The Splendid and The Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, And Defiance During the Blitz (nonfiction) by Erik Larson

On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next 12 months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally—willing to fight to the end.

Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports -- some released only recently -- Larson provides a new lens on London’s darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill, his family and the advisers in Churchill’s “Secret Circle,” to whom he turns in the hardest moments.

Click here for the book.

This is a hybrid event. Participants are welcome to come to the library to meet in-person, or to join via Zoom using the options below.

Computers & Smartphones: Click here to connect.

Cell phones & Landlines: Call or dial 1-301-715-8592 and enter Meeting ID 938 6994 0700 when prompted.