Winston Churchill didn't just live history-he made it. In How Winston Churchill Changed the World, join Churchill-biographer Professor Michael Shelden for a multifaceted, 24-lecture exploration of the statesman's life, accomplishments, complexities, and failures. It's an unforgettable journey through the 20th century in the footsteps of the man who helped humanity prevail during violent, dangerous times.
How Winston Churchill Changed the World
What do we owe to Winston Churchill? Discover the answers in these 24 lectures by a Churchill biographer and award-winning professor.
Rated 5 out of
5
by
History459 from
A Complete history of Churchhill
I loved it. All you you about is Churchill during WW ll this covers his entire life. The instructor was informative and entertaining.
Date published: 2024-11-05
Rated 5 out of
5
by
JPM54 from
Excellent!
An outstanding and passionate lecturer, Professor Sheldan makes this class a superb experience. The class is not only a biographical essay, but an outstanding historical review of the events before, during and after the second world war. I highly recommend it.
Date published: 2024-08-18
Rated 5 out of
5
by
OldFord from
Many have pointed out the excellent content and delivery of this course, and I agree. Dr. Shelden exemplifies two things that I expect from a first-rate historian and biographer. First, he clearly loves his subject but does not turn away from Churchill's mistakes and shortcomings. Second, Dr. Shelden has facts at hand and an opinion about what those facts mean. His analysis is incisive and well-argued. It makes the difference between a mere description of events, however, well presented, and thought-provoking ideas that are quite relevant today. I especially appreciate his description and analysis of British politics, a subject not taught in America and not readily found in other historical readings.
Date published: 2024-04-30
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Spikey from
Thanks Professor Shelden
Excellent from start to finish. Thank you for making this available. It was so educational and interesting at the same time. Highly recommend.
Date published: 2024-03-04
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Fellow Nova Scotian from
Thank you Mr. Sheldon
This was the best lecture course that I have attended in decades. I consider myself an average blue collar worker and also always had a lot of interest in Churchill specifically how the last 150 years have shaped our world that we live in today. Something about making a stand against those that want to call good bad and bad good and those that follow along with that. In the face of mockery, reputation loss, financial loss, freedom loss, he seemed to be a profit without honor in his own town. I have been thinking back to the time of his death and can't name a single person that has filled his shoes since and when we really needed it. I am very grateful to those that helped make this course available to the average worker and that I was able to complete this 24 course study twice.
Fellow Nova Scotian
Date published: 2024-01-06
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Canadian from
Informative, Flamboyant Lectures
While studying this documentary-style course, I came to appreciate, as professor Michael Shelden put it, “to follow Churchill’s life is to experience up close the dramatic highs and lows of the twentieth century.” Sir Winston Churchill was certainly one of the boldest and most influential world leaders before, during, and after World Wars I and II. He and Dr. Shelden both deserve acknowledgement as eloquent, dramatic wordsmiths. Granting that, though, I also feel that the course could have had even greater educational value if Dr. Shelden had sounded less like an op-ed journalist/admiring biographer and more like a nonpartisan academic researcher. These lectures are certainly still worth your while, and I do recommend them as a good complement to further inquiry into the history of Churchill and his times.
Date published: 2023-11-30
Rated 5 out of
5
by
nancyjIA from
Comprehensive and well presented
As I know quite a lot about WWII and Churchill's role in it, I hesitated to buy this course. But I was happily surprised at the comprehensive nature of this presentation. I was pleased to learn about Churchill's personal and public lives in great detail. The course is well researched with excellent examples to support the points that the instructor makes. I also enjoyed Dr. Sheldon's presentation style. He speaks in a pleasant voice that I enjoyed listening to. His discussion is well organized and easy to follow. I bought the video version of this course but the audio version would have been just as useful. I was hoping that more pictures, maps, etc. would be included. That was really the only weakness I found with the course. Overall I really enjoyed this course and learned a lot from it. I highly recommend it.
