The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz [L0103]

2020 HCDJ in Gift-Worthy condition. #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 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.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "This is splendid, intense, emotional, perfectly crafted and so far one of the best nonfictions I've read. The author's fantastic writing hooks you from the beginning. Overall: it's informative, action packed, controversial, breath-taking reading and well crafted; I highly recommend to all readers who know the real pleasure of amazing writing."; "Few authors are as gifted writing - 'non-fiction' - that reads like - 'fiction', - as Erik Larson does. With tenacity and sensitivity, Larson gives us a compelling account of history by humanizing the facts with the interesting array of characters."; "Plenty of books have been written about WWII and The Blitz, but only Erik Larson can tell it in an original way that makes history come alive. I felt as if I lived this story with these characters. It reads like a thrilling novel, but every word, every conversation, is true, and I wasn't ready for the book to end. Larson writes history for people who think they don't like history. This is a true gem, don't miss it!"