I'm Gretchen Rubin and this is a little happier.

One of the great joys of my writing life

has been the writing of 40 ways to look at Winston Churchill,

my short unconventional biography of Winston Churchill.

What a life!

What a pleasure it was to write that book.

One of the many remarkable things about Churchill

was how emotional he could be. In his time, many people

accused him of being sentimental. He often cried in public. He expressed his feelings in

frank, sometimes even childish terms, and he readily

admitted to becoming overcome by emotion. There's a story I often recall,

something that happened during the Second World War.

I often go back to reread it because it gives me the exquisite feeling of elevation,

one of the most beautiful sources of happiness.

This incident took place in August 1940

when Churchill visited the nerve center of the air battle over Britain

where young pilots were ready to fight and die at a moment's readiness.

In his memoir, Churchill's military advisor Lord Ismay described the scene.

There had been heavy fighting throughout the afternoon, and at one moment every

single squadron in the group was engaged. There was nothing in reserve, and the

map table showed new waves of attackers crossing the coast. I felt sick with fear.

After a tremendous struggle, the Royal Air Force repelled the attack. Later, the two men sped away to checkers, the country

...