Date published: 2023-06-16
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Hiker1973 from
Outstanding Lecturer
I have been studying Churchill lately and loved this course. It is clear that the Professor has a deep appreciation for Churchill and his accomplishments. His delivery of the material is at a nice pace.
Date published: 2023-06-04
Overview
About
Michael Shelden is a Professor of English at Indiana State University, where he has won the top award for excellence in scholarship, the Theodore Dreiser Distinguished Research/Creativity Award, three times. He earned his PhD in English from Indiana University. He is the author of six biographies, including Orwell: The Authorized Biography, which was a New York Times Notable Book and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His other Great Courses include How Winston Churchill Changed the World; George Orwell: A Sage for All Seasons; and England, the 1960s, and the Triumph of the Beatles.
Trailer
01: Churchill and the Muse of History
First, establish a strong sense of how Winston Churchill looked at the world, and what he brought to politics that made him stand out from the start of his career. Then, learn how the connecting thread of history helped inspire Churchill to deliver his iconic “Finest Hour” speech.
32 min
02: Young Churchill
Survey the remarkable accomplishments of Winston Churchill’s life before he turned thirty. Follow the future statesman as he fights on the frontier of India, takes part in the British army’s last great cavalry charge, survives capture in South Africa’s Boer War, and wins a seat in Parliament.
29 min
03: Churchill, the Edwardian Titan
Few British politicians have risen as far—and as fast—as Winston Churchill did during the first decade of his parliamentary career. Examine Churchill’s meteoric ascent, including his conflicts with political veterans Arthur Balfour and Joseph Chamberlain, his time as a liberal statesman, and his relationship with Violet Asquith.
29 min
04: Churchill’s Rise to the Admiralty
Focus on Churchill’s career as First Lord of the Admiralty and his efforts to make sure the British navy could win battles in the North Sea. Central to this were technological developments (including a massive new gun for ships) and his knowledge of the newest twist in naval warfare: aviation.
27 min
05: Churchill and Failure in World War I
With the military disaster in Gallipoli and the Dardanelles during World War I, Churchill pushed his luck too far. Discover what led to this major failure and his subsequent resignation from government, as well as how he overcame this fall from grace by joining the fight on the Western Front.
28 min
06: Churchill in War and Peace
Gain insights into Churchill’s return to government in 1917 as Minister of Munitions and, after the end of World War I, as War Secretary. Then, examine Churchill’s fraught relationship with Prime Minister Lloyd George and the publication of his grand, four-volume history of the war years: The World Crisis.
29 min
07: Churchill as Chancellor of the Exchequer
As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Churchill’s primary job was to maintain Britain’s economic prosperity. Here, learn how his efforts to cut wasteful spending, implement modest tax cuts, and return to the Gold Standard hurt the British economy in a way that would undermine most of his good work elsewhere.
30 min
08: The Rise of Tyranny in the 1930s
Take a step back to investigate just how tangled the relationship between Britain and Germany was becoming in the 1930s. Professor Shelden reveals how Churchill led an uphill battle to persuade his country about the dangers of Hitler and the Nazis—even as his fellow countrymen turned against him.
30 min
09: Churchill as Author and Historian
During the 1930s, Churchill kept his name and fame alive through his books and essays. In this lecture, explore some of his greatest works from the period, including Great Contemporaries (a dazzling study of major leaders of the day) and Marlborough: His Life and Times (a multi-volume biography of a famous ancestor).
29 min
10: The Gathering Storm in Nazi Germany
As international danger loomed on the horizon, Churchill knew the Royal Air Force would be the key to Britain’s future. Learn how Churchill set in motion a chain of events that led to the legendary (and revolutionary) Spitfire, then examine how Churchill tried to save King Edward’s monarchy from scandal.
30 min
11: Churchill in the Age of Appeasement
Explore just how pitifully disunited and disorganized the British government was as it stood on the verge of war with Hitler. How did the “age of appeasement” begin? What made Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain think he could do business with Hitler? How did Churchill continue to prepare for war?
