"When I survey this work as a whole I find I have drawn a
picture of a vanished age. The character of society, the foundations
of politics, the methods of war, the outlook of youth, the scale of
values, are all changed, and changed to an extent I should not have
believed possible in so short a space without any violent domestic
revolution. I cannot pretend to feel that they are in all respects
changed for the better. I was a child of the Victorian era, when the
structure of our country seemed firmly set, when its position in trade
and on the seas was unrivalled, and when the realisation of the
greatness of our Empire and of our duty to preserve it was ever growing
stronger. In those days the dominant forces in Great Britain were very
sure of them selves and of their doctrines. They thought they could teach
the world the art of government,and the science of economics. They were
sure they were supreme at sea and consequently safe at home. They
rested therefore sedately under the convictions of power and
security.Very different is the aspect of these anxious and dubious
times. [...] I have thought that it might be of interest to the new
generation to read a story of youthful endeavour, and I have set down
candidly and with as much simplicity as possible my personal fortunes." (Winston Churchill 1930)
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