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A History of Bombing
Exterminate All the Brutes
Bench Press
The Jewish Brigade
Men of Steel: 1st SS Panzer Corps, 1944-45 - The Ardennes and Eastern Front
Lady De Lancey's Narrative: The Story of Duty and Devotion
The Blood Tub: General Gough and the Battle of Bullecourt, 1917
SS-Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler: The History of the First SS Division 1933-45
Early Scottish Gardeners and Their Plants, 1650-1750
Scottish Midwives: Twentieth-century Voices (Flashback)
Scotland and Europe: the Medieval Kingdom and Its Contacts with Christendom, 1214-1560: Religion, Commerce and Culture, C.1215-1560 Vol 1
Mary of Guise in Scotland, 1548-1560: A Political Study
Sandakan: A Conspiracy of Silence
The Mekong: Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future
The Brotherhoods: Inside the Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs
Reformasi: The Struggle for Power in Post-Soeharto Indonesia
Aboriginal Australians (Australian Experience)
Hitler's War: And the War Path
Kent: A Chronicle of the Century: 1950-74 v. 3
Chasing Ghosts: An Attempt at the Atlantic by Microlight
The 1930s Scrapbook (Scrapbook S.)
The 1920s Scrapbook
How to Write and Publish Local History
Records of Merchant Shipping and Seamen (Public Record Office Readers Guide)
Army Records for Family Historians (Public Record Office Readers Guide)

The Fire: The Bombing of Germany, 1940-1945

Average customer rating:

Interesting WW1 perspective
Astonishing and Riveting
Tom's Review
Recommended, but a Partial Perspective
like repetition?

The Fire: The Bombing of Germany, 1940-1945
Jörg Friedrich
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Among the Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan
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ASIN: 0231133804

Book Description

For five years during the Second World War, the Allies launched a trial and error bombing campaign against Germany's historical city landscape. Peaking in the war's final three months, it was the first air attack of its kind. Civilian dwellings were struck by-in today's terms-"weapons of mass destruction," with a total of 600,000 casualties, including 70,000 children.

In The Fire, historian J& ouml;rg Friedrich explores this crucial chapter in military and world history. Combining meticulous research with striking illustrations, Friedrich presents a vivid account of the saturation bombing, rendering in acute detail the annihilation of cities such as Dresden, the jewel of Germany's rich art and architectural heritage. He incorporates the personal stories and firsthand testimony of German civilians into his narrative, creating a macabre portrait of unimaginable suffering, horror, and grief, and he draws on official military documents to unravel the reasoning behind the strikes.

Evolving military technologies made the extermination of whole cities possible, but owing, perhaps, to the Allied victory and what W. G. Sebald noted as "a pre-conscious self-censorship, a way of obscuring a world that could no longer be presented in comprehensible terms," the wisdom of this strategy has never been questioned. The Fire is a rare account of the air raids as they were experienced by the civilians who were their targets.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting WW1 perspective.......2007-06-27

Rather lengthy account of the result of Allied bombing in OF Germany during ww2. Graphic and dismal,yet sheds light on the terrible consequences of war.

Astonishing and Riveting.......2007-06-14

I am a WWII buff and have read an awful lot about the war generally and the firebombing campaigns in particular. But this book takes it to a new level, a riveting, highly depressing account of the intentional targeting and slaughtering of tens of thousands of civilians in an explicit effort to "weaken the will" of the German people and thus hasten the end of the war.

Churchill really comes across as the instigator of much of the detailed destruction of historic city centers, ancient churches and steeples, dams, water mains, you just about name it. Roosevelt is described by the author as "more humane" and mostly focused on the targeting of legitimate military and industrial targets.

But according to this book, the British worked for years with fire prevention specialists to devise the best method to destroy old and largely defenseless historic German cities. Careful attention was paid by the British to which buildings would burn fastest, how it would best be spread, which fire walls and water mains to destroy, and how to stop the fire from being put out in order to maximize civilian death and destruction. The author makes no real attempt to justify any of this, other than to say that the British were desperate and being bombed themselves.

Interesting facts - Churchill ordered from the US military a large quantity of anthrax, to be dropped on German cities, but the anthrax was set to arrive after the Allies landed on the continent, so the plan was disbanded.

