Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Erik Larson’s newest book of “nonfiction that reads like fiction” is “The Splendid and the Vile”. (I was lucky to be given an advance reader’s copy). It’s the story of Winston Churchill’s first days in office, beginning in May, 1940, when he formed a coalition government with Labour, to lead Britain. There have been plenty of books about Winston Churchill but Erik Larson puts his own spin on this oh-so-important period of history. But if Winston Churchill is the main character in the book, Larson has a wide ranging cast of supporters, including his wife, Clementine, his children (including his fascinating daughter-in-law, Pamela Digby), other government officials, and, of course, the British people, who faced down months of the German Blitz in 1940 and 1941. Larson does his regular meticulous job of research and the book is a reader’s delight. I was going to write “a history reader’s delight”, but then I realized that Larson’s writing transcends classification and appeals to so many more readers than a typical history does.