Once again Larson makes history come alive, this time choosing as his canvas the first year of Winston Churchill's tenure as Prime Minister, during the Blitz. Military history is the background for an intimate portrait of Churchill and those in his orbit: family members, secretaries, and ministers alike. It's a rousing story combined with a nuanced character study.

The book is a captivating tale of a period of crisis and the remarkable person perfectly suited to handling it.

The world of London and Winston Churchill comes gloriously to life in this account gleaned from Churchill's records and diaries from those around him.
These chapters alternate with exploring Hitler's Germany and those in conflict with Hitler's vile reign. Erik Larson is masterful at showing Winston Churchill's humanity, strong leadership, and why he is credited with saving democracy.

Readers can count on Erik Larson for attention-grabbing history books. The Splendid and the Vile, his new account of the Churchill family during the year of the London Blitz, is true to form.

Larson’s opening A Note to Readers explains how his move to post-9-11 New York taught him how differently native New Yorkers experienced the attacks than those who experienced the nightmare from afar through the media. This realization made him wonder how Londoners coped with the 1940-1941 German aerial attacks night after night, especially as the bombardment intensified. “In particular,” Larson writes, “I thought about Winston Churchill: How did he withstand it? And his family and friends? What was it like for him to have his city bombed for nights on end and to know full well that these air raids, however horrific, were likely only a preamble to far worse, a German invasion from the sea and sky, with parachutists dropping into his garden, panzer tanks clanking through Trafalgar Square, and poison gas wafting over the beach where once he painted the sea.” Determined to find out, Larson “quickly came to realize that it is one thing to say ‘Carry on,’ quite another to do it.”

Despite the extensive biographical and historical accounts preceding The Splendid and the Vile, Larson set out to write “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, the odd little episodes that reveal how life was really lived under Hitler’s tempest of steel.”

In Part One: The Rising Threat, Larson establishes an historical context for the blitz. From the dirigibles that dropped bombs over England in WWI and 1930s predictions that expanding air power would someday turn London into “one raving bedlam” to Hitler’s invasion of the Low Countries and France and Churchill’s realization that England would be next, Larson begins to show Churchill’s fears. Even the successful British rescue operation from the beaches at Dunkirk led the new Prime Minister to observe, “Wars are not won by evacuations.” He realized that Germans could employ a “mirror image” of the British strategy--a similar flotilla of small boats to land soldiers by the thousands on British soil. With his efforts to secure American support falling on deaf ears in Washington, Churchill realized England lacked the manpower and equipment to repel German sea or air invasion. The day after Churchill’s rousing speech to Parliament designed to encourage and bolster confidence, the first German bombs exploded near Devon, Cornwall, and Gloucestershire, fortunately doing little damage, yet signaling that worse would come.

From this opening section through the end of the book, political tensions and night bombing terrors increase, relieved now and then by the events of daily life, by family, friends, colleagues, pets, funny stories, and love affairs. As he dramatizes the events that lay waste to much of London and killed thousands, Larson presents not only his “personal Churchill,” but also new insights into Churchill family members and associates. One such associate is John Colville, Churchill’s private secretary. “Every Churchill scholar has quoted the diaries of John Colville,” Larson writes, “but it seemed to me that Colville wanted to be a character in his own right, so I tried to oblige him.”

In the Epilogue: As Time Went By, Larson leaves the London Blitz behind to tell what happened to several of the less well-known players in his Churchill story—people such as his daughter Mary, his Personal Secretary John Coleman, daughter-in-law Pamela and American lover Averell Harriman, and others. Although going beyond the book’s scope, this was a nice touch, satisfying the curiosity of readers about what happened to these figures, each with his or her own contribution.

Perhaps Larson best reveals his secret to success when he speaks of “looking at the past through a fresh lens,” a perspective through which he adds, “you invariably see the world differently and find new material and insights even along well-trodden paths.”

As a long-time Erik Larson fan, I can only wonder what new historical topic he may have already begun examining through a fresh lens.