New facts recounted of the horrific British destruction of the massive dams protecting the Ruhr river valley, leading to massive drowning, drought, and devastation of defenseless women and children living in villages downriver. The technology of firebombing, and the effects on the civilians who retreated to cellars, are all discussed in painful detail. Attention is paid to the great likelihood of dying that the British bombers knew went along with their dangerous missions, but the pilots are hardly described here as "heroes."

The book, however, lacks a narrative structure and could have been more crisply edited. It is simply a collection of death and destruction, intentional and targeted directly at civilians, with account after account of successful bombing raids and their effect on the historic treasures there were destroyed as a result -- along with the many many thousands of civilian dead.

This is a hard read, and I found myself reaching for someone or something to help me understand the moral equivalency of what I had been reading -- something to put it into perspective so you are not left with the sense that war is hell, and many war crimes were committed by the participants with no understanding of the whys or the moral justifications for same. For this book, it is the hows that are itemized in dark deadly detail.

Tom's Review.......2007-06-13

Very comprehensive review of the bombing of Germany during WWII, but not very readable.
I consider it to be a good reference book. Anyone seeking specific information or details about the bombing will probably find it in this book, if they look hard enough. And that's the problem. The wealth of information is not very well organized, making the narration hard to follow and a difficult read, even for this died-in-the-wool WWII buff.

Recommended, but a Partial Perspective.......2007-05-19

A different type of history, not a narrative history but an impressionistic one of the terrible effects of the Allied bombing in Germany on both the German public and cultural treasures. This book must be balanced by books such as Robin Neilland's "The Bomber War" and Donald Miller's "Masters of the Air." The U.S. Eighth Air Force tried daylight precision bombing for the initial period of their operations, but in the Schweinfurt raid they lost 60 bombers (600 air crew). This loss rate could not continue, so they switched to area bombing, following the British Bomber Command example. This is the only possible strategy they could have adopted. Bombing was just not accurate enough in those days (unlike today) to be able to precisely hit military targets. The results were devastating on German civilians and precious cultural treasures like churches and books, but no other means of attack would have worked. This only emphasizes the great tragedy of war and how much it should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Another point the author makes is that at a certain point Germany was beaten, why did the bombing continue? Answer: the government would not surrender, and the fight was brutal until near the very end. After the Germans started the second world war within two generations, the Allies insisted that Germany be totally defeated, unlike the WW I armistice. Even after the WW II surrender there was armed action by the Werewolf organization. Disclosure: my father was career U.S. Air Force and served in WWII, though in the Pacific. I've worked as a civilian for the Air Force for over 20 years. I've never met anyone who hated war more than those who have fought them, the soldiers who bear the brunt of the action. But sometimes the human tragedy of war is the only choice if tyrants are not to rule the world. The author realizes that, he's not a pacifist. We can join him in mourning the loss of life and cultural treasures, but not in his unrealistic view that an alternative course of action could have been taken. Certainly, read this book, but don't stop there if you want the full history on these tragic issues.

like repetition?.......2007-05-14

This book gives the German perspective which, if you haven't read it before, does offer a different view. The subject matter was covered well
in the first one-fifth of the book. Not much changed in the last 80
percent except for the names of the towns. I waded through the entire
book mainly because my father was an aviator in this campaign; if he
hadn't been, I'm pretty sure I couldn't have finished the book, simply
because I felt I was reading the same story over and over.

Breakdown: How America's Intelligence Failures Led to September 11

Average customer rating:

Government Bungling - Again!
A little right biased
Excellent reminder of how 9.11 was a complete failure for
"Breakdown" Wears Blinders
The sum is less than the parts

Breakdown: How America's Intelligence Failures Led to September 11
Bill Gertz
Manufacturer: Regnery Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The China Threat
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Betrayal : How the Clinton Administration Undermined American Security

ASIN: 0895261480
Release Date: 2002-08-25

Book Description

From sources inside the Pentagon and the CIA, Bill Gertz tracks the path of terrorists and terrorism in the United States. He uncovers information that could have prevented 9/11.

Customer Reviews:

Government Bungling - Again!.......2005-12-24

Gertz begins by relating how, prior to 9/11, the CIA failed to help an Afghan leader trying to rally forces against the pro bin Laden Taliban. As a result, he was captured and executed.

