海角大神

The sounds of the Blitz, the German aerial assault of the United Kingdom during World War II, were imprinted on a generation. First came the wails of air-raid sirens and the pops of anti-aircraft guns. Then the shriek of dive bombers and the sparks and hisses of incendiaries 鈥� grim little fire starters designed to set streets aflame and light up targets for enemy pilots, writes Erik Larson in his spectacular new book, 鈥淭he Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz.鈥�

Amid the anxiety and fear, Larson notes something else: a zest for life. It feels as if the young are dancing faster and falling in love more deeply. Meanwhile, Winston Churchill takes over the reins of government 鈥渨ith a thrilling sense of challenge and opportunity鈥� and soon transforms into a veritable rock. He鈥檚 just the man for one of the most important jobs in modern history 鈥� stopping Adolf Hitler.聽

Larson, as America鈥檚 most compelling popular historian, is at his best in this fast-moving, immensely readable, and even warmhearted account of the battle to save Britain. Here he draws readers into the early years of the war when much of the world assumes Britain will crumble under endless German bombs. So do plenty of Britons, but not Churchill. He鈥檚 as confident as he is 鈥渇lamboyant, electric and wholly unpredictable.鈥澛�

Not to mention eccentric. Churchill loves to swan about in sky-blue rompers, work in bed, and tote his cat, Nelson, around while murmuring 鈥淐at, darling.鈥澛�

The Blitz kills thousands of citizens while countless others survive close calls. Survivors struggle with grief and fear amid broken glass, bombed-out streets, chilly shelters, and an ever-present coating of dust. Meanwhile, the threat of a German invasion looms and the outcome of the British Empire depends on those wishy-washy allies across the pond.

Much of 鈥淭he Splendid and the Vile鈥� tracks Churchill as he rallies his fellow citizens, plots military strategy, and carefully woos President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Britain needs American ships, supplies, and soldiers to survive, but FDR鈥檚 hands are (mostly) tied by wary voters and isolationist members of Congress. 鈥淚 shall drag the United States in,鈥� Churchill promises.

Hitler and FDR aren鈥檛 the focus here. Instead, Larson highlights the people around Churchill, like the colorful newspaper magnate William Maxwell Aitken, the 1st Baron Beaverbrook, aka Max. He鈥檚 the prime minister鈥檚 confidant and right-hand man, competent and also stimulating. 鈥淪ome take drugs,鈥� Churchill declared. 鈥淚 take Max.鈥�

Along with Churchill himself, a pair of dashing young people give this book its heart: Mary Churchill, the fun-loving but somewhat naive teenage daughter of the prime minister, and John 鈥淛ock鈥� Colville, a private secretary. Both individuals leave deeply revealing diaries that capture their refusal to put their personal lives on hold for queen and country.聽

At first, Mary Churchill isn鈥檛 entirely tuned to the chaos and drama around her. But she matures fast. Soon, to her father鈥檚 delight, she commands an anti-aircraft battery as a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women鈥檚 branch of the British Army.

As for Colville, Larson uncovered diary entries that reveal him to be a helpless romantic who鈥檚 also a keen and poetic observer. Larson draws the book鈥檚 title from a diary entry Colville made the night of a bomb attack on London. The scene 鈥� of searchlights and flashes, ancient constellations and sudden fires 鈥� 鈥渨as magnificent and terrible ... never was there such a contrast of natural splendor and human vileness.鈥澛�

Should we care about privileged people who find time for love and cats while a nation faces oblivion? Absolutely. As Churchill and his nation demonstrated, leadership and resilience don鈥檛 require a grim determination or even an always-stiff upper lip.