Churchill and Roosevelt: The Big Sleepover at the White House: Christmas 1941-New Year 1942
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Churchill and Roosevelt: The Big Sleepover at the White House: Christmas 1941-New Year 1942

by James Mikel WilsonPublish: Oct 16, 2015Historical Fiction Visionary Fiction

Book Overview

"Churchill and Roosevelt: The Big Sleepover at the White House" concentrates on a fateful three weeks that Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt bonded and plotted under the same roof the demise of their common enemies. But it is more than a historical recitation of places and events. This book captures the human emotions, ... the strengths and frailties and individual agendas, sometimes conflicting, that the two men’s personalities brought to the table.

Each character was an enormously complex person, fearless, persistent, visionary, and unwavering in his sense of time and place in history. If these two leaders had not engaged one another, forged a friendship, compromised, and united in a common cause, our lives might look very different today.

Even though both men were under enormous stress, they found time to laugh, philosophize, weep, and enjoy life’s other pleasures.

As one reads this book, the author challenges the reader to look for parallels in our time…. What decisions did these two great men make that impact us yet today and what virtues did they possess that leaders now might emulate?

To make this work less like a history lesson, the author has chosen stylistically to present the story as a two-man monologue. This novel approach provides a useful way to become reacquainted with the principals. Each character alternatively reveals his thoughts about the other and each feeds off the other as their story unfolds. Although we may know the outcome, as the two men interface, they do not. As contradictory as it may seem, the author employs the present tense to give the storyline a sense of urgency and suspense.

Obviously not all the time Churchill and Roosevelt spent together has been completely documented. They had many private conversations while in Washington. Now seventy-five-plus years later, they have grown as historical as well as mythical figures.

Throughout the book, the logic of the situation sets the tone for the idea of the conversations Churchill and Roosevelt might have had. The author has taken the liberty of speculating about what they might have said to one another during some of their private moments.

The narrative is largely based on documentation such as events, dates, speeches, third parties, and places. What went on behind the view of the public eye is subject to conjecture…particularly their late evening escapades and aspects of their final farewell dinner. The author fleshes out the story by coloring it with conversations that might have occurred but that are not necessarily provable.

Lastly, the writer sets out to humanize these two epic leaders of their time and perhaps the century. He works to reveal not only their fears and tears but also their joys, humor, passions, temperaments, and schemes. He attempts to break into their minds and points of view as the two men join together intent on saving the Western world. So, this book may be called a work of creative nonfiction, with some elements of fiction and imagination woven into the plot to make the work more entertaining but no less relevant.
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    • James Mikel Wilson James Mikel Wilson 7 months ago
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    • "The Allies" life-size sculpture was created by Lawrence Holofcener to commemorate 50 years of peace between WW2 former enemies. One sits prominently on Bond Street, London. The book won an Author Academy Award and was featured at America's National Churchill's 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2019. And later at the 2021 International Churchill Society's annual meeting in London.
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standalone complete series

Historical Fiction Children's Biographies & Memoirs History General Nonfiction

BIOGRAPHY
Born during World War II in Moline, Illinois, James Mikel Wilson grew up in the lingering dark shadows of that era. His father and uncles fought in WWII, moved on with their lives, and rarely ever discussed it.

Over four decades, Wilson’s work in international marketing and personal travel took him to five c... ontinents, thirty-three countries, and forty-seven states. He craved to understand the history, culture, and politics of each place visited. Wilson’s lingering itch to better grasp the fuses that sparked WW II in Europe and Asia led to two meticulously researched books.

His first one, "Churchill and Roosevelt: The Big Sleepover at the White House" (2015), earned an Author Academy Award. Wilson was invited to participate in a book signing during America’s National Churchill Museum’s 50th-anniversary celebration. In 2020, the International Churchill Society’s annual meeting in London featured the book and a reading of Alliance, a stage play version of the book.

His second one, "The Cherry Tree Weeps for Me - A Quest for The Dawn of Peace," (November, 2024), unveils Takashi Komatsu's lifelong quest for peace. The biography tells the compelling story of Japan's birth as a democracy, followed by its loss and restoration through the lens of one man, Komatsu.
He played a pivotal role in rebuilding Japan after the war and renewing friendships between Japan and the US.

Wilson has written three other books. The ASPCA promoted "Paw Tracks Here and Abroad: A Dog's Tale." Newsweek Magazine featured "Ghosts of President's Past - A Reckoning," which was modeled after Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."
And children and adults have been charmed by "Mr. Froggy's Dilemma."
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James Mikel Wilson other Books

The Cherry Tree Weeps for Me: A Quest for the Dawn of Peace
(6) $8.99 kindleeBook, Paperback,
The Cherry Tree Weeps for Me: A Quest for the Dawn of Peaceby James Mikel WilsonPublish: Oct 31, 2024Biographies & Memoirs History
Paw Tracks Here and Abroad: A Dog's Tale
(1) $2.99 kindle Free with KUeBook, Paperback,
Paw Tracks Here and Abroad: A Dog's Taleby James Mikel WilsonPublish: Nov 21, 2014Humor Teen & Young Adult Children's Advice & How To Biographies & Memoirs
Ghosts of Presidents Past - A Reckoning
(1) $6.99 kindleeBook, Paperback,
Ghosts of Presidents Past - A Reckoningby James Mikel WilsonPublish: Oct 25, 2020Historical Fiction Humor Fantasy
MR. FROGGY'S DILEMMA
(2) $3.99 kindleeBook, Paperback,
MR. FROGGY'S DILEMMAby James Mikel WilsonPublish: Sep 05, 2018Humor Children's

Book Awards and Achievements

  • Author Academy Award
    2018

    Churchill and Roosevelt: The Big Sleepover at the White House: Christmas 1941-New Year 1942

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Book Detail
Title Churchill and Roosevelt: The Big Sleepover at the White House: Christmas 1941-New Year 1942
Author James Mikel Wilson
ASIN B016SBJLBI
Publish Date 16, Oct 2015
Publisher Gate Keeper Press
Language English
Page Count 194
Cover Design Tod Gilpin
Cover Model Lawrence Holofcener Sculptor
Cover Photographer Julia Holofcener