Lack of Coordination: In '95, Philippine police investigating a fire and explosion learned the details of plans to blow up 11 airliners over the Pacific, as well as to fly a plane into CIA headquarters. The individual involved also admitted having attended several U.S. flight schools. This information was not combined with Phoenix FBI findings that a number of Middle-East men with a hatred of America - one had bin Laden photo on his wall. another made calls to a Palestinian terrorist, still another was asking about airport security, and they had a "fatwah" that commericial airplanes were legitimate targets. Nor was it combined with the Minneapolis' finding that Moussaoui was similarly trying to learn to fly large jets, nor a like finding in Oklahoma City. The CIA did track two 9/11 terrorists to the U.S. (who had taken U.S. flight training) - but failed to even notify the FBI. Worse yet, when Minneapolis FBI agents were frustrated in their efforts to have Moussaoui's computer searched (refused because "no crime had been committed") and tried to notify the CIA - they were reprimanded.

The CIA attempted to prosecute Robert Baer (one of its top operatives) for supposedly trying to assassinate Sadam Hussein, per Iranian intelligence. It then claimed credit for stopping several Millenium attacks (actually accomplished via alert Custom's official), and for "thwarting" terrorist attacks after simply nabbing individuals entering with false documents. Also determined that a small boat attack against a U.S. warship was not possible, prior to the U.S.S. Cole bombing.

Lack of Capable Staff: In the early 1990s, the CIA had nobody in Iraq. Subsequent intelligence buildup involved adding staff attached to embassies who largely stayed inside and filed reports. Prior "housecleanings" had moved away from rewarding staff for recruiting spies, and instead focused on diversity, and avoiding recruitment of those with prior criminal or terrorist backgrounds. Clinton administration further weakened efforts by refocusing counter-intelligence on antii-abortion bombings - despite the FBI believing that Islamic terrorism was a much greater problem.

Sudan offered intelligence on bin Laden, and even to arrest him. Clinton administration did not follow-up, and the offer evaporated upon the erroneous bombing of a Sudanese pharmaceutical plant.

Former CIA Director Woolsey: Prior to 9/11, several times each year some crazy person would get into a cockpit, and the call would go out to strengthen the doors. NOTHING HAPPENED! (Was the ONE simple action that likely prevented 9/11.)

A little right biased.......2005-09-09

This was a informative book that outlined what Gertz thought was the reason Sept 11th happened. Though these were problems left over from countless decades of neglect to the intellgence community Gertz seems to protray this as the cause of failure. It is a combination af manyy things and to point your finger at one aspect of the pie is ludicris. The book does make a good point on how politics get in the way of policy. "It is what you do and not what you say, if your not part of the future than get out of the way." Stop pissing around and playing favorites and get the job done!

Excellent reminder of how 9.11 was a complete failure for .......2005-05-12

both the CIA and FBI. Mr. Gertz, the excellent correspondent for the excellent (meaning not anti-Bush/republican NY Times/Wash. Post/CNN/CBS/ABC,etc.) Washington Times does an excellent job in explaining how 9.11 could have been prevented. Examples include the lack of adequately trained translators, CIA apprehension in "penetrating" al-Qaeda, and the 1970 era of anti-CIA political machinatiions that decimated the US intelligence. Also, Mr. Gertz details the lack of attention paid to the intelligence community during eight years of Bill/Hillary/Madeline/fat Al Gore/Sandy stolen documents Berger/et al. Binny struck in 93, 95, 96, 98, and 2000 (and many aborted/thwarted attacks) and all we got from that administration was some cruise missiles and an exploded milk factory in Sudan (while cowardly running from Somalia). This all led to the tragedy of 9.11 (and now the madman Kim Jong-il.)
Mr. Gertz does offer many solutions to the problems with many quote from senior intelligence officials (thank you, James Woolsey).
Thank you for the great work Mr. Gertz.

"Breakdown" Wears Blinders.......2005-03-04

"Breakdown: How America's Intelligence Failures Led to September 11" by Bill Gertz provides an operational history of America's spy community.

