Splendid and the Vile, by Erik Larson, 4.5 stars

[NancyJ]

I put off reading this 547 page non-fiction book for some time, but it turned out to be one of my fastest reads last month. I read other narrative non-fiction books by Erik Larson and this was my favorite. I won't remember the names/roles of the many people mentioned in the book (e.g. Beaver), but I learned a great deal.

I was inspired to read this book by other books and articles I saw over the years that discussed the strong resilience of the Britain people during the long World War II Blitz of bombings by the German army. People had plenty of reason to grieve, but they were very defiant. Morale was surprisingly high, suicides were down, and the people had a high degree of purpose. There were strong coordinated volunteer networks to make it easy for people to help support one another, working shifts watching the skies, putting out fires, and helping neighbors.

I read this book with a local bookclub. This was a bonus read. We agreed to read at least part 1 while reading Lady Clementine, about Churchill's wife Clementine. Once I started it, I couldn't stop. The shorter Lady Clementine wasn't as much fun to read, though I'm glad I read it.

This book also reminded me of a book I read many years ago about their daughter-in-law Pamela Churchill, who later married Leland Hayward and Averell Harriman. That book described her political salons, but also called her the ridiculously sexist term "courtesan." Later she was referred to as a prominent socialite, political activist and diplomat. Splendid and the Vile describes the letters the wrote to her gambling wastrel first husband, and they certainly display her diplomacy skills.

[Jgrace]

Thanks for this review. I own this book, but somehow I never seem to get to it. So many books ----

[Booknblues]

I loved this book. I loved the fighting spirit and will to survival.

The Last Garden in England talks about one of the volunteer networks, young women who were sent to farms to help out because all of the men were in the armed forces.

[Joanne]

Pretty sure that this one made my top ten last year, I loved it

[Booknblues]

Joanne wrote: "Pretty sure that this one made my top ten last year, I loved it"

It made mine as well.

[Susan]

Nice review. Even tempts me, a devoted fiction fan. Can someone kindly tell me how I can "like" this (or other reviews on threads from this site.). I don't find a like button, only reply/flag below the review. Thanks. this problem has been bugging me for some time.

[NancyJ]

Thanks Susan. I think you can only do that on reviews on the general feed. I never seem to get around to adapting to my reviews outside of PBT.

[Joanne]

Susan wrote: "Nice review. Even tempts me, a devoted fiction fan. Can someone kindly tell me how I can "like" this (or other reviews on threads from this site.). I don't find a like button, only reply/flag below..."

You can find "friends" reviews below the MPG info for the book. There you can like it. Below that you will find other people's reviews, but finding a specific person's review- without being friends with them, could be like looking for a needle in a hay stack ,if it is a popular book. Also for friends, you can go to their shelves and do a search for the book. When the book comes up, on the far right hand side you will see "view" click on that and it will take you to their review, where you can like it.

[Olivermagnus]

I own this and your review is a reminder that I need to fit it in sometime this year. Some of my favorite non fiction has been written by Erik Larson.