Through the remarkably skillful use of intimate diaries as well as public documents, some newly released, Larson has transformed the well-known record of 12 turbulent months, stretching from May of 1940 through May of 1941, into a book that is fresh, fast and deeply moving.

There are countless books about World War II, but there's only one Erik Larson.

...spectacular.

... fascinating and accessible.

Larson has done it again.

Larson, a neophyte when it comes to British history, falls victim to entrenched English propaganda. His book, which chronicles the period from May 1940 to May 1941, when Churchill supposedly saved .England,. is firmly rooted in that green and pleasant land, conveniently ignoring those dark satanic mills.

Far from the dusty doorstop of a book you might expect, The Splendid and the Vile is an example of Larson at his best. Meticulously, exhaustively researched and told with Larson’s usual deftness of prose, this account of Churchill’s first year...is an intense close-read of the man’s life.

... a book as courageous, in its own way, as its larger-than-life subject.

[Larson] is a master of popular history.

Throughout the book, Larson focuses on individual human dramas.

Erik Larson provides an intimate look that succeeds admirably in bringing Churchill and his family members to life. Like his past works...The Splendid and the Vile reads like fiction. But Larson’s meticulous footnotes show the depth of his research and reassure the reader that his story is very much rooted in fact.

What it’s lacking, alas, is drama.

... affecting and affectionate.

... a page-turning achievement in nonfiction storytelling.

The Splendid and the Vile tells of a resonant time when a ship-of-state flounders through chartless seas with a feckless harlequin on the bridge while citizen-passengers argue and anguish.

Why review it, if it doesn’t provide a new angle on a well-trodden corner of British history? Because it also happens to be a particularly gripping read, written with bounce and brio. Larson pulls together vivid vignettes — some moving, some amusing, a few grim — to create a collage of what it was like to be alive in Britain at this time, and especially what it was like to be around Churchill.

Larson’s whole oeuvre is built on subverting the familiar, and though Churchill’s life has already been dutifully recorded in multiple biographies and autobiographies, Larson can still surprise us with his tender insights.

Erik Larson’s latest book, The Splendid and the Vile, contains an optimistic message for today’s anxiety-challenged readers.

... captivating, distinctive.

Throughout the narrative the author deftly weaves known interactions the prime minister had with other wartime souls.

... illuminating.

What Larson brilliantly provides are the finer details of the effects on England as he focuses on the family and home of its dynamic, idiosyncratic, and indefatigable leader.

Bookshelves groan with histories of Britain’s finest hour, but Larson employs a mildly unique strategy, combining an intense, almost day-to-day account of Churchill’s actions with those of his family, two of his officials, and staff.

... propulsive.