#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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During this time of stay at home necessity when so many people thing the current crisis is so hard to deal with, reading this book provides a reminder of what real hardship looks like. I tell my grown children that we have never really experienced the difference between wants and needs. For most of us, the current situation is manageable but what wouldn’t we give for a leader like Churchill!
The world would be a different place had there been no Churchill. The research done by Larson is phenomenal and he includes so many personal and quirky things about the family to entertain and inform. What London went through in one year far exceeds anything we are enduring with the current virus. The British always survive through their grit, determination and tea! And, it certainly helped that they had a fearless and empathetic leader!
Wonderful focus on Churchill/Hitler during the bombing of London — if you’ve read other biographies of Churchill, you’ll really enjoy the tales you might not have read of this intense period
Gripping from beginning to end, The Splendid and The Vile is a nonfiction work about Winston Churchill’s first days as a Prime Minister. It also gives an devastating account of the suffering of the people during the Blitz. The research is evident in this powerful, well-written book. An excellent read.
Excellent historical book.
Another terrific book from Erik Larson, this one about Winston Churchill’s momentous first year as prime minister, dealing with everything from Dunkirk to the Battle of Britain.
A treasure of historical tidbits
It wasn’t as informative about Winston Churchill as I have come to expect from this author. On the other hand, I have read several books about Churchill, the Blitz, Bletchley Park Code breaking. So that may be unfair to the author. I did like a great deal of the behind the scenes details of Churchill’s Operating style as well as some key characters around him and their interpersonal dynamics. I do recommend it. If your knowledge is limited about Churchill, this is a great start.
excellent book on the leadership of Churchill and a look at life in Britain
I really enjoyed reading this non-fiction historical novel by Eric Larson following Winston Churchill’s life during World War II as seen by John Colville his private secretary. This novel kept me interested in reading about WWII history. I received this free book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I have read a number of books about Churchill. This was a fresh perspective that follows almost day by day of the Blitz.
Typical Erik Larson, history lessen with a subordinate story, It reads like fiction, but is true to the facts.
I have read several books by Eric Larson but “ Devil In The White City” was always my favorite, but after reading “The Splendid And The Vile”, this one is a tie for me with the above book.
I have never read another author who can make learning about history engaging and easily readable. It was a bit hard to read in part because of the pandemic we are still struggling with. However, it was such a story of human strength, determination and victory that I found it uplifting.
I had never researched Winston Churchill in the past and knew him only by brief articles about him or short films. In reading an article by the author I found that after he visited New York he suddenly understood how New Yorkers felt about 9/11, it was an attack on their home city that none of us living elsewhere could truly understand. He then began to think of London and “the aerial assault of 1940-41 in which they endured 57 consecutive nights of bombing, followed by an intensifying series of nighttime raids over the next six months.”
It was then that he decided to write this book and focus on Churchill’s 1st year as prime minister and what it must have felt like to have his city invaded from the sea and sky. “This was the year that Churchill became Churchill, the cigar smoking bulldog we all think we know, when he made his greatest speeches and showed the world what courage and leadership looked like”. Wow what an incredible achievement of research and smooth flowing prose this book is. I learned about what Churchill’s family life was like and how much they struggled. There are also many characters, ordinary citizens, and what it was like for them, to know that when nighttime came the bombing would start again.
Reading this book transported me to England and showed me what a unifying leader Mr. Churchill was, how much the populace loved him and how he walked among the ruins and wept openly. He showed by his actions that he was right there in the battle with his countrymen and kept them inspired and motivated to continue the fight.
This book is as easy to read as fiction but is so educational I think it should be a strongly suggested read for high school students. To look at the war from the UK’s point of view and learn what can be achieved by fighting on in spite of the terrible odds they faced.
There has been so much written about this book but truly this is one of the top 10 books I have read this year, simply amazing!
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley.
Erik Larson is always welcome in my library.
It was ok , but it was like reading a history text. I am a history major and gad trouble finishing it… too much information!
Avid Larson fan. Highly reccommended for nonfiction readers. History unfolded.
An important read at this time (during Covid). It is a book that will likely be read more than once.
Larson’s two focal points, in each of his nonfiction books, inform the reader and clarify historical characters and events. In The Splendid and the Vile, Larson helps bring Winston Churchill and family members to life in a way usually not brought forth. The same for Hitler’s henchmen. A really good read, as usual.
Loved the book until the final chapters. Provided a great picture of Churchill under duress and rising to each crisis with determination.
If you ever wanted to read a book about Winston Churchill but didn’t know which one to pick up, or were pretty convinced that you were not going to read one then this book is for you. Erik Larson is a great writer and this book is just further proof. As I read through this it just became apparent that some people are just meant to lead.