:INFO
The WW2 Book That Reads Like a Novel
Erik Larson researches historical events with the discipline of an archivist and writes them with the pacing of a thriller writer. The Splendid and the Vile covers the first year of Churchill's prime ministership during the Blitz: the bombing of London, the impossible decisions, the personal lives of the people around Churchill, and the question of whether Britain would survive long enough to matter. The answer is never entirely certain while you are reading it, even if you already know it.


:NOW
Thinking about how Churchill handled the psychology of dread

:QUOTE [quotetype:plain, subtitle:Erik Larson]
He mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.


:JOURNEY
Reading The Splendid and the Vile
5 Terror alongside life
4 Unexpected humanity
5 Adds urgency
5 Genuinely unbearable

:DURATION
2024-01-15T00:00:00Z
2024-02-02T00:00:00Z

:POLL
Is this the best WW2 nonfiction book you have read?
Yes, nothing else has handled this material as well
One of the best but I have read something I prefer
I have not read it yet but it sounds like my kind of book
I do not generally read WW2 history