The Splendid and the Vile

Other history books may have covered Winston Churchill's life in more detail, but this one covers a period critical to his legacy, specifically the years 1940 and 1941. Eric Larson's book portrays Churchill's essential leadership during one of Britain's worst trials of WWII, the Blitz. Larson describes the daily battles and personal traumas of England's prime minister. He gives intimate family portraits of Clementine, Churchill's wife, Mary, his daughter, and Randolph, his son. Close associates such as his secretary, security chief, advisers, and friends are all examined, in turn, to provide a complete picture of the atmosphere and community surrounding Churchill. Larson has done extensive research from personal diaries, public documents, and speeches. An intimate character study emerges of a leader whose perhaps most remarkable talent was to get people to believe in themselves. His rousing speeches and displays of confidence steadied a frightened public. German air raids, which killed thousands of British civilians, made people spend perilous nights in bomb shelters under blackout conditions. Throughout the trials of food scarcity, shelter uncertainty, and persistent bombings, Britain held together. Some of the more interesting stories about Churchill had nothing to do with his military acumen but rather his eccentricities. He did not suffer fools, despised people's habit of whistling, and took two baths a day. While bathing, he had his typist near him to record letters. He wore a special sky-blue one-piece suit, which his aides called "his rompers" to provide him with maximum comfort. Churchill was not self-conscious. Larson explores the German leadership from Hitler to Goebbels, Goering, and Hess. He provides the reactions of these men to British war strategies and Churchill's speeches. He covers the burgeoning friendship with President Roosevelt, first established through Roosevelt's charming emissary Harry Hopkins. If you are interested in the personalities behind WWII, you will enjoy this book. Larson has done a masterful job writing a comprehensive and highly readable study of Churchill's wartime life.

There aren’t many writers whose work I enjoy reading as much as Eric Larson. I don’t remember the last time I got through 500 pages in a week. No matter how many stories I hear about that time in history, it is endlessly fascinating.

This book traces a year, week by week, in the life of Winston Churchill. It begins when Churchill takes the mantle of Prime Minister and shoulders the burden of England’s war effort. As the year progresses, Larson traces the lives of Churchill’s family, closest advisors, and assistants while also keeping an eye on the actions of Goebbels, Goring, and Hitler. A primary focus is the bombing program against London. Larson keeps an eye on the logistics of Churchill’s life as well as those of the British war effort. He also invests a lot of attention toward the personal and social lives of these key players and makes extensive use of personal journals to keep the focus on the human impact of the war. The book helped to explain the development of technologies, ideas, and various conflicts. One thread that I found particularly helpful to trace was America’s involvement in offering aid to Great Britain. While week by week hundreds of civilians are being bombarded and dying, American aloofness must have been agonizing to Churchill and the British populace. Also agonizing must have been the wait for the Lend Lease Act to be passed. This act, which I had only known in name prior to my reading, allowed America to leverage its resources with repayment assured only for damaged property. Larson used the analogy of lending a neighbor a hose when his house is on fire. You don’t sit down and negotiate the terms and cost of hose usage, you give him the hose. Then, if it is burned up in the firefight, you can talk remuneration after the fire has been doused. So too would the Lend Lease Act make some of America’s resources available to our British allies. In reading the book, aside from specific actions on specific days, I didn’t learn much new information about Churchill. A great orator, indefatigable, an embracer of life, a drinker, a man with a temper, stalwart, a bit of an eccentric. Some interesting tidbits were sprinkled throughout such as his proclivity for working from the bathtub and the bed, but no deeper, heretofore unknown depths of character were uncovered. Having read two other books by Larson, Devil in the White City and Thunderstruck, I was glad to find a better organized story in this book. Chronology was clear and themes developed slowly but organically. Overall, I am left with a clearer understanding of Churchill as a man and military leader and a greater appreciation for the human impact of war. In the midst of truly prodigious bombing, the citizens of Great Britain carried on with their lives, withstood, endured. It seemed that every person, in one way or another, paid a terrible price and yet the result was triumph in the face of evil. GRADE: B+

I loved the book but the printing quality was poor. The insights into Churchill's character as a leader, orator & savy politician were very interesting. He had his faults as it was apparent that he was an alcoholic but he was the right man for the job during WW2. The common people suffered greatly due the night time bombing of numerous cities. The military had little defense against the bombers other than pretty inaccurate AA guns. The UK was lucky that the Nazis turned their attention to invading Russia mid year 1941 and stopped the nighttime bombing and that America entered the war after Pearl. And contrary to popular belief the vast majority of people did not go to the tube and other shelters at night when the sirens sounded in London. As an aside it struck me odd that so many people of wealth continued to go to bars and nightclubs while London was bombed and the city burned around them. Many of the ladies & lords of the UK didn't suffer like the commoners as they all had their peaceful country estates to go to, and the food rationing affected them little. I highly recommend this book.

