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Loading... The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz (2020)by Erik Larson
   No current Talk conversations about this book.   ) jawertman | Dec 23, 2024 |   ) Jill.Mackin | Dec 18, 2024 | ) tinabuchanan | Nov 13, 2024 | This book really opened my eyes to the extent of the Blitzkreig. I had no idea that it lasted as long as it did or affected as much of Britain. American textbooks give the Blitz a paragraph, at most, and mention little outside of the attacks directly on London. They also didn't mention the extent to which the RAF were, relatively impotent in countering the night attacks by the Luftwaffe or why the Luftwaffe was so successful in their attacks. This is a must read for amateur history enthusiasts. ( ) cebellol | Nov 8, 2024 | Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few (Sir Winston Churchill) I have always had a gra for Winston Churchill and was excited when I heard that Erik Larson was writing a book portraying London during the Blitz and focusing on Churchill and his family and friends. I listened to this one on audible and while it’s extremely well narrated, it is not my favorite way to read non fiction and history as I am always wondering if the hard copy had maps, or photographs that I may be missing out on. This is extremely well researched and written account and takes you right into those air shelters in London and the terror and fear that the majority of British folk faced during the war, I leaned so many facts and figures concerning the battle to save Britain and the early years of the war. I loved this take on Winston Churchill where his confidence, leadership and eccentricities shine through. When a country is facing the challenge of War a leader like Churchill is a necessity and Britain certainly had a leader who was fearless and could make the tough decisions needed at the time. I enjoyed reading about Rudolf Hess’s trip to Scotland and about the negotiations between Churchill and Roosevelt. Churchill’s daughter Mary brings a fresh and young vide to the book as we see her excitement and fun loving escapades through snippets from her teenage to adult diaries to where she commands an anti-aircraft battery as a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Service. I enjoyed reading about Churchill’s eccentric nature and what made him tick and his love for his cat. I adored his quirky nature and his ability to not give a toss what people thought of him. And of course Clementine who was not only a wife and mother but Churchill’s close advisor and confident , vetting his speeches, smoothing over his faux pas whenever he made them. A terrific look back in history and a book I throughly enjoyed and I think readers interested in World War II and the battle of Britain might well enjoy this one. ( ) DemFen | Oct 31, 2024 | no reviews | add a review
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"The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake delivers a fresh and compelling portrait of Winston Churchill and London during the Blitz 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 twelve months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold the 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, in cinematic detail, how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless." It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it's also an intimate domestic drama set against the backdrop of Churchill's prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London. Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports-some released only recently-Larson provides a new lens on London's darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family: his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents' wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela's illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the cadre of close advisers who comprised Churchill's "Secret Circle," including his lovestruck private secretary, John Colville; newspaper baron Lord Beaverbrook; and the Rasputin-like Frederick Lindemann. The Splendid and the Vile takes readers out of today's political dysfunction and back to a time of true leadership, when-in the face of unrelenting horror-Churchill's eloquence, courage, and perseverance bound a country, and a family, together."-- No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)940.54History & geography History of Europe History of Europe 1918- Military History Of World War IILC ClassificationRatingAverage: (4.24)
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