Many thinks to Crown/Random House, Net Galley, and author Erik Larson for providing an Advance Reader Copy.

It is always an honor to receive an advance galley of Erik Larson’s. It is impossible to not have your understanding significantly expand over any topic he writes and Churchill is no exception. Purchasing this book is more than adding to one’s library, it’s an investment. What one doesn’t learn of in the past is vulnerable to repeating. Read this and every Erik Larson book!

Erik Larson's "The Splendid and the Vile" focuses on the period between May 1940 and May 1941. After Neville Chamberlain failed in his attempt to make peace with Hitler, sixty-five-year-old Winston Churchill became England's prime minister. Churchill surrounded himself with trusted advisors and employed his impressive oratorical skills to keep his countrymen from losing heart. Initially, in spite of Churchill's pleas, President Franklin Roosevelt refused to offer much-needed military and economic aid to Great Britain. Roosevelt knew all too well how reluctant most Americans were to become involved in another bloody conflict.

The author conveys the chaos of this turbulent year, provides glimpses into the personal lives of those in Churchill's orbit, and offers insight into the strategy of the German high command. Larson is a meticulous researcher whose primary sources include diaries, letters, and memoirs. We learn the extent to which Clementine Churchill, Winston's wife, staunchly supported her husband. She was politically astute, tough under pressure, and compassionate towards her fellow citizens. Unfortunately, Churchill's long hours, irascibility, and mood swings took a significant toll on his family. Randolph, the Churchills' rebellious son, grew up to become an alcoholic, compulsive gambler, and a ladies' man (even after he was married and had a child of his own).

"The Splendid and the Vile" reinforces what many of us already know about Churchill's eccentricities, bursts of energy, and bouts of depression. Humorous and lively anecdotes enliven the narrative but, as it progresses, it becomes repetitious, and could have been pared down with no loss of impact. There is too much information about the parties attended by Churchill's youngest daughter, Mary; the weekends that the Churchills spent eating lavish meals and entertaining guests; the romantic longings and liaisons of various characters; and the infighting between self-important government officials.

However, it is impossible to be unmoved by the commitment, spirit, and dedication of Churchill, the airmen of the RAF, and the many other heroes who sacrificed so much to defeat a cruel and relentless enemy. Larson brilliantly demonstrates that, under challenging circumstances, Churchill and his ministers skillfully managed complex operations and shook up hidebound bureaucracies. Moreover the prime minister's eloquent radio addresses galvanized his listeners and helped them endure what must have felt like an endless series of ferocious onslaughts. As Larson states in his introduction, "It is one thing to say, 'Carry on,' quite another to do it."

Erik Larson's new book is a masterpiece. How does an author write about a legend like Winston Churchill with any kind of a new perspective? Well, Larson has succeeded in a big way with The Splendid and the Vile. Larson laser focused on a single year in the life of Churchill, starting in May of 1940 when he became Prime Minister just as Hitler was making evermore dramatic moves throughout Europe. Larson takes this critical year, with Churchill at the center, and presents it practically minute by minute through the letters, notes and documents of the people involved making a stunning non-fiction picture of the time. We see Churchill not only as the vibrant and inspired statesman leading his fellow countrymen and as the cunning and daring war commander, we see him as a husband and father in the midst of the chaos of war moving ever closer to London. The book reads like a thriller with day by day buildup to the bombing of London. Larson switches back and forth between Churchill's efforts to save Great Britain from full attack and Hitler's planning and executing his war strategy. Between this narrative Larson adds the private thoughts from diaries, letters and publications of a large cast of people on both sides, such as teenage Mary Churchill and her whirlwind of social events, German pilots and Churchill's top aides. This book is a fascinating study of a critical time leading up to the United States entering the war. Churchill's ever escalating attempts to lure Roosevelt into joining forces are detailed in Larson's typical dramatic style. The short chapters will keep readers saying "just one more chapter" throughout this excellent book. Real students of history as well as readers who may be more or less familiar with WWII history will find this book a gem. Larson brings this period to vivid life in an unforgettable way.