As an American, I really didn't recall school history teachers talking about England prior to the U.S. entering WWII. Rightfully so I suspect because after all it was American History. But then again, World History classes didn't discuss the subject either. Erick Larson however with his very detailed style of writing, did a masterful job of describing the dire consequences England was facing during this period. Winston Churchill had just become Prime Minister and his army was fleeing for their lives at Dunkirk. The only good news was, not as many British Soldiers were killed in this evacuation as predicted. If one may call that good news. Mr. Larson really has the reader feeling how alone England really was in their efforts of defending democracy from the German Empire. Germany's Blitzkrieg rolled over Europeans with great ease and the soon realized vulnerable French, were now the only defense between them and the German army. The French had prepared for the invasion by building a massive line of impenetrable connected bunkers. Who knew the German army would just go around them. Shortly, the French negotiated a surrender with Germany and now there was no protection from being invaded. For the 1st year of Churchill's administration each and every day the British people were unnerved at the prospect of be invaded. The only thought Hitler and his staff didn't consider was resistance. Hitler mistakenly took the entire British Empire as nothing to be concerned about and with his advisors were convinced they could take England with their air bombardment followed up by a ground invasion. What i learned from this book is more about the resolve of the British people. For many days, several in a row, the clouds over England at night were full of bombers applying massive destruction to a historic empire. And yet, people went out to dinner, attended movies, plays and actually danced many nights away at local and regional night clubs. I'm sure there were people that stayed in bunkers, basements or what have you, but for the most part, people seem to treat the bombs as an inconvenience as they went about their work days. I really enjoyed the description by Mr. Larsen of Joseph Goebbels, one of the most powerful leaders of the Nazi party, as he painted his fingernails and dressed up in lavish outfits to attend public parties. There seems to be no denying that Churchill had is idiosyncrasies as well. Mr. Larson described how he enjoyed putting on his uni suit and marching around in front of his dinner guests to military marching tunes until way into the early hours of the following day. There were at times I thought perhaps too much ink was spent on Mary Churchill but then again, it sets the tone for what all British citizens were up to as well. I have read all of Erick Larson's books and as soon as I saw this one offered for a pre purchase via Amazon I clicked the order button with out even reading the bibliography. It's not my favorite Larson book, but by far not my least favorite. Very entertaining and causes one to reflect on some of the similarities we are all facing with this deadly Covid19 Virus. Treat yourself and buy this book.

Fantastic read. History that reads like a detailed suspense novel.

Outstanding biographical portrait of Winston Churchill's first year as Prime Minister of Great Britain. This is also the year of "The Blitz": the Nazi Germany Luftwaffe's sustained air attack of Great Britain-specifically England and Scotland. While all of England and parts of Scotland were bombed, London, as the capital of England, sustained constant devastating bombing. Larson's book describes Winston Churchill's experience by using the words and stories of his family, friends, employees, political allies and enemies, and interestingly, his war allies and enemies. Larson is able to provide a detailed portrait of Great Britain's first year at war, from the details of Britain's Exploratory Forces and the evacuation at Dunkirk to the defeat at Tofrek and finally, the presence of the United States in the war, from the transfer of 50 ships of questionable value in return for the use of Great Britain's naval bases to the emergence of Roosevelt's Lend-Lease program, until finally, the entrance of the U.S. in the war as after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Post Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt declared war on Japan, and Germany, as part of the Axis powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan, declared war on the United States. One of the most interesting details about the book is that Larson ends the book just as the U.S. enters the war. Although the book is well-documented non-fiction, it reads like a novel. The impressions that present in form of dialogue documented in published papers and books in addition to quotations from the diaries and journals of Churchill's family and subordinates as well as the recorded wartime impressions from more both famous literary figures and more ordinary Englishpeople. Larson does an excellent job detailing the nuances of numerous relationships in the book without making the book overly complicated or confusing. The way he chronicles Churchill's courtship of Roosevelt is fascinating; as are the relationships of Pamela Digby Churchill (Harriman), his daughter cinemas, who carried out an affair with W. Averell Harriman, Roosevelt's special envoy to Churchill and subsequently, Station. (In a fascinating turn of events, Pamela and Harriman end up marrying each other much later in life). Detailed portrayals of the people surrounding Churchill are fascinating, and Larson explores Churchill's relationships with the people surrounding him, rather like planets orbiting the sun. Winston Churchill, who carried the weight of Great Britain (and some would say the free world) during WWIi, was an interesting, complex, and brilliant man, though certainly flawed. As a leader, he rose to a challenge that seemed insurmountable. Churchill had the ability to inspire people that few could match. Extraordinarily, this ability was perhaps matched by one of his contemporaries, F.D.R. Without these two men as leaders during WWII, it is questionable whether democracy would have prevailed at the conclusion of the war. Erik Larson's The Splendid and Vile captures his subject, Winston Churchill, in a brilliant and interesting way. I highly recommend this book.

I very much appreciated the deeper dives into the details of Churchill’s rise, and the going’s on of his inner circle. I knew he was a character, but not this much of a character! Also appreciated the details around the German leadership and how they thought the war was progressing. My only issue with the book is that there was far too much space devoted to Churchill’s youngest daughter Mary. The target audience for a book like this is less interested in the thoughts of an 18-year-old girl and what parties and lunches she’s attending. Still recommend the book.