30 min
12: The Road to Dunkirk
On May 8, 1940, a speech by David Lloyd George validating Churchill’s premonitions of war with Germany led to Chamberlain’s defeat—and Churchill’s succession to the role of prime minister. But, as you’ll learn, within a month of taking office Churchill faced one of his most serious challenges at Dunkirk.
29 min
13: Churchill in Power
When Churchill took power over the government, he knew he’d not only have to fight the Germans but also the simmering resentments within the Conservative Party. Take a closer look at cabinet battles and the famous speech to the House of Commons after the Dunkirk “miracle” that effectively crushed Churchill’s defeatists.
32 min
14: Surviving the Nazi Blitz
Explore how Churchill responded to the terror of the Blitz and how his long history of experience with aviation had a major impact on the war in the air. Then, conclude with a look at the wisdom of a particular—and overlooked—sentence from his famous speech of June 18, 1940.
29 min
15: Turning the Tide against Hitler
When did the course of war with Germany take the decisive turn for England that Churchill had hoped for? Why did his attention wander to Malaysia and Singapore? Why was the Suez Canal such an important lifeline for Britain? What was Churchill’s long-term strategy for facing down the German juggernaut?
29 min
16: Churchill and Roosevelt
Learn how another historical giant—U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt—became the one vital person Churchill needed at his side to win the war. You’ll learn what made these two men such effective partners, including their strong wills, their love of attention, and their hatred of being on the sidelines.
31 min
17: Churchill and Stalin
Turn now to Churchill’s relationship with another historical giant: Russian leader Joseph Stalin. Why was Churchill’s August 1942 trip to Moscow one of his most difficult wartime challenges? How did he and Roosevelt balance their desire to help an enemy of Hitler’s without allowing Stalin more leverage than was prudent?
31 min
18: Debating Churchill’s Wartime Leadership
Take a look at some of the more controversial decisions of Churchill’s war record, including his possible delay of the D-Day invasion and the bombing campaign against Dresden and other German cities. Also, consider Churchill’s early public stance against the threat to Jews under the Nazis.
30 min
19: Churchill from Tehran to Yalta
At the Tehran Conference, Churchill realized how small Britain was compared to the rising world powers of Russia and the United States. At the Yalta Conference, he discovered the only bond of victors is their common hate. Here, go inside Churchill’s experiences at these critical diplomatic events from World War II.
29 min
20: Peace, Churchill, and the British Voter
In July 1945, at the height of his triumph over Hitler, Churchill was kicked out of office by the British electorate and replaced with Clement Attlee. Examine how Churchill’s struggle to save Europe from despotism left Britain a minor world power instead of the major power it once was.
29 min
21: Churchill on the Iron Curtain
In this lecture on the dawn of the Cold War era, investigate how Churchill grew increasingly disappointed with Britain’s postwar future—including its reduced power, influence, and economic prospects—and his realization that another ominous threat loomed over the world: Stalin and the Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe.
30 min
22: Churchill and Britain’s Postwar Crisis
As prime minister, Churchill had shared his government with Labour leaders. Learn what happened once Labour assumed power and walked away from that spirit of partnership. From a fiscal meltdown to rationing to British troops at war in Asia, ceaseless opposition became the rule of the day.
30 min
23: Churchill’s Return to Power
Churchill devoted as much energy as possible in his second period as prime minister to cementing ties between the United States and Britain in response to the Soviet Union’s rise as a superpower. Discover how he became a powerful, persuasive advocate for peaceful coexistence in the face of atomic destruction.
27 min
24: Churchill and the Legacy of Freedom
Was Winston Churchill really the indispensable man of the 20th century? Can one person even make that much of a difference in the course of history? Professor Shelden concludes his lecture series with a pointed consideration of provocative questions that most academic historians won’t even go near.
30 min