I rarely read nonfiction, but the exception I try to make is to read Erik Larson's work, so I was excited when I received an ARC of his newest work. The story centers on the first year of Winston Churchill's tenure as Prime Minister. I started the book with good intentions, but unfortunately, the topic did not pull me in enough to complete the book. However, for those who enjoy historical writings about World War II, you should add this book to your must-read list. Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC.

I will read absolutely anything Erik Larson writes. I picked up his masterpiece, The Devil in the White City, at the requisite time in college to be enjoyed. (I was still enthralled with serial killers and just beginning to appreciate higher-level history books.) The Devil in the White City immediately became one of my favorite books. So, of course, his thoroughly-acclaimed In the Garden of Beasts was next. If The Devil in the White City can be simplified to a dual narrative of prolific murderer H.H. Holmes and the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, In The Garden of Beasts could likewise be simplified as a dual narrative of Nazi Germany and the U.S. Ambassador to Germany’s family. While I much preferred Devil to Beasts, both were good enough for me to A) put all of Erik Larson’s books on my list. Now (tomorrow, February 25) he publishes a new historical narrative that will envelop the hearts and minds of many.
If my theory (every Larson book encompasses two interwoven narratives) is correct, then in The Splendid and the Vile it is undeniably Churchill’s family on the one hand and Churchill’s job of defending Britain (and, by extension, the world) from Nazi Germany on the other. The Splendid and the Vile leans heavily on the world-historical angle, in this case, as he frames the story around the series of German Luftwaffe air raids known today as the Battle of Britain or, more colloquially, the Blitz. This choice is partially because everything happening with Churchill’s family must happen in the context of the ongoing bombings, but I believe it is just as much a conscious choice because of the depth at which one can delve into the psychology of British society during the Blitz.
Larson hits on what is, to me, the most interesting part of the Blitz when he writes:
The censors claimed to have detected a paradox, that “morale is highest in places that have been most badly bombed.”
Malcolm Gladwell writes about this paradox in David & Goliath (only an ok book by his standards) and, if I may paraphrase, says that a “near miss” is the quickest way to think of oneself as invincible and thus contributes to morale. Some so many people experienced “near misses”, the thinking goes, that it had a positive effect on morale. There is surely some truth to this, but the same effect was not seen (as far as I know) in Berlin, where the Brits were conducting exhaustive bombing runs of their own, so to my mind, there must be more.
Larson also writes of a time when Britain, already rationing its people on almost everything else imaginable, controversially begins to ration its tea. On the heels of my review of 1774: The Long Year of Revolution, I had to laugh at the overwhelming importance those darn Brits place on their leafy beverages. But I also found it immensely interesting how, as Larson explains, the British people needed a sense of normalcy in a world of upheaval. Tea, he argues, became synonymous with carrying on, and the small routines could be considered an act of defiance against the onslaught of bombers. Compare that with Goebbels’ declaration that “(a) sloppy Christmas tree atmosphere lasting several weeks is out of tune with the militant mood of the German people” and the contrast between Britain and Germany could not be more clear.
There are so many reasons to read The Splendid and the Vile. If you want examples of what total war is like during WWII, there is no better passage than the following, during one of the raids:
Over the next six hours, 505 bombers carrying 7,000 incendiaries and 718 tons of high-explosive bombs of all sizes swarmed the sky over London. Thousands of bombs fell and ripped into all corners of the city, but they did especially grave damage in Whitehall and Westminster. Bombs hit Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, the Law Courts. One bomb sliced through the tower that housed Big Ben. To everyone’s relief, the clock’s immense bell boomed just minutes afterward, at two A.M. Fire consumed a large portion of the famous roof of Westminster Hall, built in the eleventh century by King William Rufus (William II). In Bloomsbury, flames raced through the British Museum, destroying an estimated 250,000 books and devouring the Roman Britain Room, the Greek Bronze Room, and the Prehistoric Room. Happily, as a precaution, the exhibits in these rooms had been removed for safekeeping. A bomb struck the Peek Frean cookie factory (which now also made tank parts). Two parachute mines blew up a cemetery, scattering old bones and fragments of monuments over the landscape and launching a coffin lid into the bedroom of a nearby house. The irate homeowner, in bed with his wife at the time, carried the lid out of the house and brought it to a group of rescue workers. “I was in bed with my missus when this bloody thing came through the window,” he said. “What do I do with it?”
Add to all of these mindblowing facts another paradox of the Blitz:
The odds that any one person would die on any one night were slim, but the odds that someone, somewhere in London would die were 100 percent. Safety was a product of luck alone.