While his credentials and writing ability are beyond reproach, Gertz fails miserably by simplistically concluding that politics ruined our intelligence gathering system. Without mentioning the bloody, destabilizing covert actions that compelled legislative intervention, Gertz blames congressional panels "packed with liberal Democrats who assumed that U. S. intelligence agencies posed a threat to American democracy and engaged in wide criminal activity."

To agree with Gertz, one must ignore scores of corporate-friendly coups supported by the CIA in the last half century. For a more complete examination of intelligence misdeeds, read "Endless Enemies: The Making of an Unfriendly World" by Jonathan Kwitny.

By taking a partisan stance to draw a political conclusion, Gertz fails to put the blame where it belongs; on the hubris ridden, bureaucratic Boys Club that the intelligence service has become. Sycophancy and conformity cross party lines, and smother the creative thinkers in our nation's intelligence community.

The sum is less than the parts.......2004-12-16

A few days before writing this, Congress approved the 'Intelligence Reform Act of 2004'. I thought this book might be useful for understanding the exceptionally difficult issues involved. Unfortunately, it only covers the preliminary ground work.

Unless you have been living in a cave for the last 5 years, you are well aware that Congress, the FBI, the CIA and the NSA (and thus the President of the United States) had a variety of warnings which could have prevented the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, DC. This book reviews the warnings, using a chapter for each agency, the Congress and the Presidency.

While interesting, these reviews are poor narratives. The story line becomes very familiar, 1) agent 'X' was suspicious of 'Y' and wrote a 'warning memo'. 2) Unfortunately, a Democratic party functionary was running the agent's office and hid the warning. 3) If one looks into the office politics, it becomes obvious that the Democratic party functionaries were uninterested in Muslim terrorists. Instead, they favored activites that protected bureaucratic positions, maintained elected office, expanded a social service or played to the 'we hate the US military' crowd.

While interesting, the stories fail to argue for any general understanding of bureaucratic dynamics, the mind of Muslim terrorists or US politics. It is useful to know the specifics of various available warnings, but the simple moral tales were unconvincing. As a whole, the details are just details. The sum is less than the parts. In particular, there is no balance-of-powers governmental principle elucidated. Balance-of-power is the bedrock of US politics.

After these reviews, a set of recommendations were offered.
1. New clandestine service replacing CIA directorate of Operations and DIA Defense HUMINT. The goal is to create a service that relies on American diversity to place Americans in the front lines of intelligence collection.
2. Create a new Counter intelligence service outside the FBI.
3. Abolish the DIA and return its responsibilities to the Military.
4. Have CIA redesigned to support military.
5. Set up small Military 'special ops' force.
6. Upgrade technical abilities for collecting intel.

Two of these are non-controversial: #1 and #6, largely because they are so vague. Who would be against gritty 'real world' spies with technology James Bond would be proud to use? #3, #4, and #5 argue for giving more of the intelligence role to military officers, but the book has not made a case for trusting the military over 'spy bureaucrats', only against Democratic functionaries running spy agencies. #2 is the traditional 'new bureaucracy' temptation solution, which is as empty as #1 and #6. Thus, we are left with a simple analysis: turn counter terrorism over to the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Gertz and I probably agree that the Carter and Clinton administrations represent 20th century low points in US foreign policy, but the arguments and recommendations need to stand on their own merits. On their own, the case makes no sense. This probably explains the irrelevance of the book when used to inform opinion regarding the 2004 Intell Reform Act. The public debate over this measure revolved around two issues:
1. National driver's license standards
2. Congressional vs. Executive authority over 'real time' field level surveillance satellites.

The book makes no issue of driver license standards, nor the immigration issues that confuse the debate. The second issue is a 'balance of congressional and executive power' question, which the book never addresses.

In conclusion, while useful for summarizing the pre-9/11 warnings, the book is useless for making sense of 'how intel failed' and allowed 9/11 to take place. Since no theory of bureaucratic politics is offered, we end up with little more than 'my politics are better than yours' and 'another layer of bureaucracy will solve everything'.

