Authors: David McCullough
ISBN-13: 9781606418314, ISBN-10: 1606418319
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Date Published: October 2010
Edition: (Non-applicable)
It s a rare historian who can write books that appeal to a huge popular audience while sacrificing none of his integrity as a scholar and researcher. But David McCullough has managed just that. In his thoughtful, considered, and intensely readable histories of American events and figures, McCullough has become one of our most trustworthy and fascinating chroniclers of our nation s life and times.
Days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met at the White House. It was Christmas Eve, 1941. As war raged throughout the world, the two leaders delivered a powerful message that still resonates today. Bestselling author and historian David McCullough relates a compelling story about the spirit of Christmas and the power of light in difficult, dangerous times.
Gr 3 6—This is partly an account of the 1941 Christmas Eve addresses to the nation by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill from the White House; partly a short history of two songs ("Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas"); and partly a photo album of Americans at Christmastime during World War II. Because of this scattered approach, the purpose is a bit unclear; the subtitle suggests that the focus is that famous 1941 Christmas Eve address, but the first line of the book, "Music is a part of our history," leads readers to expect a greater emphasis on that subject. McCullough doesn't do justice to either topic and the random selection of period photos fails to shed any additional light. The book is handsome, and the full texts of Churchill's and Roosevelt's speeches are included, which is a bonus. However, this isn't particularly successful as either a Christmas book or an account of an important moment in history.—Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library