An extraordinary work. Erik Larson does a wonderful job in weaving the documented happenings regarding Churchill, and his family about the Blitz of World War II.

- Superbly documented
- Reads like a novel
- Organized for maximum understanding ( )

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." ( )

UPDATE: 4.25 stars rounded down to 4. I picked this back up again after a two month hiatus and this time it was right book, right time. I'm so glad I finished it. It didn't disappoint.

I very much appreciated reading and learning more about Churchill (who really is a fascinating man, political figure, and leader), but also those in his orbit - friends, family, cabinet appointees, etc. It was rich with detail and brought history and some key players to life. For a book that's so well-researched and documented, it felt like I was a witness to history rather than a reader of it.

I especially liked that it was from the British perspective (which I know is obvious since it's about Churchill), but reading the US (lack of) response through British perspective and the German perspective on the British was a different lens on history than I've had in the past.

For anyone who's a fan of Churchill (or just wants to learn more about him), Anglophile, and/or a 'student' of WWII, I highly recommend this book. ( )

Very interesting. Not a page turner. ( )

[water damaged hardback] ( )

It was quite engaging. ( )

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS
(Print: 2/25/ 2020; 978-0385348713; Crown; First Edition; 608 pp. (including list of references))
(Digital: Yes.)
Audio: 1/22/2002; 978-0593167182; Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group; Unabridged; Duration 17:57:21 (15 parts); Unabridged.
(Film: no. at least not yet).

SERIES:
No

CHARACTERS: (Not comprehensive)
Winston S. Churchill – Prime Minister of Britain.
Clementine (pronounced Clementeen) Churchill – Winston’s wife.
Mary Churchill – Winston’s youngest living daughter—17 at the commencing focal time of this book, 1940.
Diana Churchill Sandys – Winston’s eldest daughter – 30 at the commencing focal time of this book, 1940.
Duncan Sandys – Diana’s husband.
Sarah (Mule) Churchill – The second daughter – age 25 at the commencing focal time of this book, 1940. (an actress)
Vic Oliver – Sarah’s husband – age 41 (an Austrian actor)
Randolph Churchill – 4th child of Winston and Clementine – age 28 at the commencing focal time of this book, 1940.
Pamela Digby Churchill – Randolph’s new bride from the year before the commencing focal time of this book – age 20.
Judith Ventia Montagu – Mary’s close cousin – age 17.
Walter Henry Thompson – Scotland Yard’s Special Branch Detective (“a ‘dogsbody’, in the parlance of the time.”)
John (Jock) Colville – Assistant private secretary to Prime Minister Chamberlain, and then to Winston.
King George VI
Queen Elizabeth
Neville Chamberlain – former Prime Minister of Britain
Franklin D. Roosevelt – U.S. President
Joseph Kennedy – American ambassador to Britain
Lord Halifax – Foreign secretary
Hastings (Pug) Ismay – General military chief of staff
(William) Averell Harriman – Franklin’s special envoy to Europe (and Pamela’s love interest)
Robert Meiklejohn – Harriman’s secretary.
William Maxwell Aitkin - Lord Beaverbrook – Minister of Aircraft Production
Frederick Lindemann – 1st Viscount Cherwell – British physicist – prime scientific advisor to Winston.
Harry Lloyd Hopkins – Franklin’s advisor on foreign policy – supervised the Lend-Lease program of military aid to the Allies.
Adolf Hitler- Austrian-born German politician – dictator or Germany – leader of the Nazi Party.
Joseph Goebbels – Hitler’s chief propagandist
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess – Adolf’s Deputy Fuhrer
Hermann Goring - Chairman of a new six-person Council of Ministers for Defense of the Reich

