by Erik Larson

★★★★

I had never read anything about Churchill before this book. I had seen movies and assumed he was fascinating and was right. It shows all of his strange bits of humanity as well as his uncanny fearlessness. It describes Churchill as a man who in the most dire circumstances, gave courage to an entire nation.

What is so incredible about the picture it paints is the reality of London during that time, simultaneous serenity and chaos. 50,000 civilians died in the UK between 1940 and 1941. And yet, life in the city was casual and at times seemed carefree, all while bombs were dropping nightly. It shows a society that can be resilient in the most hopeless of situations.

Toward the end, someone told Churchill the best thing he did was to give the people courage. He disagreed.

I never gave them courage. I was able to focus theirs. - Winston Churchill

It's a great book. Pretty long but worth the read if you like history.