The Secret Life of Bill Clinton: The Unreported Stories

Average customer rating:

Incredible Work
What a McGovernite Liberal is Really Like
A must-read to any American citizen...
Partisan Revenge Tactics = Big Bucks
It's time for One Term Limits for all Politicians

The Secret Life of Bill Clinton: The Unreported Stories
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Manufacturer: Regnery Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Unlimited Access: An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House

ASIN: 0895264080

Amazon.com

These days, it seems like everyone's a Friend of Bill--Clinton's buddies from Arkansas are turning up in powerful White House positions faster than you can say "Whitewater." But make no mistake, British journalist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard is no F.O.B.: in the course of The Secret Life of Bill Clinton's 350-plus pages, he manages to connect the president to everything from 1997's Oklahoma City bombing to Arkansas's drug underworld to the mysterious death of White House aide and longtime Clinton friend Vince Foster, and, of course, to Paula Jones. According to Evans-Pritchard--who has reported for the London-based Spectator, Sunday Telegraph (where he served as Washington bureau chief), and Daily Telegraph newspapers--Clinton's "original sin" was the Waco incident, the FBI's much-criticized assault on the Branch Davidian community in Texas that led to the deaths of 76 people. From that point on, the author asserts, it was all downhill for the American people.

Evans-Pritchard's exposé of Arkansas's favorite son is indeed scathing: he documents the then-governor's drug use and consort with prostitutes (primarily in the company of ne'er-do-well brother Roger); innumerable lies to friends, staff members, and the people who empowered him; numerous infidelities; blackmail--the list goes on and on. Evans-Pritchard claims that, because he is not an American citizen, he is not "beholden to any political or financial interest in the United States," and he does not "hang on lips of official sources," nor does he "fear the loss of access in Washington, or the blackball of [his] profession"; in other words, he ain't afraid to call 'em like he sees 'em. And although many of his seemingly wild claims and accusations are substantiated by thorough notes and appendixes following the text (including copies of original FBI documents), you're never quite convinced of the author's theories. Whether or not you come to believe, as Evans-Pritchard does, that "Arkansas was a mini-Colombia within the United States, infested by narco-corruption"; that--because of William Jefferson Clinton--"you can sniff the pungent odors of decay in the American body politic"; that the president's "actions and character ... have engendered the most deadly terrorist movement in the industrialized world," you will most certainly be entertained and enlightened by the dirt this British muckraker has uncovered. You may not be an F.O.B., but after reading this book, you may not mind so much.

Book Description

An illustrious investigative reporter adds shocking new and exclusive revelations to his swelling bag of Clinton scandals.

Customer Reviews:

Incredible Work.......2007-06-23

I just read this book for the second time after having read it a few years ago. It's amazing how time dulls the memory. I had forgotten about all of the scandals and crimes associated with the Clintons and it is chilling that after all of this time the Clintons still have not been held accountable and at this time Hillary is even in the running to become our next president.

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard has written a well-documented and well-researched book from years of investigation and interviews. He has meticulously laid out the evidence for the Clintons association with the Oklahoma bombing, Vince Foster's death, the sad murder of Kevin Ives, the "Dixie Mafia" and even Paula Jones.

I can understand why those who are enamored of Bill Clinton will not like this book but in typical left-wing form those who have given this book only one star and complain that it is filled with lies offer no facts to refute those supposed lies.

What a McGovernite Liberal is Really Like.......2004-09-25

Evans-Pritchard reveals what America gets when it elects a new age liberal. Bill Clinton a "new democrat"? Yes, if you mean New Left.

This Clinton is a man who served under the segregationist and anti-Vietnam war senator Fulbright.

Evans-Pritchard takes you behind the sanitized snapshots. What you see is at least a third of the American voting populace who does not mind Clinton's Arkansas corruption and subsequent White House coverup. "They all do it," was the Clinton defense.

Most reporters were too cowardly to investigate the suspicious activities at Mena, Arkansas airport, or the bumbling of Clinton's handpicked stooges in the Justics Department, and the subversion of the FBI's handling of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Before the dead kids bodies in the Murrah Building were even cold, Clinton blamed conservative talk radio for creating the climate that led to the bombing. That is what a real liberal does.

In retrospect, it now becomes clear why James Carville became Clinton's most staunch defender. To paraphrase a threat from Carville, "Ken Starr is one step away from having his kneecaps busted." THAT IS THE REAL BILL CLINTON, not the easy-going good-time charlie playing the sax on TV.

