He would state as frankly as he could what was actually happening. What Churchill would do is he would - first of all, he would begin with an assessment, a sober assessment of what the - of the reality of the threat. But when you look at his speeches, there is a structure that really works very well, I think, in a time of crisis like ours. And I'm not just saying in terms of being able to craft a terrific line. But above all, he was particularly good at - obviously, at delivering speeches. He understood the importance of being and seeming brave and wise and so forth. I certainly hope so.īut when I think about Churchill and I think about how he would've negotiated the situation - he understood the power, first of all, of symbolic acts. And I'm really startled, actually, at the lack of competent, wise national leadership, but maybe it'll come. I think a lot, actually, about how Churchill might have confronted this situation that we're in now - very differently than what we've seen thus far, honestly. I don't want to emphasize the parallels too much between what Churchill confronted at the time and what we're confronting now. And I just wonder if, as you've seen the coronavirus pandemic unfold and we've all watched our leaders try to handle it, you thought about Churchill and insights you might have gleaned into, what makes an effective leader in a time of crisis? I spoke to Larson via Skype from my home in Philadelphia.ĭAVIES: Well, Erik Larson, welcome back to FRESH AIR.ĭAVIES: This is a story about a leader at a time of national crisis.

His latest is 'The Splendid And The Vile: A Saga Of Churchill, Family, And Defiance During The Blitz.' We recorded this interview in March, in the early days of social isolation from the coronavirus.

Erik Larson has a new book on Churchill's first year in office, from May of 1940 to May of 1941, a time when France had fallen to the Nazis, the United States had not yet entered the war, and Hitler sought to break the will of the British people with a ferocious bombing campaign that killed more than 44,000 civilians.Įrik Larson has written seven previous books. It's a time when our leaders are tested.Īnd today, we hear the story of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his leadership through some of the darkest hours of World War II. And as we honor the sacrifice of those who served to defend us at times of national peril, we're facing a crisis of our own - a mortal threat from an unseen pathogen. I'm Dave Davies in today for Terry Gross.

And the vile