Publishers Weekly
05/27/2024
Historian Schmuhl (The Glory and the Burden) takes a novel approach to exploring mid-20th-century diplomatic relations between America and Britain in this winning history of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s many visits with presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower. These frequent, weeks-long stays are without historical parallel, especially the 113 total number of days Churchill and FDR spent under the same roof. Schmuhl tracks how Churchill’s relentless but charming advocacy for America to align itself with British interests forged intimate, if complicated, friendships between the leaders that brought the two nations together into a “special relationship” (a phrase coined by Churchill, which he was also relentless in promulgating). The character portraits Schmuhl draws are vivid and transfixing as the leaders by turns cozy up and butt heads, especially FDR and Churchill, whom Schmuhl describes as each “a star of brightness which needed its own unimpeded orbit.” Both were storytellers (Churchill’s daughter Mary observed that this quality made FDR a perplexing combo of fun and tedious: “I must confess he makes me laugh & he rather bores me”), and Schmuhl effectively shows how yarn-spinning between friends and political myth-making blurred together in their relationship (both men particularly enjoyed recounting an anecdote about how FDR burst in on Churchill in the bath to tell him he’d come up with a name for the “United Nations”). WWII history buffs will be delighted. (July)
N.N Light's Book Heaven - Mr. N
"If you know very little about the strategic issues surrounding World War 2 and the geopolitic world at the time, then this book is a must read for you. If you want to see what life is like when prying eyes are not on famous people, then this is your book. A tremendous amount of research went into creating this book. A companion to the classic, One Christmas In Washington."
E. J. Dionne Jr.
"Robert Schmuhl’s Mr. Churchill in the White House is a lively, deeply researched and important contribution to our understanding of how large personalities confronting large challenges can change history."
Douglas Brinkley
"Robert Schmuhl admirably captures the vitality and cunning of Churchill’s D.C. residency with consummate skill, colorful anecdotes, and crisp historical analysis."
International Churchill Society
"Robert Schmuhl, author of Mr. Churchill in the White House, has annoyed me. What was meant to be a casual week-long read transformed into a captivating all-nighter flipping through the pages of a book I never knew I needed."
Ted Koppel
"A cursory online search suggests that 1,150 books have been written about Winston Churchill. He wrote 42 books himself, published in 70 volumes. Which raises the awkward questions: One more? Really? To which Robert Schmuhl’s cheeky answer is “Yes!” And you know what? Mr. Churchill in the White House is both charming and provocative. What did Churchill really say when FDR rolled his wheelchair into the British prime minister’s bathroom to find him in the pink and white altogether? Did these two brilliant and manipulative politicians ever permit friendship to overwhelm British or American national interest? It was a complex and meaningful relationship. Worth another book? This one? Absolutely."
Wall Street Journal
"Mr. Churchill in the White House showcases an essential point about the great Englishman’s visits to the United States. Common history and shared interests will move nations in the same direction. Yet sometimes it takes the force of personality to bind them together. Mr. Schmuhl, an emeritus professor of American studies and journalism at the University of Notre Dame, “has found a fresh angle by focusing on the White House visits themselves, from the intimacies of the close quarters to the tensions hiding behind smiling pictures."
Allen Packwood
"This is an informative, entertaining, and fast-paced account of Anglo-American summitry at the highest level, based on the accounts of those who were there."
Matthew Costello
"Churchill’s time at the White House became legendary, and no foreign leader has captivated the American people in the same way since."
Douglas Brinkley is author of Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America
"Robert Schmuhl admirably captures the vitality and cunning of Churchill’s D.C. residency with consummate skill, colorful anecdotes, and crisp historical analysis.
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Kirkus Reviews
2024-03-29
A respected historian finds new things to say about the relationship between Franklin Roosevelt and Churchill.
In this well-researched book, Schmuhl, chair of the American studies and journalism programs at Notre Dame, focuses on the numerous periods when Churchill stayed in the White House as a guest of the president. The author points out that these were not mere photo-op sessions: Churchill’s longest stay was 24 days, up to January 14, 1942. He was constantly working, writing speeches, papers, letters, and cables, and regularly meeting with members of Congress and generals as well as the president. Roosevelt gave him copious amounts of his time, but Eleanor was not so taken with their guest, and the White House staff were bemused by Churchill’s habit of wandering the hallways in the early hours wearing only a dressing gown. Pearl Harbor had drawn the U.S. into World War II, and powerful voices were arguing that the effort should concentrate on the Pacific. Churchill pushed to ensure that there was sufficient American attention given to Europe, and he was largely successful. But as the tide of war turned, his views became less important. The U.S. became the dominant player, and Eisenhower was the man running the war in Europe. When Eisenhower became president, he invited Churchill to stay in the White House, but it was largely a measure of his personal respect. Britain was a declining power, and Churchill could do little about it, except for emphasizing the “special relationship” between the countries. Schmuhl delves into a trove of records and correspondence, although he warns that Churchill’s recounting of events was often more colorful than reliable. It adds up to a fresh approach to an important piece of history.
An educational recollection of an era when geopolitics was based on respect, mutual understanding, and friendship.