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
Erik tells us that he didn’t truly comprehend the affect of 911 on New Yorkers until he moved to Manhattan and lived among those whose homeland was attacked, and it started him pondering, how Londoners withstood 57 straight days of bombing….and so he had to research it and share it with us. A generous gesture indeed. He adds a lot of fact and texture to the stories of the many lives we are, to varying degrees, familiar with.
One of the many issues this book led me to consider, was America’s resistance to assist Britain in its struggle against a hostile take-over by a country lusting for blood, even of its own citizens, until America itself was attacked.
For me, it fueled my belief that sometimes security and comfort can instill a false sense of superiority. It seems that is easier to be a moralist (war—sending one’s citizens to kill and be killed—is evil) when one is comfortable and under no threat. When, in retrospect at least, it seems the evil was in making no effort to protect Allied countries from being overrun, terrorized and crushed by a country with no regard for humanity eager to instill fear and suffering, and supplant cultures of rich intellect, beauty, and joy, built over centuries, with what would have amounted to hostile enslavement, until the threat arrived at our own front door. I’m sure there were factors of which I am unaware, and hindsight if 20 20 vision, but I’m just sayin’.
If, like me, you enjoy audio books, this one is masterfully narrated by one of my favorite narrators, John Lee. But pick up a copy of the book and read the acknowledgements, because, like the forward (entitled, “A Note to Readers”), it is an essential part of Erik’s story-telling genius in this work.

AUTHOR:
Erik Larson (1/3/1954). According to the book’s end fly-leaf, “Erik Larson is the author of five national bestsellers: Dead Wake [read it], In the Garden of Beasts [read it], Thunderstruck [read it], The Devil in the White City [read it], and Isaac’s storm [what? I missed one?] which have collectively sold more than 9 million copies. His books have been published in nearly twenty countries [nearly?].”

NARRATOR(S):
John [Rafter] Lee. As I mentioned in my last review where John was the narrator, oddly, Wikipedia and IMDb (Wikipedia’s source, so no wonder) make no mention of the many books John has narrated, but instead list his filmography (nothing I have seen, but probably because he is British), television roles, and video game roles. Apparently, he is also a playwright and producer.

GENRE:
Non-fiction, history, biography

LOCATIONS:
London, Chequers, 10 Downing Street

TIME FRAME:
1940-1941

SUBJECTS:
WWII, 1939-1945; Bletchley code breakers; Radar; fighter planes; bombs; family; romance; London; community; resilience; finances; foreign relations; America’s attitude toward joining WWII; Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965; Prime Ministers; Great Britain; Campaigns; Social aspects of WWII in Britain

DEDICATION:
“To David Woodrum –for secret reasons”

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
“’All of a sudden about midnight [I] heard a rain of objects on the roof and against the building and saw bright flashing blue lights through the drawn curtains, he wrote in his diary. ‘Took a look out and saw dozens of incendiaries sputtering around in the street and small park below, making a bluish light like electric sparks, my first close contact with incendiaries.’ As he watched, he heard noises in the hall and found that his neighbors were heading down to the shelter in the building’s basement. A visiting airman had advised them that incendiaries were invariably followed by bombs.
‘I took the hint,’ Meiklejohn wrote. He put on his treasured fur coat---‘I didn’t want it to get blitzed.’—and headed downstairs to begin his first-ever night in a shelter.
Soon high-explosive bombs began to fall. At one A.M. a bomb landed just beyond a corner of the building, igniting a gas main that lit the night so brightly, Meiklejohn believed he could have read a newspaper by its light. ‘This caused considerable stir among those who knew what it was all about,’ he wrote, ‘because it was almost a sure thing that the bombers would concentrate on us with the fires as a target.’
More incendiaries fell. ‘Then the bombs started coming down fast after a while, in ‘sticks’ of three and six that sounded like gun salvos.’ The upper floors of neighboring buildings caught fire. Detonations shook the building. Several times during lulls in the bombing, Meiklejohn and a trio of U.S. Army officers left the building to examine the accumulating damage, careful not to venture more than a block away.”

RATING:
5 stars. It must have been such a tremendous challenge to weave so many quotes from diaries, correspondences, reports, and what-not, from such a huge cast of characters, into so robustly comprehensive and cohesive a rendering of these lives and times; striving, all the while, to add unique and as-yet untold peeks into the hearts and souls of those who shepherded nations through the war and into the future, with such panache.

