Extraordinary! I've added all the rest of Erik Larson's books to my list. He is a wonderful storyteller. I found myself really looking forward to any minute I could steal to read this. A fascinating look at Churchill's first year as Prime Minister. Certainly put my problems in perspective! Very well researched and yet very entertaining. A real page turner. I'm sorry it ended.

Erik Larson is my favorite author of nonfiction. He writes books that just grab me as well as always teaching me something new.

Looking back on Churchill, it’s easy to assume he was always loved and admired. But that’s not the case. He had many detractors on both sides of the pond. Larson does a wonderful job of giving us a flesh and blood Churchill - kimonos and all. His strength lay in being able to give the English hope and a willingness to fight on. After his moving speech about fighting on and never surrendering, he turns to a colleague and says “and...we will fight them with the butt end of broken bottles, because that’s bloody well all we’ll have left”.

While Churchill provides the locus of the story, it is much more all encompassing. We learn exactly what England was up against in that first year of war. It’s the details that he gives us that stick with me. On the first massive bombing of London, it’s the “dust from the age of Cromwell, Dickens and Victoria” that rains down on everyone and covers everything. His choice of quotes are always striking. It’s the perfect blend of the monumental facts and the minute detail so that you have a complete picture.

I came away with a much better understanding of what the Battle of Britain was all about. I had not understood how much of England, not just London, was subjected to the horrendous bombing. And it put me in awe of the English ability to withstand such horror.

My thanks to netgalley and Crown Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

Many volumes of information are available chronicling the life of Winston Churchill and the blitz. One element that makes this book enjoyable is the way the author lets us in on various back stories. These back stories help us understand the inner circle of the Prime Minister and the hard decisions he had to make. It also shows the reader bits of everyday life of bomb fatigued Londoners.
What I liked: you feel the urgency and weight of the difficult decisions of Winston Churchill without the writing being maudlin. You feel the sadness and hopelessness of events out of Churchill’s control, yet are encouraged by his unfailing optimism. Finally, the chapters are varied in length and the reading is very interesting.
If you enjoy a combination of history, psychology, and suspense, you will enjoy The Splendid and the Vile.

Bestselling author Erik Larson turns his attention to Winston Churchill's first year as Prime Minister. With thorough in-depth research, Larson brings Churchill to life - sharing details on his political and personal life. I wanted some more info of the families, but Larson's writing did keep me hooked.

However, this book is long! Larson is a master at drawing you in & keeping you interested, but this wasn't my favorite. I did like it & definitely felt intrigued to finish it.

A well researched work of narrative non-fiction that I've come to expect from Erik Larson, I wish there had been a little more about the family, but it was a detailed chronicle of the beginning of the war.

3.5
Wow, this book was hard to get through. Don't get me wrong I love Erik Larson's work and I appreciate all the research involved, and his ability to collate that copious amount of information into readable prose, but this book was just tedious.

Some sections of the book were focused on lesser known individuals like Churchill's daughter Mary and one of his private secretaries, John Colville, but the chapters about them were very boring as they focused on their, to me, unimportant romantic interests and day to day minutia. Very dull.

I felt this book could have been pared down considerably and still have been interesting. Too much repetitive information about Churchill, his weekends at Chequers and his quirky character traits.

This isn't to say I didn't get something out of this book, but I felt it was a very difficult read to find something of interest.

A fascinating, novelistic book about Winston Churchill that's more colorful and easier to read, though just as verifiable accurate, as most of the more academic biographies of a compelling historical figure.

The Splendid and the Vile is a good, but not great, Erik Larson book. He has set the bar high for himself over the years with a number of very well-written histories. The Splendid and the Vile is also well written, but it feels slight. It is for the WW2 or Churchill completist as it details not only Winston Churchill’s actions and speeches during the London Blitz (mostly very well known), but also those of his family members and close circle of advisors, both famous and not so. The details about Mary Churchill’s (WCs teenage daughter) life through her letters are the best part of this book which still doesn’t quite rise to the level of Larson’s top work.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Net Galley.

historical-places-events, historical-research, history, nonfiction, Great Britain

I wouldn't normally read a book about Churchill because of his causing the Anzac massacre at Gallipoli, but this author is known for meticulous research and crediting. This intense scrutiny of the man, his aides and allies, family, and the people of Great Britain during a time for the space of a year when they were under fire in every sense of the word. Hitler and his minions were going about their murderous business, France fell, and the Americans had their heads in the sand. This book humanizes not only Churchill but those around him as well. I was surprised to find myself reading on for long periods of time. It's that well written.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crown Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!

"If some of what follows challenges what you have come to believe about Churchill and this era, may I just say that history is a lively abode, full of surprises." Erik Larson is the master of taking a period in history, juicing it up with details of people and happenings behind the scene, and making the reader think about that history in a new light. This book is another humdinger that will make your jaw drop, will have you saying 'wow' out loud, and write down inspiring quotes over and over again. For instance, "...when I remember all that has gone wrong, and remember also all that has gone right, I feel sure we have no need to fear the tempest. Let it roar, and let it rage. We shall come through." Damn, this man could lead and inspire, like no other yet he was far from perfect. (he's got some quirky personal habits, that's for sure!) This book tells the story of that first year, the worst year of the Blitz, where thousands died, women and children and ordinary people, who all stood on the side of the Channel and told Hitler NO. I absolutely loved this book and anyone who loves history will as well.

