#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake delivers an intimate chronicle of Winston Churchill and London during the Blitz—an inspiring portrait of courage and leadership in a time of unprecedented crisis “One of [Erik Larson’s] best books yet . . . perfectly timed for the moment.”—Time • “A bravura performance by one of America’s greatest … performance by one of America’s greatest storytellers.”—NPR
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Time • Vogue • NPR • The Washington Post • Chicago Tribune • The Globe & Mail • Fortune • Bloomberg • New York Post • The New York Public Library • Kirkus Reviews • LibraryReads • PopMatters
On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next twelve months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally—and willing to fight to the end.
In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows, in cinematic detail, how Churchill taught the British people “the art of being fearless.” It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it’s also an intimate domestic drama, set against the backdrop of Churchill’s prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London. Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports—some released only recently—Larson provides a new lens on London’s darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family: his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents’ wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela’s illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the advisers in Churchill’s “Secret Circle,” to whom he turns in the hardest moments.
The Splendid and the Vile takes readers out of today’s political dysfunction and back to a time of true leadership, when, in the face of unrelenting horror, Churchill’s eloquence, courage, and perseverance bound a country, and a family, together.
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Wonderfully well written. Felt like I was walking, riding, talking with Churchhill. Larson was able to keep a balance between fact and imagined emotions. The book reads fast paced like a novel, does not get mired in what are sometimes typical biographical details. I would happily have given the book 5 stars IF Larsen had registered Churchhill‘s initial response or any reaction to Hitler’s mass murders of the holocaust. Failure to do that is questionable.
If you read Devil in the White City by the same author, don’t expect the same type of book! This is more of a blow-by-blow verified accounting of Winston Churchill and how he marshalled the British people’s spirits during unrelenting bombardment of England in the first years of World War 2. There are insights into the actual humanity of Churchill and other almost mythical people; those were my favorite passages.
Even though I knew the ending of the Churchill and blitz “story,” I couldn’t put this book down. Larson somehow keeps you in suspense, and I loved learning about people I didn’t know about before–or learning new sides of those I did know about. Some of the new people (to me): Churchill’s beautiful daughter Mary and his dissolute son Randolph, Randolph’s wife Pamela who later married Averill Harriman, Harry Hopkins, much loved U.S. ambassador to England, and John Colville, one of Churchill’s secretaries whose diary was much referred to. I was just surprised no pictures were included in the book.
IMO, you can’t go wrong with an Erik Larson book! It doesn’t matter that you know the ending, the journey is always fascinating!
Outstanding deep dive into one segment of WWII, the Blitz, and how close England came to being invaded by the Nazis. It was indeed “their finest hour” and the resilience of the British people flummoxed the Germans. How could they keep resisting the terror of the nightly bombardments? How could they continue going about their daily lives, and why didn’t they surrender?
It was a concerted effort, with one key person at the center: Prime Minister Winston Churchill. A flawed individual who nonetheless was “the indispensable man” (as was said of George Washington), the one who cajoled and bullied and inspired and kept a nation going.
This is one of Larson’s better histories and it reads like a thriller. Even though I knew the outcome I keep turning pages late into the night to see how the British people, the RAF and their leaders pulled it off. They were indeed, the Greatest Generation and we still owe them a debt. Highly recommended for students of 20th c. history, or anyone looking for a thoughtful non-fiction read this summer.
Well written
We’ll written detailed historical book.
As always, Larson tells true stories in the most fabulous manner. He makes known history a compelling read. I’m forever smarter after reading his books.
Couldn’t put it down. I read it at the beginning of the pandemic. What sacrifice we were asked to make was nothing compared to England in WWII. Churchill was inspirational to give his nation hope against all odds. Remarkable…
One of the best historical reads I’ve read in a long time. I was fully engaged from the first page. I sent the book to numerous family members so we could discuss it at the next family dinner.
Full of the political machinations that eventually brought America into the war.
Chrurchill was an amazing politician, warts and all. A story of strength and courage
What a great book, pandemic or not. The first year of Churchill’s reign before America backed him up is a study in leadership under tough circumstances, the joy of solving tough problems, and an absorbing vision of watching all hell break loose from every level.
Love Eric Larson books.
Appreciate Erik Larsen’s ability to construct a memorable reading of Churchill during WWII. Vocabulary and imagery bring life to the moments!
If you are familiar with Winston Churchill, this probably isn’t the book for you. It doesn’t do more than scratch the surface.
The real story that you didn’t get in history class. Great quotes from various personal diaries and memories of key players! Stark and realistic
Great history with many details
as always well researched and very interesting book by this author
Outstanding coverage day by day of Hitler’s attempt to bring down Great Britain. Wonderful
stories of the courage and brilliance of the British
People and their leader, Winston Churchill!
Not as good as his others…..