Bill Clinton was a Rhodes scholar . . . with extremely poor judgment. Crafty? Yes. Wise, like Reagan? Hell No.

A must-read to any American citizen..........2002-12-30

I purchased this book after hearing review after review of it from my family members. Needless to say, they were right - this book is an absolute bombshell of information that pinpoints most, if not all of the ethical and legal faux pas raised by the Clinton Administration and the organizations under that regime. Some of the highlights include how the FBI blundered Waco, how the Murrah building was most definately more than a one-person job (but was apparently ordered not to investigate it as such), how Clinton was dealing in cocaine trafficking and how the Clintons managed to cover all of this up with the help of the liberal media.

... Ambrose Evans-Pritchard documents everything he asserts based on facts of witness testimony, comparing FBI affadavits, and other documents related to these cases. If there is any flaw with the book is that Pritchard couldn't 100% tie all of the incidents to Clinton, though 95% of the crimes mentioned in the book can be easily seen how they tie to Clinton or to someone high up in the Clinton administration.

I reiterate - this book is a must-read to anyone who is sick and tired of hearing how great the Clinton Administration is, and should be read by those people who continue to profess how wonderful Clinton was.

Partisan Revenge Tactics = Big Bucks.......2002-10-29

To the people who read this book, you really should do some research on the author, who was sure that he was going to be killed by Clinton's "Death Squads" while writing this. It's a perfect book to feed the conservative paranoia that the Clinton years cultivated. The guy couldn't even have a successful affair without getting caught, how he could have managed all that he is accused of in this book is borderline absurd. And the section regarding the advanced knowledge of the Oklahoma bombing is just plain ridiculous, especially when you compare it to the recent allegation of the Bush administration's advance knowledge of 9/11 activities. It's easy to dislike Clinton when you're a conservative, I understand, and this book certainly gives you fuel for the fire. But no one should take anything in this book as entirely factual or of any journalistic value. The elaborate footnotes and "documentation" are an almost comedic exersize in logical thinking. But hey, I'm not going to knock a book that so many people like. The only thing I object to is its classification as a "non-fiction" book.

It's time for One Term Limits for all Politicians.......2002-01-29

I just finished reading this book - on the heals of finishing Bernard Goldberg's book, Bias. It made me sick to my stomach. Not being one to swallow what someone tries to feed me without thinking for myself, if even some of the allegations made in this book are true, it's horrifying.

I'm wondering why no one in the media wants to uncover the truth about Vince Foster's death. I learned recently that his widow received a $286,000 wire transfer 4 days after his death and no one wants to account for the money trail.

What blows my mind is if Bill had a "nose like a vacuum" as the author alleges Roger Clinton stated on a surveillance tape, why isn't that front page news? Are we so gullible as a society that we tolerate such behavior from our leaders so long as it doesn't interfere with our own personal quality of life?

I admit I am no fan of the Clintons and I didn't vote for Al Gore. However, I'm having trouble sleeping at night in fear for the country my son will inherit if these allegations are true. I always knew the rich and powerful got different justice from the rest of us - I guess I always thought the press would protect us from ourselves. God help us all.

This book is powerful in its ability to "probe and disturb".

Average customer rating:

Page Burner

Long Time Coming
Petric J. Smith
Manufacturer: Crane Hill Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Until Justice Rolls Down: The Birmingham Church Bombing Case
4 Little Girls

ASIN: 1881548104

Book Description

An insider’s story of the Birmingham church bombing.

Customer Reviews:

Page Burner.......2002-01-20

With another of the Birmingham bombers coming to trial this month for the killing of the four little girls, this book concerning the conviction of the first one is a page burner. Robert Chamblis' neice witnessed against and helped to convict him. In this book, she takes us behind the scenes of the KKK and the bombings and murders committed by the Cahaba Boys. I recommend this for anyone interested in the Civil Rights Struggle.

