William Manchester
William Manchester
Full Name and Common Aliases
William Raymond Manchester was a renowned American historian, journalist, and author. He is often referred to as one of the most prominent historians of his time.
Birth and Death Dates
Manchester was born on January 31, 1922, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and passed away on April 1, 1995, at the age of 73.
Nationality and Profession(s)
Manchester was an American historian, journalist, and author. He spent most of his career as a professor of history at various institutions, including Harvard University and Yale University.
Early Life and Background
Growing up in a family of modest means, Manchester developed a strong interest in writing and storytelling from an early age. His parents encouraged his creative pursuits, which would later become the foundation for his successful career as a historian and author.
Manchester's childhood was marked by hardship, with his family struggling to make ends meet during the Great Depression. Despite these challenges, he found solace in reading and writing, which became essential outlets for self-expression.
Major Accomplishments
Throughout his illustrious career, Manchester achieved numerous accolades and recognition for his contributions to historical scholarship. Some of his most notable accomplishments include:
Manchester's work on The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, a two-volume biography that earned him the National Book Award in 1983. This monumental work is widely regarded as one of the definitive accounts of Winston Churchill's life.
Manchester also made significant contributions to American journalism, serving as a war correspondent during World War II and reporting from the front lines.
Notable Works or Actions
Some of Manchester's notable works include:
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill (1983) - A two-volume biography that won the National Book Award in 1983.
A Death Defered (1968) - A novel about a young woman struggling with her faith and identity during World War II.
Goodbye, Darkness (1979) - A memoir of his experiences as a war correspondent during World War II.
Manchester's work often explored themes of leadership, heroism, and the human condition. His commitment to accuracy and fairness earned him widespread respect from scholars and readers alike.
Impact and Legacy
William Manchester left an indelible mark on the field of historical scholarship. His groundbreaking biographies, meticulous research, and engaging writing style have inspired generations of historians and authors.
Manchester's impact extends beyond his written works. He played a significant role in shaping public perception of historical events, particularly World War II. His reporting from the front lines brought attention to the sacrifices made by soldiers and civilians during this pivotal conflict.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
William Manchester is widely quoted and remembered for his:
Influential biographies: Manchester's works have had a profound impact on how we understand historical figures, such as Winston Churchill.
Unwavering commitment to accuracy: His dedication to fairness and thorough research has set the standard for historians and authors alike.
Engaging writing style: Manchester's ability to craft compelling narratives has made his books accessible to a broad audience.
Manchester's legacy serves as a testament to the power of history, storytelling, and the human spirit.
Quotes by William Manchester
And he despised pedants. A junior civil servant had tortuously re-worded a sentence to avoid ending with a preposition. The Prime Minister scrawled across the page, “This is nonsense up with which I will not put.
In Parliament a fellow MP whispered to him that his trousers were unfastened. “It makes no difference,” Winston replied wryly. “The dead bird doesn’t leave the nest.
Obviously it is impossible to define the exact relationship between an individual and his environment. One might as well try to photograph nostalgia or submit passion as an exhibit. Honor, integrity, and love – and hate – cannot be pierced with thumbtacks and displayed on bulletin boards. Yet all exist. Some motives reside beyond the rules of evidence.
Churchill, too, offered Roosevelt a name for the war; it summed up in three words the entire legacy of the appeasers and isolationists: “The Unnecessary War.
The truth is so precious,” Churchill told Stalin, “that she should always be protected by a bodyguard of lies.
One would have thought that in the days of peace the progress of women to an ever larger share in the life and work and guidance of the community would have grown, and that, under the violences of war, it would be cast back. The reverse is true. War is the teacher, a hard, stern, efficient teacher. War has taught us to make these vast strides forward towards a far more complete equalisation of the parts to be played by men and women in society.
He loved books and wrote of them: “if you cannot read all your books, at any rate handle or, as it were, fondle them: peer into them, let them fall open where they will, read from the first sentence that arrests the eye, set them back on their shelves with your own hands, arrange them on your own plan so that if you do not know what it is in them, you will at least know where they are. Let them be your friends. Let them, at any rate, be your acquaintances.
A man is all the people he has been. Some recollections never die. They lie in one’s subconscious, squirreled away, biding their time.
Please understand that we are not interested in the possibilities of defeat. They do not exist.