On the first day of Winston Churchill's premiership, Hitler invaded the Netherlands and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had come before. In the following twelve months, German bombers would relentlessly pound the country, killing 45,000 Britons and destroying two million homes.

In The Days That Shaped History, Erik Larson vividly illustrates how Britain's most iconic politician managed to inspire an entire nation during its darkest hour and taught his countrymen "the art of being fearless." Drawing on diaries, archives, and documents from the intelligence services – some of which have only recently been declassified – Larson takes us from the bombed-out streets of London to the Prime Minister's residence and Churchill's countryside shelter, to his personal moments with his family and discussions with his most trusted advisors.

And he uniquely composes the portrait of a true leader who, in the face of catastrophe, was able to keep a nation – and a family – united with his rhetoric, strategic genius, and courage.