The juxtaposition of the joy and horror of the Blitz makes Larson’s book unique.
One can just begin to understand why there was so much optimism and yet so much grief, even death, at once. What such a thing does to the psychology of the nation I cannot grasp, but you get little glimpses of an answer through Larson’s narrative. It is this tension that fuels the whole book and makes it worth reading, even if you already think you know plenty about the period. I would argue that the push and pull of joy and sorrow is the whole point of the book. How do I know? It’s right there in the title. Here is the titular explainer, taken from the diary of John Colville, a civil servant in Churchill’s administration:
It was magnificent and terrible: the spasmodic drone of enemy aircraft overhead; the thunder of gunfire, sometimes close sometimes in the distance; the illumination, like that of electric trains in peace-time, as the guns fired; and the myriad stars, real and artificial, in the firmament. Never was there such a contrast of natural splendor and human vileness.
It’s beautiful, and it’s woven throughout the book. The dual nature of human existence is seen in Larson’s dual narrative, and I can’t help but think it’s deliberate that the reader learns the meaning of the title very close to the exact middle of the book. This is why I will always read Erik Larson: his writing begs to be consumed slowly and purposefully.
I received an eARC of The Splendid and the Vile courtesy of Crown Publishing and NetGalley, but my opinions are my own.

Eric Larson is a go to author for me. I have highly enjoyed reading his other books. The Splendid and the vile was a good read and didn't let me down. Its a book I would pick up and read again and recommend to others to read.

It was a very happy day when I discovered Erik Larson! As a history major, I probably enjoy reading history more than the average person, but I would not hesitate to recommend any one of Larson’s books to our patrons. He has a gift of making non-fiction read like a very well written novel, and his latest book is just as good, perhaps even better, than his others. Much has been written about Churchill and the Battle of Britain, but for anyone who wants to read more about either subject, this will be THE book I will be recommending from now on. Thanks so much for the free review copy of this book!

Erik Larson has done it again. No wonder it takes him so long to write books, perfection just takes time. I learned so much about Great Britain and World War II and the struggles they had as a nation and as citizens during a horrific time. The book was well written, well thought out It carefully explores the life and times of Churchill and his contemporaries as they struggled desperately to save the nation and the peoples that they loved during this most horrific period of history. Filled with both personal anecdotes and history, Erik Larson has, once again, kept me on the edge of my seat. I highly recommend this book to all who would learn from our past in order to protect our future. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to experience this great book.

It took me a lot longer to get into this book than the others by Larson that I have read. With Devil in the White City I was enthralled by both the World's Fair and Holmes stories. The way they were intertwined and one allowed the other to really happen was mesmerizing. Maybe it is just me, but I have so little interest in war that it took me a while to get into this. I never thought I was interested in Churchill. At some point, about 1/3 in, I realized I suddenly was interested. That is the genius of Erik Larson. He sucks you in to stories and subjects you didn't know you wanted to read.

This is NOT the same review I will post online; that one will be longer. I will update this with a link to that longer one when it is written
It's said there's no such thing as a short Churchill book, at least not a good one. This book is certainly long and thus not for the faint of heart.
While I've found past Larson books to be a nice overview with some depth on an event, this one (as it states to be it's purpose) certainly focuses on Churchill AND the Blitz, and I only wish there could have been more on the Blitz alone.
As it stands, I likely won't be recommending this book to Churchill enthusiasts as my store, but I'll likely offer it to those interested in WWII, biographies generally, and of course anyone who likes Erik Larson.

