Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Norway and France have already - or were about to - fall to the blitzkrieg manner of the Nazi war machine, and Britain was next on Hitler’s list.

However, it was exactly five years before that Churchill assumed the office of British prime minister, at a time when Britain was facing the biggest crisis in its history. One of the people who joined the royal family on the balcony during that moment of triumph was its Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. On May 8, 1945, as the jubilant citizens of London enthusiastically celebrated the end of hostilities in Europe, King George VI and his family (including the future Queen Elizabeth II) appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to salute the British people for their valiant service during six very difficult years of war. I listened to it on audio, which was wonderful as well.The Splendid and the Vile – Exactly 75 years ago this month, Nazi Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allies, which officially ended the European theatre of the Second World War. If you know someone who enjoys exceptionally well written nonfiction or history, this would be a great gift. I give this varied, chockfull book five stars. Were they made who they are by the time or for it? The pulling together described in this book is needed now in my own country (USA), and I can’t help wondering who will do it? While both being unique characters, Zelinsky in Ukraine is manifesting very much the same ability of marshaling against attack and incredible stamina for going forward that Churchill expressed. Churchill’s courage, eloquence, and carefully chosen “carry on” attitude, led a whole country through a most difficult time, in a way you realize another leader may understandably have folded and surrendered. One comes away with a remarkable understanding of Churchill and the time, and how the two were inextricably woven together. The Splendid and the Vile reads like a novel, with the advantage that it is all fact. I’ve read a lot of historical fiction, but this volume filled in gaps, and really gave me a complete sense of the time in a memorable way.

It is a triumph just in the telling, let alone in what it describes. None of the details or dialogue here is imagined and superimposed, and it is just astonishing to consider the amount of seamless piecework this author achieved in this book. It highlights info gleaned from many diaries, some which have only recently come to light, and the author states in the introduction, that if he says Churchill raised his eyebrow, it is because someone documented seeing that. This is not a biography as much as a social history of the circle near Churchill during the Blitz, all taking place within one year.

Book review the splendid and the vile