Requeiscat in Pace: William Manchester

William Manchester, writer and veteran, died yesterday at the age of 82. Sadly, the much-anticipated third and final volume of his Churchill biography, Defender of the Realm will never see publication. Mr. Manchester leaves some very large shoes to fill:

Mr. Manchester's biographies were known for his story-telling nature and his use of concrete details to evoke in the reader a sense of being a witness to history.

"It would be impossible to find somebody writing narrative popular biographies that doesn't have a debt to William Manchester," biographer Douglas Brinkley recently told the Los Angeles Times.

Brinkley said Mr. Manchester was a "conscious literary stylist" who realized that history was like telling stories in front of a roaring fire.

"He understood that there's nothing wrong with writing history as being a page-turner," Brinkley said.

Tacitus has an excellent post conerning Mr. Manchester and the appeal of his writing. Check it out:

Sunset of the Warrior Artist