Dr Andrew Norman approaches Churchill's state of mind
from an entirely new medical angle, disproving the
commonly held views of medical experts.Lord Moran,
Winston's doctor, who was a physician not a
psychiatrist, admitted to being powerless to help his
patient, who understood all was not well, not
understanding his mental condition. The book also looks
at the relationship between Winston and his father, Lord
Randolph, and sheds new light on his Lordship's death
and the attached controversy.Winston Churchill was an
extraordinary person - a politician, a statesman, a man
of letters and a soldier; but it was for his wartime
leadership during the Second World War that he is
chiefly remembered. In a study of his life, certain
bizarre character traits become discernible. He had
excessive energy and required little sleep. His mind
would either flit from one idea to another
withbewildering speed, or focus obsessively on one
particular goal. He was impulsive, and his attention was
easily drawn to irrelevant or unimportant matters. He
enjoyed taking risks almost to the point of
self-destruction. He lacked inhibition and was eccentric
in the extreme. Yet at other times, when he was
afflicted with what he called his 'Black Dog', he became
depressed, irritable, aggressive, and preoccupied with
death and thoughts of suicide.By closely and
painstakingly examining the statements of Churchill's
doctor; of Winston himself, his family, his friends and
acquaintances, Dr Norman, as a medical man, has been
able to ascertain the true nature of Winston's disorder.
The diagnosis having been made it is now possible, for
the very first time, to understand the man himself and
what made him 'tick'. |
|