--- title: The Splendid and the Vile: 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 description: Find out why The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson is on TIME's list of the must-read books from this year. canonical: https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2020/5904267/the-splendid-and-the-vile/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-11-09T20:07:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-02T23:44:32.134Z og:title: 'The Splendid and the Vile' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 og:description: Here's why it made the list og:url: https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2020/5904267/the-splendid-and-the-vile/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e523c87a485df3b/698a140e97cdffc71f6bb580/best-books-2020-Splendid-and-the-VIle.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 'The Splendid and the Vile' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'The Splendid and the Vile' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 twitter:description: Here's why it made the list twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e523c87a485df3b/698a140e97cdffc71f6bb580/best-books-2020-Splendid-and-the-VIle.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 09, 2020 # The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff  Shortly before the U.S. locked down to slow the spread of the coronavirus in March, popular historian Erik Larson delivered one of his [best books yet](https://time.com/5842467/best-books-2020-so-far/)—one that was coincidently perfectly timed for the moment. Published in the midst of one of the greatest international crises since World War II, Larson’s new book tells the story of London facing the Blitz during that war through the characters of British Prime Minister [Winston Churchill](https://time.com/3848735/churchill-best-speeches-blood-toil-tears-sweat/), members of his family and his various advisers. Readers are left with an indelible portrait of a nation coming together to face a brutal assault from German bombs under leadership that is wise, empathetic and strategic**—**not to mention highly witty and charming. **Buy Now:** _The Splendid and the Vile_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780385348713) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385348711/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0385348711&linkId=ed91eb1bec6963efae4dfb5a8a52d454) These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2020/5904267/the-splendid-and-the-vile/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2020/5904267/the-splendid-and-the-vile/"},"headline":"'The Splendid and the Vile' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2020","datePublished":"2020-11-09T20:07:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:44:32.134Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2020/5904267/the-splendid-and-the-vile/","keywords":["E-Commerce","Books","list"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e523c87a485df3b/698a140e97cdffc71f6bb580/best-books-2020-Splendid-and-the-VIle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e523c87a485df3b/698a140e97cdffc71f6bb580/best-books-2020-Splendid-and-the-VIle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2020/5904267/the-splendid-and-the-vile/","name":"'The Splendid and the Vile' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2020"}}]}] ```