Musical Gifts of a Steppe Son

On February 9 1944, in the Garden Room at 10 Downing Street, Winston Churchill sat down to luncheon with the day’s guests. Among the invitees was the philosopher Isaiah Berlin, then working for the Foreign Office in Washington. “What is the likelihood,” Churchill asked, “of the President being re-elected for a fourth term?” Berlin looked befuddled, but eventually allowed that Roosevelt’s good name ought to ensure him victory. If, though, Roosevelt decided not to stand, then Berlin wouldn’t be voting for anyone.