The Splendid and the Vile

Erik Larson presents history in the most interesting ways.  The Splendid and the Vile - A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz (#905) is no exception.  He examines one year of Churchill's life: from the moment he becomes Prime Minister in May of 1940 through May of 1941, a time period coinciding with the Blitz in London.

So much happened in that one year it's hard to keep track of everything going on -  from the Germans stepping up their campaign to annihilate Britain after the French were conquered so quickly, to Mr. Churchill's appeals to Franklin Delano Roosevelt to intervene in the war on the side of the Allies, to family dramas and heartbreaks - but not only does Larson manage it, he makes it easy for the reader to follow the separate threads.

History is more than dry facts and figures; it's the human beings behind the events that make history come alive.  Why do they make the choices they do?  What else was going on in their lives at the moment?  The Splendid and the Vile does an excellent job at holding up the curtain of history so we can peek behind it to see what really went on with Churchill.  If your interest is piqued here, there are plenty of sources cited to follow up on what intrigues you the most.  And don't forget to read his footnotes, where he tucks stories he wanted to tell, but didn't have room for in the text!