with the main subject of the book - Churchill as a young officer. I found how the book relates Churchill's transformation from under-performing school boy to articulate and calculating Officer of great interest, it shows that few things come naturally, even to great men, but most things can be learned if you apply yourself.

I found the authors style easy to read and understand, it offered lots of chal A great read which cleverly weaves contemporary information about the fight against the Taliban with the main subject of the book - Churchill as a young officer. I found the authors style easy to read and understand, it offered lots of challenging thoughts about the conflict in Afghanistan and the young Churchill.

Well worth the time. Nov 04, Jane rated it liked it.

Churchill’s First War: Young Winston and the Fight Against the Taliban, by Con Coughlin, review

This book has the feel of a college thesis He has used the information to contrast and compare the British efforts in Afghanistan to the American war being waged there throughout the W. His conclusion is that the situation there is as futile now as it was then. Jun 10, Zulfiqar rated it it was amazing. Jun 14, Robert Enzenauer rated it it was amazing.

It is a very good story of the imperial successes and failures of the British fighting against Pashtun tribesmen on the North West Frontier. Over a century later, these are the ancestors of the same Talibs and tribal insurgents in modern-day Afghanistan. This book is an excellent education for ANY soldiers en route to Afghanistan. Jan 22, Lauren rated it liked it Shelves: I received a copy of this book for free via Goodreads Firstreads.

I rather enjoyed this book. It was informative without being too dense. The author made good use of Churchill's own accounts of the war in the Pashtun region of Afghanistan-Pakistan, giving the work a lot more validity and life. Jun 23, Alec Gray rated it liked it. Drawing on Churchill's own account of an expedition to quell unruly Pathans now Taliban in 's Afganistan, this is a good overview of Young Churchill.

The pAralells between the Brits fighting there then and us today are striking. Jul 26, Michael Mustafa rated it really liked it. A well written and informative account of Churchill at NFW. Jan 18, Elizabeth rated it it was amazing Shelves: Excellent book, which I will expand on later. Mar 28, M. Review coming up on the historical novel society website in May Dec 28, Joseph rated it it was amazing.

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Jan 10, Nancy rated it really liked it Shelves: For those who love reading history I would highly recommend this book. Not only do you get to know the young Winston but learn about the early history of Afghanistan and it's people.

Rocky rated it really liked it Aug 13, Niman Mohammad rated it it was ok Nov 03, Tim rated it liked it Nov 18, Tony rated it it was amazing Feb 02, Shannon Stinson rated it really liked it Feb 28, Joe Impinna rated it liked it Feb 01, Scott Chapman rated it really liked it Sep 22, On the battlefield he went out of his way to commit acts of bravery: How Churchill got a taste for war.

Playing hookey in Marrakesh. The way he wrote about his deeds may have been self-congratulatory — but it was damn good copy: Some of the juicier details and quotes are repeated, partly because there are not quite enough of them; and some of the descriptions feel like padding. Coughlin is a talented writer, and as defence editor of this newspaper has become something of an expert on the modern conflict on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border. The parts of the book where his expertise shines through are nothing to do with Churchill, but rather in the references to the way history has repeated itself.

It is no coincidence, he writes, that the same tribes Churchill fought against also led the insurgency against Nato and the Pakistani government over a century later. Every now and then we get a glimpse of the layers of history and politics around his story, and the page springs to life.

Had Coughlin perhaps given himself more time, and expanded this approach, it would have made for a more rewarding read. Follow Telegraph Books on Twitter. Get the best at Telegraph Puzzles. A collection of the best contributions and reports from the Telegraph focussing on the key events, decisions and moments in Churchill's life. This book tells the story of the men and women of Fighter Command who worked tirelessly in air bases scattered throughout Britain to thwart the Nazis. The essential gift book for any pet lover - real-life tales of devoted dogs, rebellious cats and other unforgettable four-legged friends.

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