On Winston Churchill's first day as prime minister\, Hitler invaded Holland \;and \;Belgium. Poland \;an d \;Czechoslovakia had already fallen\, \;and \;the \;Dunk irk evacuation was just two weeks away. For \;the \;next twelve mo nths\, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign\, killing 45\,000 B ritons. It was up to Churchill to hold \;the \;country together&nb sp\;and \;persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a wor thy ally-and \;willing to fight to \;the \;end. In "The \; Splendid \;and \;the \;Vile\," Erik Larson shows\, in cinemati c 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 C hurchill's prime-ministerial country home\, Chequers\; his wartime retreat \, Ditchley\, where he \;and \;his entourage go when \;the&nbs p\;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&n bsp\;and \;his family: his wife\, Clementine\; their youngest daughter \, Mary\, who chafes against her parents' wartime protectiveness\; their s on\, Randolph\, \;and \;his beautiful\, unhappy wife\, Pamela\; Pa mela's illicit lover\, a dashing American emissary\; \;and \;the&n bsp\;cadre of close advisers who comprised Churchill's "Secret Circle\," i ncluding his lovestruck private secretary\, John Colville\; newspaper baro n Lord Beaverbrook\; \;and \;the \;Rasputin-like Frederick Lin demann. "The \;Splendid \;and \;the \;Vile" takes readers out of today's political dysfunction \;and \;back to a time of tru e leadership\, when--in \;the \;face of unrelenting horror--Church ill's eloquence\, courage\, \;and \;perseverance bound a country\, \;and \;a family\, together. ~From the Publisher.
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