This is an inspiring account of Winston Churchill’s first year at Prime Minister as he leads Britain through the blitz, loss of ships, rationing, battle losses, and the persistent fear of German invasion. Churchill himself admits that his whole life lead up to this moment in time. In his ever-tenacious manner, he pushes Parliament, the French, the Americans and his own armament manufactures and thumbs his nose at Hitler who, for the life of him, cannot understand why Britain will not surrender. Author Erik Larson, author of In the Garden of Beasts and The Devil in the White City, did a brilliant job of intertwining the political animal and personal idiosyncrasies of Churchill.

A portrait of a paragon of courage and resolve with poignant moments and political intrigue. Larson's decision to present the first year of Churchill's term as prime minister is brilliant. We get glimpses behind the curtain using Churchill's own words as well as diaries from those around him like secretary Coville and daughter Mary. Clementine is also there in all her glory. London and Berlin are frequently juxtaposed next to each other in alternating chapters in the narrative. In hindsight we can see more clearly the blunders made on both sides, but especially those of the Germans as the tide was turning when Hitler decided to take a break from battering Britain and use the Luftwaffe to invade Russia. The statistics are staggering: . In the midst of it all we read a quote from Coville's private papers during a Sunday night bombing raid: "It was magnificent and terrible: the spasmodic drone of enemy aircraft overhead; the thunder of gunfire, sometimes close sometimes in the distance; the illumination, like that of electric trains in peace-time, as the guns fired; and the myriad stars, real and artificial, in the firmament. Never was there such a contrast of natural splendor and human vileness." And thence comes the magnificent title for this new release from Erik Larson.

Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a stunning portrait of Winston Churchill and his quirky but oh so effective leadership during a crucible in British history. Once again Erik Larson has given us an historical narrative rich in detail based on his thorough research. Yet what sets Larson apart is his skill and craft which allows him to take his readers beyond the research so that we can be in the moments and events -- to see what and how things happened as they happend and to feel the tension, anxiety, humor, and drive. This is a study in amazing leadership when Churchill, by force of will, instilled in the British people the strength and courage to face the unthinkable -- the blitzkrieg with all its terror and destruction -- forging the nation into an unbeatable force. His total commitment to rallying the national with mostly honest assessments of the peril at hand yet rallying them to fight on in any way they can played a significant role in the eventual defeat of the Nazis -- of evil. Perhaps it is this battle against good and evil at a time of great danger to democracy that makes this story even more compelling. today We have no Churchill for our times and so the contrast stands out starkly and poignantly. This is a masterfully writer and inspiring story told by a master historian and writing. .

One would think there’s enough Churchillian scholarship out there but this excellent fly-on-the-wall view of his first year as Prime Minister proves otherwise. (Also included are chapters on Hitler et al., a final chapter on America’s entry into the war, and an Epilogue covering the major players.) Larson turns what could be boring into a page turner that gives a real sense of Churchill and those around him. Highly recommended.

"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."

But of course what follows the period after WWI? WWII!

Erik Larson is well-known for his historical books, for they are extremely well-written and almost read like fiction. This book is no exception. Churchill's role in World War II is covered extensively. This book would be great for an in-depth study of Great Britain's role in World War II, and I highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I went into this with such high hopes... I've loved many of Larson's previous books - he has a distinct talent for writing non - fiction that reads like fiction. He's a marvelous storyteller and a detailed researcher - unfortunately, in this one, I think he over - emphasized the latter at the expense of the former. There is a ton of detail about what people wore, furnishings in their rooms, and genealogy and family relationships. And I felt like it was presented in minute detail, when what I really wanted was the focus on the Blitz that the description promised. It made the story a much tougher and slower read than I expected - there was never a moment when this one felt like fiction to me... Perhaps that's where my issue comes in the most - I wanted a narrative ala Devil in the White City or In the Garden of Beasts, but felt more like I was reading assigned classroom reading... Larson is a great writer, so it was still interesting - but not engaging in the way I hoped it would be.