I love how Eric Larson weaves history & story together! Winston Churchill was so dynamic and so interesting and reading anything about the man (& WW2) is absolutely fascinating; especially as this book takes place during his first year as Prime Minister.

Bestselling author Erik Larson turns his attention to Winston Churchill's first year as Prime Minister as he unites a nation in the face of the horrors of the London Blitz. With thorough in-depth research, Larson brings Churchill to life - sharing details on his political and personal life.

However, Larson's thoroughness is also a drawback. At over 600 pages, you need to love history books to appreciate this thick tome. Although, it is easier than reading Churchill's own six-volume work on the Second World War. 

All in all, my love of World War II books made this my favorite of the February 2020 book releases I've read. Just be prepared for an informative read on this fascinating topic instead of a thrilling read.

I have long been a fan of Erik Larson’s books. The Splendid and The Vile is no exception. Larson’s book looks at Churchill’s first year as prime minister, the first year of England in WWII. Rather than overwhelm the reader with another exhaustive Churchill biography, we instead are treated to this specific one year slice of Churchill’s life. It is about the war, about his family and the team that helps him navigate through this intense time. Fascinating book, well researched and written.

Thanks to Churchill and the British citizens ability to "Keep Calms and Carry On" Europe is what it is today (thank you). Learned a lot and enjoyed reading it - a lot of details at times but necessary to understand everyday life during the Blitz.

I received The Splendid And The Vile by Erik Larson, free, from Net Gallery, in exchange for an honest review.
Erik Larson has written so many great books, but this book is his crowning jewell.
The book focuses on Winston Churchill, and his desperate situation trying to save Great Britain, and possibly the world.
This book humanizes Churchill and tells how he tried to get America to help him in the war, but Roosevelt was very reluctant to help him.
It was wonderful reading Churchill’s great speeches and how they helped to dally Great Britain.
A sure best seller and a fantastic book.

History which ticks along as dramatically as fiction, with Larsen's splendid talent for immersing the reader in a moment in time. A rich, exciting, whiplash-paced read.

As an Erik Larson fan I was thrilled when I received this ARC. I’ve read 4 of Larson’s previous books : Dead Wake, Isaac’s Storm, In the Garden of Beasts and The Devil in the White City. While The Splendid and the Vile did not engage me as much as the others, it was a well-researched and we’ll-written account of Churchill’s personal and public life around 1941. This past summer I had the chance to see the Churchill War-rooms in London and this was the perfect follow up.

I like learning about history and have more of an interest in it now than when I was younger and in school, having to read and memorize people and dates! During a trip to Dover Castle last year, we visited the underground tunnels where Churchill secretly held meetings during World War II. Its amazing how history comes to life when you can see something up close like where Churchill worked and where the battle of Dunkirk was planned.

If you ever go to Dover, England, be sure to visit Dover Castle and the tunnels underneath! Europe has such a fascinating history and I hope to visit again and learn more.

But I digress!

Take a look at The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson which is coming out next month!

“Mine is a more intimate account that delves into how Churchill and his circle went about surviving on a daily basis: the dark moments and the light, the romantic entanglements and debacles, the sorrows and laughter, and the odd little episodes that reveal how life was really lived under Hitler’s tempest of steel.” –Erik Larson

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.

This is an incredible non-fiction book and offers so much detail that I encourage you to set aside plenty of time to really drink this in! History buffs will absolutely want to get their hands on this amazing book. Prediction- it will be a best-seller!

Coming out on February 25.

This is my first Erik Larson book and it didn’t disappoint. He is a master historian who brings the reader into each conversation, each meeting and each private setting as though you are a part of it as well. I will say that I had heard Larson writes history as a novel, which makes him such a brilliant historian bc he engages the reader. This book was engaging but it wasn’t written as a novel, it was written as though you were reading journal entries. That is my only complaint.

Erik Larson is an exceptional writer. His meticulous research, coupled with a conversational writing style, make his nonfiction books as enjoyable to read as a novel. He tells the reader about Churchill, but more importantly, we get to know people around him: his wife, his 18-year- old daughter, his spendthrift son, and most importantly, his entourage, all of whom worked tirelessly during the war years. The descriptions elicit a very visceral reaction—I felt almost as if I were a witness to the terrible bombings—but there are moments when he also injects humor. (Roosevelt sent his emissary Harry Hopkins to meet with Churchill in 1940; Churchill took him to review the fleet on a very cold, blustery day. Hopkins “looked for a place to shelter …from the cold and wind…and found a spot that seemed ideal. A chief petty officer approached him, saying ‘Excuse me sir, I don’t think you should sit there—that, sir, is a depth charge.’”)
I highly recommend The Splendid and the Vile, not only to readers with an interest in history, but also to those who usually don’t care for nonfiction. Thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing this Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.