Citizens of London

In her latest book, Lynne Olson focuses again on Britain in World War II, this time from an American perspective. This is the engrossing behind-the-scenes story of how the United States and Britain forged their crucial wartime alliance, as seen from the viewpoint of three key American players in London. Drawing from a wide variety of primary sources, Olson depicts the personal journeys of these men, who, determined to save Britain from Hitler, helped convince a cautious Franklin Roosevelt and reluctant American public to back the British at a critical time.

The three- Edward R. Murrow, the handsome, chain-smoking head of CBS News in Europe; Averell Harriman, the hard-driving millionaire who ran FDR's Lend-Lease program in London; and John Gilbert Winant, the shy, idealistic U.S. ambassador to Britain - formed close ties with Winston Churchill and were drawn into Churchill's official and family circles. So intense were their relationships with the Churchills that all of them were involved romantically with members of the prime minister's family: Harriman and Murrow with Churchill's daughter-in-law, Pamela, and Winant with his favorite daughter, Sarah.

Citizens of London, however, is more than the deeply human story of these three Americans and the world leaders they aided and influenced. Above all, it's a rich, panoramic tale of two cities: Washington, D.C., a lazy Southern town slowly growing into a hub of international power, and London, a staid, class-conscious capital transformed by war into a vibrant cosmopolitan metropolis, humming with energy, romance, excitement, and danger. To those who spent time in wartime Britain, the country seemed like a kind of Brigadoon -- a magical place where courage, resolution, sacrifice, and sense of unity and common purpose triumphed.

About the Author
Olson is former White House correspondent for the Baltimore Sun, and author of Troublesome Young Men: The Rebels Who Brought Churchill to Power and Helped Save England.