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

by Erik Larson

French endurance was the cornerstone of British defensive strategy. That France might fall was beyond imagining.

Coveting power for power’s sake was a “base” pursuit, he wrote, adding, “But power in a national crisis, when a man believes he knows what orders should be given, is a blessing.”

“It is slothful not to compress your thoughts,” he said.

“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

The speech set a pattern that he would follow throughout the war, offering a sober appraisal of facts, tempered with reason for optimism. “It would be foolish to disguise the gravity of the hour,” he said. “It would be still more foolish to lose heart and courage.”

“Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.”

Never was there such a contrast of natural splendor and human vileness.”