An interesting approach to a biography of the man who saved western civilization from Hitler. Churchill wrote more than 10 million words in his lifetime, provided some the world’s most memorable oratory, was a painter of significant renown, and most notably was the first and loudest clarion to warn of Hitler’s rise. He resisted Germany with all his prodigious power and intelligence keeping England afloat while the rest of Europe sank. But Paul Johnson’s approach to the man takes less than 200 pages and aims for easy hyperbole. The lesson of Churchill, writes Johnson, is “work hard, never give up, do what you believe in with great intensity.” It feels both supercilious and superficial.