Among the Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan

Average customer rating:

Problems with Books about War
Not the work hoped for...
A moral conviction against strategic bombing of civilians.
Omits the Deadest City of All--Warsaw
Thoughtful and Wrong

Among the Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan
A C Grayling
Manufacturer: Walker & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

The Fire: The Bombing of Germany, 1940-1945
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ASIN: 0802714714
Release Date: 2006-03-07

Book Description

When Nuremberg was scouted in 1945 as a possible site for the Nazi war crime trials, an American damage survey of Germany described it as being “among the dead cities” of that country, for it was 90% destroyed, its population decimated, its facilities lost. As a place to put Nazis on trial, it symbolized the devastation Nazism brought upon Germany, while providing evidence of the destruction the Allies wrought on the country in the course of the war.

In Among the Dead Cities, the acclaimed philosopher A. C. Grayling asks the provocative question, how would the Allies have fared if judged by the standards of the Nuremberg Trials? Arguing persuasively that the victor nations have never had to consider the morality of their policies during World War II, he offers a powerful, moral re-examination of the Allied bombing campaigns against civilians in Germany and Japan, in the light of principles enshrined in the post-war conventions on human rights and the laws of war.

Intended to weaken those countries’ ability and will to make war, the bombings nonetheless destroyed centuries of culture and killed some 800,000 non-combatants, injuring and traumatizing hundreds of thousands more in Hamburg, Dresden, and scores of other German cities, in Tokyo, and finally in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. “Was this bombing offensive justified by the necessities of war,” Grayling writes, “or was it a crime against humanity? These questions mark one of the great remaining controversies of the Second World War.” Their resolution is especially relevant in this time of terrorist threat, as governments debate how far to go in the name of security.

Grayling begins by narrating the Royal Air Force’s and U. S. Army Air Force’s dramatic and dangerous missions over Germany and Japan between 1942 and 1945. Through the eyes of survivors, he describes the terrifying experience on the ground as bombs created inferno and devastation among often-unprepared men, women, and children. He examines the mindset and thought-process of those who planned the campaigns in the heat and pressure of war, and faced with a ruthless enemy. Grayling chronicles the voices that, though in the minority, loudly opposed attacks on civilians, exploring in detail whether the bombings ever achieved their goal of denting the will to wage war. Based on the facts and evidence, he makes a meticulous case for, and one against, civilian bombing, and only then offers his own judgment. Acknowledging that they in no way equated to the death and destruction for which Nazi and Japanese aggression was responsible, he nonetheless concludes that the bombing campaigns were morally indefensible, and more, that accepting responsibility, even six decades later, is both a historical necessity and a moral imperative.

Rarely is the victor’s history re-examined, and A. C. Grayling does so with deep respect and with a sense of urgency “to get a proper understanding for how peoples and states can and should behave in times of conflict.” Addressing one of today’s key moral issues, Among the Dead Cities is both a dramatic retelling of the World War II saga, and vitally important reading for our time.

Customer Reviews:

Problems with Books about War.......2007-03-18

First of all, I agree with the sentiments expressed by the reviewers who found this book frustrating. The author stated that he was only going to study area bombing of Germany by the RAF and the area bombing of Japan by the US. That he wasn't doing all civilian bombing of the war. But he never even got to the Japanese portion of the discussion he'd promised to discuss, which is what I wanted to read about. And it occurs to me now that he would have made a much stronger case if he had just told the story of the killing of civilians during WWII generally, regardless of who the agent was, though that would have made a much bigger project. In a certain way, once your head's blow off, it doesn't really matter what the ideological predisposition of the nation who blew it off was.

Not the work hoped for..........2006-12-31

If you travel to London, a `must' for any tourist is Westminster Cathedral. In the apse of that famous edifice you will find a window devoted to the saviors of Britain in WW2, the men of the RAF. Most unfortunately, you find among those named one that surely needs to be effaced, Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris.

Long appalled by the muted - nay, virtually non-existent - criticism of the murderous policy of our air warfare in WW2, the `area', or `saturation', or `strategic' bombings, whatever one wishes to call that atrocious, indiscriminate attempt to annihilate whole sections of cities, I approached this work with great hope that this would, at last, be definitively addressed. Indeed, in the hands of a clearly informed and prolific philosopher (see his other works), it seemed an almost ideal combination. And, his work, in the opening chapters, in elucidating the origins of this policy is exemplary, namely: the accidents triggering retaliations that ultimately spiraled out of control; the inability to hit a target with any accuracy*; the unacceptable loss rate from daylight raids (the only ones with any chance to reliably find a tactical target); the psychological need to take the fight to the enemy when all other avenues with any public impact were inaccessible; and finally, the peculiar psyche of Arthur Harris (and, possibly, Curtis LeMay, although this is somewhat less certain), who sincerely believed, due largely to his experience in WW1 and his consequent desire to avoid its repetition at any cost, that air power alone would bring surrender without the necessity of a ground assault.

