During his first year as Prime Minister, Winston Churchill and the citizens of London endured 57 nights of consecutive bombing by German air forces. While both the Blitz and Churchill have been written about often, author Erik Larson offers an intimate view of how a leader — through words and actions — can help a nation through a terrifying and deadly assault on their country and their freedom. Larson draws on the personal diaries of Churchill’s staff and children to reveal how he used the power of words to express compassion, model fearlessness, and ultimately unite the British people to carry on.