The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE is the newest book by Erik Larson who has written a number of award-winning, best-selling non-fiction titles like The Devil in the White City, Thunderstruck, and Dead Wake.  As the “bomber’s moon” on the cover conveys, this new work explores the WWII time period and is subtitled “A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz.” Even before this book was published (garnering a LibraryReads selection), faculty and staff were asking that we purchase it. Larson deserves all of the praise he receives – he does not flinch from describing the horrors of almost two months’ worth of consecutive bombings at night, but balances that with tales of evenings out and quotes from dairies from Churchill’s daughter Mary, personal secretary James Colville, and other Londoners. In his note to readers, Larsen comments that he “quickly came to realize that it is one thing to say “Carry on,” and quite another to do it.”  That alone makes this book a particularly relevant and inspiring read in these difficult times.  The details Larsen shares (including Churchill’s many speeches … “I have nothing to offer, but blood, toil, tears and sweat” or referring to “their finest hour”) are from Churchill’s first year as Prime Minister (May 10, 1940 to May 10, 1941), prior to America’s formal entry into the war. A bleak and lonely time indeed. And yet Churchill and staff persevere. There are excerpts from letters to President Roosevelt, a discussion of the Lend-Lease Act, and accounts of numerous flights over both England and Germany. Filled with accounts of ingenuity, resilience and fortitude, THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly. It is one of my favorite books of the year and I am definitely recommending it.