Churchill and Roosevelt: The Big Sleepover at the White House

"Churchill and Roosevelt: The Big Sleepover at the White House" is a book for those who enjoy history and political intrigue but prefer that the method of delivery entertain and inform. It’s also written for those who enjoy reading about leadership and its applications. 


Many readers may not have known that Winston Churchill came to visit Franklin Roosevelt two weeks after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt insisted that Winston sleep in the White House. The two men had much in common—more than they realized, as the reader will discover. There are plenty of other surprises along the way—a chance encounter with Adolph Hitler, a fishing expedition, a shared mentor, a favorite movie, a movie producer spy, Commander Ian Fleming’s visit to the Oval Office, and canine diplomacy to name but a few.


During their time together, Churchill and Roosevelt shared many private moments as they forged a bond of friendship, trust, and cooperation that enabled them to defeat their countries’ common enemies. How their relationship evolved is dramatized and personified in this book.


Most of the narrative is based on documentation, but what went on behind the view of the public eye is subject to the imagination. The author fleshes out the story by coloring it with conversations that may have occurred over the course of three weeks 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 reveals not only their fears and tears but also their joys, humor, passions, temperaments, and schemes. He attempts to “break into their minds” as the two men join together intent on savig the Western world.


The author is a Proud Supporter of the Fallen Warriors Memorial in Houston (www.fallenwarriorstexas.org) and America’s National Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri (www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org)


About the Author

James Mikel Wilson resides in Houston, Texas. He has been happily married for forty-eight years and has a son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren. Hopefully the latter, as they grow older, will be inspired by Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt’s compassion, faith, resiliency, and sense of the greater good as told in Churchill and Roosevelt: The Big Sleepover at the White House. He could not resist writing this book as he begin to imagine the time these two great leaders resided, worked, and forged their union at the White House for almost three weeks during Christmas 1941 to early New Year 1942. This book is a Proud Supporter of Fallen Warriors Memorial (www.fallenwarriorstexas.org) and The National Churchill Museum (www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org).


Jim worked for forty-two years as a sales and marketing manager for Caterpillar Inc. and related companies in North and South America as well as Europe and Africa. His sense of geography and history is incorporated into this book as well as another titled Paw Tracks Here and Abroad: A Dog’s Tale, Corabella Press, 2014.

Paw Tracks, written for “children of all ages,” tells the true adventures of a stray dog who travels the equivalent of almost halfway around the world, escapes four times, and possesses a strong will to survive. In addition to the special bonding that occurs between humans and animals, it teaches some geography, a little history, and the importance of good veterinarian care, nutrition, grooming, and thoughtful kennel boarding. The book is available from most traditional sources.


Snickers, the principal character in the book, shares in first-person voice her marvelous and weirdly true adventures over a twenty-two-year lifespan. Paw Tracks is a Proud Supporter of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ (www.aspca.org) missions related to adoption and animal abuse. The Peoria Journal Star and the ASPCA have posted favorable write-ups in their publications.

As a hobby, the author collects books written by U.S. presidents and first ladies.