A saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance during the Blitz

From newly available sources, declassified files and personal diaries, Erik Larson chronicles Winston Churchill’s life during his first year as prime minister and during the London Blitz. This compelling portrait shows in a cinematic way how Churchill taught the British people the art of being fearless. The story is more than a political one it also tells us the domestic drama and the day to day experience of Churchill, his family and his inner circle.

We are taken in a time of unrelenting horror with eloquence. Mr. Larson artfully weaves a tapestry of events, speeches, daily routines and tells us how the Prime Minister was determined in his pursuit to obtain aide from the USA and how it was up to him to hold his country together during Hitler’s relentless bombing campaign. Mr. Larson is definitely a master of narrative non-fiction work.

Although the Battle of Britain has been told many times there are always new discoveries and some omissions. This book ninety-some chapter tackles in depths the experience of the Battle as well as describing Churchill’s eccentric behaviour. For those who are fan of historical events, we learn a bit more, and for the dye hard definitely this book is an added bonus.

Whether a non-fiction or historical fiction I love reading war time accounts. Mr. Larson did not disappoint, his vivid details brought the era alive with all the screeching, whistling and hissing sound that bombs do to scare the population and to obliterate everything. With the resiliency of the population and good leadership Britain survived and with the contribution of allies, the Axis defeated. ……..”Never forget”……..

I received the Arc from Crown Publishing via NetGalleys in exchange for an honest review.

A saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance during the Blitz

From newly available sources, declassified files and personal diaries, Erik Larson chronicles Winston Churchill’s life during his first year as prime minister and during the London Blitz. This compelling portrait shows in a cinematic way how Churchill taught the British people the art of being fearless. The story is more than a political one it also tells us the domestic drama and the day to day experience of Churchill, his family and his inner circle.

We are taken in a time of unrelenting horror with eloquence. Mr. Larson artfully weaves a tapestry of events, speeches, daily routines and tells us how the Prime Minister was determined in his pursuit to obtain aide from the USA and how it was up to him to hold his country together during Hitler’s relentless bombing campaign. Mr. Larson is definitely a master of narrative non-fiction work.

Although the Battle of Britain has been told many times there are always new discoveries and some omissions. This book ninety-some chapter tackles in depths the experience of the Battle as well as describing Churchill’s eccentric behaviour. For those who are fan of historical events, we learn a bit more, and for the die hard definitely this book is an added bonus.

Whether a non-fiction or historical fiction I love reading war time accounts. Mr. Larson did not disappoint, his vivid details brought the era alive with all the screeching, whistling and hissing sound that bombs do to scare the population and to obliterate everything. With the resiliency of the population and good leadership Britain survived and with the contribution of allies, the Axis defeated. ……..”Never forget”……..

I received the Arc from Crown Publishing via NetGalleys in exchange for an honest review.

I can´t be bothered to pick out ten new books from my shelves, so it´s essentially the same list as the last time in another order and Theodor Fontane´s travelogue about Scottland as a new addition.

1. Provenance

2. The Remedy

3. The Poisened Chocolates Case

4. China Mountain Zhang

5. Jenseit des Tweed

6. The Silence of the Girls

7. A Woman of No Importance

8. Becoming

9. Abanddon´s Gate

10. Isaac´s Storm

And the random number generator says:

The winner this time is:

The Silence of the Girls is a retelling of The Iliad told from the perspective of the women in the war (and especially Briseis´ point of view). In the past I struggled with retelling of greek myths, so I´m curious if this book is going to work for me. 

Okay! So I have two piles of books lying beside me, five fiction novels and five non-fiction books. The contestants are:

1. Isaac´s Storm

2. Abaddon´s Gate

3. The Remedy

4. The Poisoned Chocolate Case

5. A Woman of No Importance

6. China Mountain Zhang

7. Becoming

8. The Silence of the Girls

9. The Hotel on Place Vendome

10. Provenance

And I´m going to read .... drum roll, please....

Gosh, that book has been on my TBR forever. It´s about time that I read it.

On a side note: I changed this ugly cover of China Mountain Zhang to the actual cover (the wrong cover is truly hideous and I just cannot stand it). I would be super grateful, if a helpful librarian would confirm the change. Thanks :)

I don't read a lot of NF, but I really enjoyed these. 

Vaill, Amanda: Everybody Was So Young: Gerald and Sara Murphy: A Lost Generation Love Story.  Set during the 1920's at Villa American in the south of France. 

Larson, Erik: Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America: set during the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. 

Grann, David: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI: Oklahama, 1920s.

and The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon. Explorer, 1925, London, NY & the Amazon.