Showing results for "The splendid and the vile : a saga of Churchill, family, and defiance during the blitz Erik Larson" in All Categories

This is a summary, analysis, and review of The Splendid and the Vile and not the original book. With a firm grasp of the British struggle under German aggression, Larson crafts a story of epic proportions, taking the listener on a journey of novel insight and unexpected emotion. It’s not about Churchill so much as his preservation of all that Britain valued as a civilization at the height of the Second World War. This book is intended as a companion to, not a replacement for, The Splendid and the Vile.

On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, 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, the Nazis would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons and destroying two million homes. In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson gives a new and brilliantly cinematic account of how Britain’s most iconic leader set about unifying the nation at its most vulnerable moment, and teaching ‘the art of being fearless’. 

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 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 how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless."