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

by Erik Larson

“Poor people, poor people,” he said. “They trust me, and I can give them nothing but disaster for quite a long time.”

Hitler, however, forbade him from being photographed while he smoked, fearing the influence such publicity might have on the morals of German youths.

Even Harry Hopkins, his friend and confidant, who was traveling with him aboard the Tuscaloosa, could not gauge his reaction.

“we’re only interested in seeing that that Goddam sonofabitch Hitler gets licked.”

“How am I supposed to believe that a lunatic can hold such a high office in the Third Reich?”

“Come on in, Franklin,” Churchill said. “We’re quite alone.”