'The Splendid and the Vile' dives deep into Winston Churchill's year during the blitz

NPR's Book of the Day

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Arts, Books

4.2 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 28 February 2022

⏱️ 8 minutes

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Summary

The Russian invasion into Ukraine is a world-altering event that has people fearful. Historically, few leaders have navigated their country through these things like Winston Churchill, the subject of Erik Larson's book The Splendid and the Vile. It focuses on the year when Churchill became prime minister of the UK just before the German blitz. Larson told NPR's Steve Inskeep that he was incredibly popular because even though he was realistic about the toll it would take on the country, "he never indicated even an ounce of doubt as to what the ultimate victory was going to be."

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh.
0:06.2	The Ukrainian church by my house has been holding these rallies in response to the Russian invasion
0:11.4	of Ukraine and in support of their folks and families back home.
0:16.0	It's a small thing and ultimately a symbolic thing, but it's still an important one. I was thinking about
0:22.6	them, listening to this interview with Eric Larson. His book, The Splendid and the Vile, is about
0:27.4	Winston Churchill, looking closely at his first year as prime minister during the German Blitz.
0:32.9	And as the British were living under this constant torrent of fear, Larson tells NPR Steve Inskeep that
0:38.7	what made Churchill, Churchill, was that he was acutely aware of the power of symbolic acts.
0:45.9	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
0:50.7	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show,
0:56.2	Sources and Methods. NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,
1:01.0	helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.
1:04.8	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:10.5	One of today's acclaimed popular historians has taken on one of history's most acclaimed
1:15.9	figures. Eric Larson wrote a book about Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister
1:20.7	whose inspiring speeches led the UK through World War II.
1:24.9	We shall fight on the beaches. We'll fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields
1:31.3	and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills.
1:35.8	We shall never surrender.
1:37.5	Larson's past books have often focused on less famous characters right at the edge of history,
1:42.4	like an architect and a mass killer in Chicago,
1:45.7	or an ambassador to Nazi Germany.
	...

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