The Splendid and the Vile is a non-fiction portrait of Winston Churchill during the first months of his term as British Prime Minister. Churchill stepped into this role during the most troubling of times in European history; his first day in office coincided with the German invasion of Holland and Belgium, Hitler's forces having already invaded and annexed Poland and Czechoslovakia. Churchill, a man of enormous courage, never flinched from the role he had been given by the British people. The book shines a light on the most astonishing display of leadership which is largely unfamiliar in the political landscape today.
Churchill's task - leading Britain to victory while simultaneously reassuring the people that their sacrifices were made in the name of a greater good - was onerous, but he set about it from day one with eloquent, inspiring speeches, and strategized the formation of an Alliance that would defeat Hitler - an alliance that became the only realistic way in which Britain would be able to defeat Hitler's Germany.
The book describes a twelve month bombing campaign against London, with Hitler's Luftwaffe carrying out nightly bombing missions in what became known as The Blitz. This bombing killed 45,00 Londoners, yet somehow Churchill kept the city and the country together in the face of such unimaginable loss.
Larson's prose is cinematic in its detail, with one of the most pivotal times in world history juxtaposed with Churchill's unique ability to instill fearlessness into his people and his allies. Much of the book is set in London, but chapters also devote attention to Churchill's country home, a place that became a sanctuary for him, and a place that also became headquarters for strategizing and military planning.
The title of the book is taken from a passage in the wartime journals of John Colville, who described watching bombs falling over London from his bedroom window, a sight that was both "splendid and vile".
Erik Larson is best known for his New York Times bestselling book The Devil and the White City which detailed both the first World's Fair in Chicago, and the disturbing reign of terror of a serial killer who used the World's Fair as a smokescreen for his murders. Larson's interest in murders began during his time working for the Bucks County Courier Times in Levitton, Pennslylvania. He is renowned for doing the research for his books himself, The Splendid and the Vile is his second book that studies an aspect of World War II; he penned In The Garden of Beasts : Love, Terror and American Family in Hitler's Berlin in 2011.