STARTED-FINISHED 7/7/21 - 8/8/21 ( )

Very good book. Erik Larson is one of my favorite authors. About Winston Churchill and the Blitz. ( )

An engrossing look at life during the Blitz in London, 1940 to 1941. ( )

A splendid account of the year before the bombing of Pearl Harbor of Churchill?s first year as Prime Minister. An excellent accounting of what went in the lives of the people around him and the destruction that took place in London and other cities in Great Britain.Kirkus: The bestselling author deals with one of the most satisfying good-vs.-evil battles in history, the year (May 1940 to May 1941) during which Churchill and Britain held off Hitler.Bookshelves groan with histories of Britain?s finest hour, but Larson (Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, 2015, etc.) employs a mildly unique strategy, combining an intense, almost day-to-day account of Churchill?s actions with those of his family, two of his officials (Frederick Lindemann, who was Churchill?s prime science adviser, and Lord Beaverbrook, minister of air production), and staff, including private secretary Jock Colville and bodyguard Walter Thompson. Since no one doubted they lived in extraordinary times and almost everyone kept journals and wrote letters, the author takes full advantage of an avalanche of material, much of which will be unfamiliar to readers. Churchill remains the central figure; his charisma, public persona, table talk, quirks, and sybaritic lifestyle retain their fascination. Authors have not ignored his indispensable wife, Clementine (Sonia Purnell?s 2015 biography is particularly illuminating), but even history buffs will welcome Larson?s attention to their four children, especially Mary, a perky adolescent and his favorite. He makes no attempt to rehabilitate Winston?s only son, Randolph, a heavy-drinking spendthrift whose long-suffering wife, Pamela, finally consoled herself with a long affair with American representative Averell Harriman, which was no secret to the family and was entirely approved. Britain?s isolation ended when Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, but Larson ends on May 10. The Blitz was in full swing, with a particularly destructive raid on London, but that day also saw Rudolf Hess, Hitler?s second in command, fly to England and engage in a wacky attempt (planned since the previous autumn) to negotiate peace. Nothing came of Hess? action, but that day may also have marked the peak of the Blitz, which soon diminished as Germany concentrated its forces against the Soviet Union.A captivating history of Churchill?s heroic year, with more than the usual emphasis on his intimates.

I usually like Erik Larson’s slice-of-life histories, and The Splendid and the Vile provides interesting insights into the associates, colleagues, and family of Winston Churchill in the first year of World War II after becoming Prime Minister of England. There’s only one problem: What in the heck happened to the Battle of Britain in 1940? Lord Beaverbrook is given great credit for increasing aircraft production, but according to Larson, the RAF was basically incompetent to defend the country and stop the Luftwaffe’s Blitz night bombings. A huge hunk of history seems to be missing here. ( )

Always enjoy Erik Larson, but thought this a bit dry. However, it was quite fun to read about the characters in depth. ( )

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 12 months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britains. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally-and willing to fight to the end. ( )

Finally finished this #AuthoraMonth for my online Litsy book club. My overall thought is how lucky England was with Churchill: definitely the right man at the right time. After reading this, I wonder if we would have won WWII without him. While I loved Larson's THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY, this did become a bit cumbersome. My diary is less detailed than this! Did I need to know his every waking moment? No. Though him taking daily naps was endearing. 😃 ( )

This is the captivating tale of how Winston Churchill, London and all of England survived the first year of World War II and the relentless bombing raids Hitler and the Nazis inflicted in order to break their spirit. Larsen uses quotes from diaries and letters to elevate the story above the facts and figures and dates and make it personal, populated with well-rounded personalities acting and reacting to events impossible to comprehend. He even almost succeeds at making Churchill himself into someone anyone can identify with. Yet the apparent reality of Churchill defies the attempt and he remains larger-than-life. This is a must-read for anyone interested in this period of history.

Disclosure: Thank you to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for providing a free copy of this book in return for my honest review. ( )

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

Histories take various forms. Some concentrate on broad ranges of people and events. Others focus on singular events and a small number of historical figures. Erik Larson’s The Splendid and the Vile captures a middle position, and does it very well. Larson examined the World War II period of May 10, 1940 to May 09, 1941 and focused the narrative on Winston Churchill and the German bombing of England during that period.

Larson deeply researched his work, using personal diaries and official histories from both sides of the conflict, to paint an intimate picture of the Churchill family and the circle of friends and government officials with a significant impact on the year he’s expansively covered. Unlike many histories, Larson avoids the pitfalls of densely cloaking his narrative just with facts, figures and events and ignoring the personal sides of history. This is a history that will enthrall history buffs, but also interest the casual reader as well. It is graced with humor, drama, and tragedy that unfolds as excitedly as a best-selling thriller.

