A compelling read about Churchill from his first days as Prime Minister near the beginning of WWII until the attack on Pearl Harbor. Churchill comes off as indomitable, mythic, almost holding London and England together by force of his will, though he himself said that he merely helped Londoners *find* the courage they already had. He could feel frustration and despair--but in action he was not able to be swayed. The book includes various subplots--his daughter Mary's foolish behavior and near-engagement, the failure of his son's marriage to Pamela (later Harriman), Hess's bizarre solo flight in 1941 to try to convince Churchill to concede defeat, and various American personages' trips to England, and Goebbels' vicious wielding of the media to discourage England and plant outright lies.
To some extent I felt Larson portrayed Churchill as a "shining example" vis-a-vis the current political leadership, and I found myself aware of this as I read, beginning with the inside cover copy which concludes: "[This book] takes readers out of today's political dysfunction and back to a time of true leadership, when--in the face of unrelenting horror--Churchill's eloquence, courage and perseverance bound a country, and a family, together."
Much has been written about Churchill, in non-fiction and fiction, and I appreciated the careful research into personal letters and diaries. Larson "found" his own Churchill, different from other accounts I've read. This book is well-researched history, told with the suspense and accessible, elegant language of a good novel. Yes, it's 500 pages, but it was a page-turner for me, in the same way his THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY was.
No comments:
Post a Comment