In 1938 Winston Churchill published his collected speeches under the title Arms and the Covenant. His American publisher felt that an American audience would not be drawn to that title and asked Churchill for an alternative. (For anyone who has ever sat in on an editorial meeting at a publishing house, this story, while perhaps apocryphal, is certainly not improbable.) Churchill wired back, "THE YEARS OF THE LOCUST," which was misread by the cable operator and came through as "THE YEARS OF THE LOTUS." The editors confessed among themselves that while they did not understand Churchill's meaning they would honor the intent. Because the lotus, in Greek legend, was thought to induce sleep, the book was published in America as While England Slept, and was hugely successful.

cjr  |  archive  |  resources  |  contact  |  search  |  subscribe