Highly Recommended
( )

Erik Larson is the master of making nonfiction read like a novel, and The Splendid and The Vile really brings that home as he examines Churchill and England during the Blitz. Using a multitude of primary documents and moving around through a variety of people, Larson brings them all to life and sheds light on Churchill’s political and personal life during the time. An absolute must-read for anyone interested in WWII and also for those wanting to learn more. An excellent audio book. ( )

On the one hand, this works well as a military and political narrative of the Battle of Britain; on the other hand it brings in personal matters, such as the tale of Churchill's daughter Mary falling in love, which simply pale in interest and importance compared to the epic events of the war. ( )

The ending seems rather abrupt and doesn’t conclude where you expected it to… otherwise it’s a decent summary of some of the details that US history books just glossy over. ( )

Erik Larson's "The Devil in the White City" was fantastic. So I picked "The Splendid and the Vile" for my book club. I was disappointed.

The book, which covers Winston Churchill's first year as Prime Minister, didn't strike me as having much of a narrative form to it. It was more like "this happened, then this happened, etc."

Don't misunderstand: the writing's is good and there are certainly interesting moments as we're taken behind the scenes of not just policy and military debates and decisions, but of the lives of Churchill's family and close associates. That said, there seemed to be some frivolous moments too which took me from the heavy weight of the war. While it was interesting to see how these folks could live their lives as normally as possible during frequent nighttime attacks and devastation, I just found the many tangents of parties, love affairs, and melodrama to be tedious. ( )

Splendid and the vile.
This is about a year in the Second World War from May 1940 until 1941. It focuses on the new government of Winston Churchill as he stands up to Adolf Hitler. Churchill comes to power just as the French government surrenders to the Nazis. Churchill takes over and assigns brilliant people to lead the war effort, especially Lord Beaverbrook who oversees the RAF.
The interesting bits of the story are the glimpses into life at Downing Street and at Chequers where we encounter the Churchill family, friends and everyone who works with the British government to secure victory. Churchill is portrayed as a brilliant statesman and strategist who surrounds himself with very competent, knowledgeable and often odd scientist or bureaucrats.
His relationship with Roosevelt is tense at first as he needs American help to win the war. Eventually a Lend Lease program is in place and helps somewhat.
The book is an easy read and very informative. ( )

This book, The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz, by Erik Larson represent a fresh approach both to Churchill and history writing. The book was weighted about one third towards the well-known speeches and political/military leadership of Winston Churchill, two-thirds to his somewhat raucous and disorderly family life. Little known is the disastrous marriage and financial dissipation of his son and daughter-in-law, the latter of whom ultimately married W. Averill Harriman.

My one quibble was insufficient coverage of his brilliant wife, Clementine Churchill. I wanted to learn more about her. The book was recommended by my late mother-in-law's husband, and a worthy referral. I recommend this book. ( )

2.25 stars

This book follows Winston Churchill during the Blitz (WWII) in London during 1940-1941. It not only looks at what is happening, politically and in the war, but also follows his family: his wife, Clementine; his daughter, Mary (17 in 1940, I think), who was sent outside London at this time; his son, Randolph, who married, but continue to cheat on his wife, despite having a new baby, gambled, drank, and just generally behaved badly.

From my description, you can guess that I found the personal/family stuff much more interesting in this book. It’s unfortunate, because Erik Larson is probably one of my favourite nonfiction writers, but this one just did not get my attention (I was NOT listening to the audio, either). I’m sure I missed even much of the personal stuff, but of what I did take in, that was the stuff that did keep my attention, even if briefly. One of the “stories” that I liked was Mary out dancing with friends when a bomb hit the club they were in (there is more to it – I just don’t want to give it away). There were bits and pieces of info from Germany, and from the U.S., as Churchill really wanted the help of the Americans. This one, obviously not for me (unfortunately). ( )

Just a flat narration of events. The material was drawn from multiple diaries and turned into a narrative, but there weren't any new insights into Churchill or anyone else. ( )

Excellent book. Fascinating history that is easy to read and a real page turner. Larson’s ability to humanize the history that he writes is one of the best aspects of this book. ( )