The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz

A terrific read that I listened to with my wife on a long road trip - and loved it again! I have read many accounts of this time, including John Colvill’s diary, and love to continually fill in gaps as well as developing a clearer picture. I am presently reading the war diary of Field Marshall Alan Brooke and if you are looking for another side of this time this is a wonderfully illuminating read!

This popular book disappointed me because it was too much horrors if war and too little Churchill.

I enjoyed the book, the reader was a bit too monotone for my liking.

More detailed and personal Churchillian chronicle than anything I had read before on the subject and a compelling description of the frightful situation confronted by the targets of the Blitz. The narration was a bit flip and off-putting to my mind and somewhat distracting

This is not the first of this author's books I've read. I keep picking them up because of his impressive feats of research. The subjects he chooses to write about, while not for everyone, are told in such a way as to make something that could otherwise be bland into a fascinating take. Knowing that the author is actually inferring very little, instead drawing on archival material pulled from what seems like the unlikeliest of places, makes his stories fascinating to me.

Too much information for me. I guess I did t realize before purchasing the book.

Fabulous. Brings a real "You are there" intensity and insight to the innermost aspects of Britain's defense against Germany in the early days of WWII--including Winston Churchill's US strategy and his relationship w/ FDR.

Excellent excellent excellent

Woild have liked to see some clear type of ending

Great book. Meant to give it 5 stars. The narrator gets to be irritating as he does the character’s voices. Especially the females.

The marvelous connections the author makes with private public with the splendid Churchill

Great book. Fantastic narration that really captivated the reader. Definitely worth the time.

Really riveting. What a cast of characters! Churchill, Beaverbrook, Hopkins, Harriman and so on. I felt as though I was plunked right down in the action and terror of the Blitz, as well as being a fly on the wall of meetings, parties and meals at 10 Downing St, Chequers and the Cafe de Paris. I am glad the story had an end, but not the book describing it.

My husband is a history buff, but I'm not so much. I loved the book! Because the author uses firsthand accounts from diaries and letters, the historical account offers well-rounded characters and it reads like fiction. Only better!

The book revealed the life of Churchill, his family dynamics and the people whom with he surrounded himself . That piece of history from 1940-1941 was so interesting. At the same time, the listener was told the German government’s strategic thinking on England and the war. The narration was so easy to follow and voices were done so well.

Riveting. More than a work of history -- and it is a fresh, well-researched study of Churchill and his world during the Blitz -- but also an inspiring book for our problematic times. Larson has given us a reminder of what one gifted leader who sees the broad picture can accomplish.

Winston Churchill has always been one of my favorite people from history. I have read a great deal by and about him, and this is one of the best. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Well written and well narrated. They brought in the extended Churchill family (including children that taxed their father). They also brought in many of leaders of The 1st year as PM. They even brought in what the Germans were thinking about Churchill during the Blitz. The narration was excellent. Made for a great Covid-19 listen.