Laurie M. (reading-galore) -
Helpful Score: 3
This is a wonderfully written history of England's Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, during his time in office. It sheds light on both the personal side of his life and the extreme challenges that he faced during the war. There are many amusing stories woven in between the war effort and his family provides interesting history as well. I found the accounts of the bombings and the impact on daily life fascinating. I am sure that there was a vast amount of material available to work from and the real challenge for the author was deciding what to leave out. Even at 500 pages, it still felt like a simplified version of things, making it easy to devour. Another great Erik Larson book!
jjares reviewed The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz on + 3411 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Winston Churchill is probably one of the most quoted men of his time. I've always thought he must have been a fascinating person; so when I found out that Erik Larson had written a nonfiction account of some of the most important times of the British people, I decided this was an opportunity to learn more about him. It begins in May of 1940 when Churchill formed a coalition government.
In the opening pages, the author tells readers that this is nonfiction; every nod and sigh was mentioned by someone in their writings about the time in question. However, this story is about a wider group of people than Churchill's compatriots. It includes his wife, Clementine, their children, and spouses. After reading this book, I cannot imagine why Pamela Digby (Randolph's first wife and Pamela's first husband) ever married. Randolph comes across as the worthless son of a great man. He was a mindless spendthrift, only concerned with his own wants and needs.
What makes this book unique is the extensive use of private journals and primary sources (that have been released in the last few years). It is interesting to see how the horror of the bombing of Britain is set against the normal life events of the 18-year-old Mary Churchill. It must have been incredibly hard to lead a normal life while another country was trying to bomb you out of existence.
I thought this was a tightly-written nonfiction story about an important part of the 20th century. Truly, the story proves that Winston Churchill was a fascinating person. 4.5 stars
In the opening pages, the author tells readers that this is nonfiction; every nod and sigh was mentioned by someone in their writings about the time in question. However, this story is about a wider group of people than Churchill's compatriots. It includes his wife, Clementine, their children, and spouses. After reading this book, I cannot imagine why Pamela Digby (Randolph's first wife and Pamela's first husband) ever married. Randolph comes across as the worthless son of a great man. He was a mindless spendthrift, only concerned with his own wants and needs.
What makes this book unique is the extensive use of private journals and primary sources (that have been released in the last few years). It is interesting to see how the horror of the bombing of Britain is set against the normal life events of the 18-year-old Mary Churchill. It must have been incredibly hard to lead a normal life while another country was trying to bomb you out of existence.
I thought this was a tightly-written nonfiction story about an important part of the 20th century. Truly, the story proves that Winston Churchill was a fascinating person. 4.5 stars
Eadie B. (eadieburke) -
Helpful Score: 1
This is an excellent account of the Nazi's bombing of London during WWII during Churchill's first years as Prime Minister. We get to see interaction with his family members and staff and interesting anecdotes some of which I had never heard before. Larson is an excellent researcher and this one is well done. I love the fact that Churchill taught his people about "the art of being fearless." Having a leader like Churchill was a great comfort to the people during this time of crisis. I look forward to reading more books by Larson as I have really enjoyed the ones I have read.
Thomas F. (hardtack) -
I feel I'm extremely well read on the subject of World War II. But there were many things I learned from this book. One was the amazing dysfunctional lives many people had back then. And Churchill's family wasn't exempt from that.
I did some reading on Wikipedia about his children and was not able to keep count of the total marriages and affairs they had. His son must have been a total failure to Churchill. And what mother just ignores the fact her daughter-in-law is sleeping around on her son?
Of course, our World War II leader---FDR---had nothing to be proud of with his personal life and family. Of his four sons, only one wasn't a disappointment, and that son chose to stay out of the spotlight. Plus, Franklin Roosevelt had an affair with his wife's personal secretary. This caused an early split in their marriage, even thought they never divorced. In fact, his mistress was with him when he died. FDR's daughter knew her father was still meeting with his mistress, despite knowing he had promised Eleanor he would have nothing more to do with her.
While Churchill had many faults, he was a great leader. One comment I really enjoyed reading was when someone told him he had given the British people courage, he replied. "I did not give them courage. I simply gave theirs focus."
What I really liked was the author only placing in quotes statements for which he had proof those words were said.
I did some reading on Wikipedia about his children and was not able to keep count of the total marriages and affairs they had. His son must have been a total failure to Churchill. And what mother just ignores the fact her daughter-in-law is sleeping around on her son?
Of course, our World War II leader---FDR---had nothing to be proud of with his personal life and family. Of his four sons, only one wasn't a disappointment, and that son chose to stay out of the spotlight. Plus, Franklin Roosevelt had an affair with his wife's personal secretary. This caused an early split in their marriage, even thought they never divorced. In fact, his mistress was with him when he died. FDR's daughter knew her father was still meeting with his mistress, despite knowing he had promised Eleanor he would have nothing more to do with her.
While Churchill had many faults, he was a great leader. One comment I really enjoyed reading was when someone told him he had given the British people courage, he replied. "I did not give them courage. I simply gave theirs focus."
What I really liked was the author only placing in quotes statements for which he had proof those words were said.
