This incredible work by Eric Larson is, like his others, a history book.  He carefully documents everything he finds – particularly any quotes but like others in this field he makes it all come to life by occasionally putting quotes from diaries into conversations. He uses all the sources he can including from newspaper articles, personal interviews, books, as well as journals and there are many diaries, journals, and letters quoted in his books.  

The Splendid and the Vile:
A Saga of Churchill. Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
Eric Larson, 2020
Read by John Lee 17h 49m 
Rating –  9.25 / history of Churchill and his family during WWII 

I really didn’t think I’d be interested although I enjoy Larson and have read 3 or 4 (Isaac’s Storm, In the Garden of Beasts, The Devil in the White City and others. But WWII and Churchill have never appealed to me.  Still,  I thought I “should” read it.  Okay fine.  IT went on sale and I snatched it up – waited a couple months and when I was between books started in.  

It’s thorough, I’ll say that, and sometimes it got bogged down in the details. But then I’d find myself really following one character or thread with great interest.  Okay – cool.  And toward the middle of the book I was reading and rereading to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.  

Actually,  I saved this in an Audible category I’d never made use of –  “Favorites” and it’s for books which need rereading so should I find myself stuck between books (as I often do) I’ll have something to fall back on. 🙂

Larson’s genius comes in developing the settings and characters in works of nonfiction well enough it reads like quality fiction except you know it’s not because there are all those source notes and you can check out many things online these days (and he could find them that way, too).