Quotes from Erik Larson

Churchill himself found it all thrilling. "After all," he told an interviewer with the Chicago Daily News later that week, "what more glorious thing can a spirited young man experience than meeting an opponent at four hundred miles an hour, with twelve or fifteen hundred horse power in his hands and unlimited offensive power? It is the most splendid form of hunting conceivable.

All the ship had to do was make another turn, away from U-20, and the chase would be over.

Here, as in other speeches, Churchill demonstrated a striking trait: his knack for making people feel loftier, stronger, and, above all, more courageous.

It was truly a transitional moment: There he was, at the cusp of the twentieth century, using the telephone to send a telegram.

an audience on whom he could test his thoughts and plans. Beaverbrook could be counted on for candor at all times, and to deliver advice without regard for politics or personal feelings.

of mounting threat.

She tooled around the city in an electric car.

But no matter how far Germany advanced or how much more territory it seized, Hitler would not prevail. The might of the British Empire—"nay, in a certain sense, the whole English-speaking world"—was on his trail, "bearing with them the swords of justice.

Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duty and so bear ourselves that if the British Commonwealth and Empire lasts for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.

At West Linton, near Edinburgh, Scotland

I have never liked Americans, except odd ones. In the mass I have always thought them dreadful!

protagonists on a vaster scene and as champions of a high and invincible cause, for which the stars in their courses were fighting

CHURCHILL ENTERED HIS CLOSING rhetorical drive. "Here is the answer which I will give to President Roosevelt: Put your confidence in us," Churchill said. "Give us your faith and your blessing, and, under Providence, all will be well. "We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle, nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. "Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.

Another raid followed on January 31, during which nine airships flew as far as Liverpool, along the way sending terrifying shadows scudding across the landscape of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Whether Venetia and Asquith had ever had a physical relationship remained for all but them an unresolved question, although if word volume alone were a measure of romantic intensity, Asquith was a man lost irreclaimably to love.

that it was "most important to attract neutral shipping

Oh, Moon, lovely Moon, with thy beautiful face Careering throughout the boundaries of space Whenever I see thee, I think in my mind Shall I ever, oh ever, behold thy behind.

Love me, love my dog, and if you don't love my dog you damn well can't love me.

If you worked to advance the interests of the machine, the machine paid you back.

In the 1880s Chicago was experiencing explosive growth that propelled land values to levels no one could have imagined, especially within the downtown "Loop," named for the turn-around loops of streetcar lines.

ONE OF THE MOST DISTINCTIVE aspects of Churchill's approach to leadership was his ability to switch tracks in an instant and focus earnestly on things that any other prime minister would have found trivial. Depending on one's perspective, this was either an endearing trait or a bedevilment.

We shall go on to the end," he said, in a crescendo of ferocity and confidence. "We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender—

As a writer, you always try to imagine, 'What if I were in a situation like this? How would I react?'

Whenever I finish a book, I start with a blank slate and never have ideas lined up.