Grayling continues with an exhaustive summary of the legal framework of the rules of war. His outline of the various Geneva conventions and protocols is quite helpful, if sometimes anachronistic and tedious. Still, for a work of this sort, it cannot be avoided, and Grayling accepts this wearisome duty, offering it to us digested and distilled in one place, for which we must be grateful. In addition, he offers, as a substantial bonus, a unique 45 page appendix of "RAF bombing attacks on Germany, with civilian casualties... and RAF losses...". Unfortunately, he fails to note his source, or sources, for this monumental, and crucial, enumeration.

It is in the actual history, though, that the book fails (proving perhaps, if proof were still needed, that this profession does indeed require training, and that it is not, despite appearances, open and vouchsafed for all). The author, in particular, apparently does not understand the distinction between a war that is lost, and surrender. While it is doubtless true that, by the beginning of 1945, at the very latest, there was no possibility of either Germany or Japan prevailing, or even emerging from the war without defeat, there still remained the question of surrender and how the countries were to be governed after the war. Due to the horrific nature of both regimes in power during the war, there was absolutely no question by the Allies of retaining any elements whatever of those structures and personnel after the war - to do so would have rendered the enormous sacrifices of the war years as essentially meaningless. And, neither of those regimes, as they were constituted during the war, was ready at any point, however hopeless, to surrender - both were, in fact, geared to fight to the last man. That happened, in essence, in Germany. In Japan, it was avoided, but only by the - very belated - intervention of the Emperor (and then, only after an attempted coup against his holy personage was repulsed!). In fact, a good argument can be made, despite the very good, recent book by Professor Hasegawa, "Racing the Enemy", that the Bomb was critical in his intervention. (Professor Hasegawa's book, by the way, was subjected to serious criticism by Michael Kort, and D.M. Giangreco, among others.) You have to know what the Japanese were willing to accept for surrender, namely, the military left essentially untouched, the retention of a number of colonies, the home islands unoccupied, to understand how `unconditional' in `unconditional surrender' was not really excessive. You have to have intimate knowledge of the war, by living through it or reading extensively in it, to know from Iwo Jima and Okinawa just what would be expected from invading the homeland, and why, therefore, use of the Atomic Bomb was not necessarily contemptible (tho one can, certainly, argue with how it was initially used). Most egregious is his statement (undocumented), on page 154 (repeated, if abbreviated, on p. 260) that Byrnes was urging, on June 1, 1945, use of the bomb as primarily a tool against Russia, which does not fit with the man or the times. (I am assured by Professor Hasegawa, who has examined the minutes of the Interim Committee in the archives, that no such statement of that date from Byrnes exists - nor could it, as it was certainly far too early for such talk, and, I would add, impossible, even from belligerent Byrnes.) I can only assume that Grayling has consulted too much of the notoriously unreliable Gar Alperovitz - and, of that author, even one book is too much - and not enough, not nearly enough, of the best sources on the war.

Lastly, I cannot refrain from commenting on the author's equivalence of 9/11 and Aug 6, 1945 (p. 279). Can it really be that a man of this profound philosophical training does not see the difference between a pointless act of terror with no defined objective on 9/11, with Aug 6, which had a very specific and achievable - I would even say achieved - one?

In sum: A work of importance, but seriously flawed - the definitive treatment awaits.

* I have learned, from other sources, that the accuracy of bombing in WW2 was pathetic, despite the storied Norden bombsite, with over 50% of all bombs falling outside of a radius of 1000 feet from the putative aiming point! (Still looking for one reason we did not bomb the rails leading to the concentration camps?)

A moral conviction against strategic bombing of civilians........2006-11-15

If you are looking for a book that glorifies the civilian bombing campaigns over Europe ,dont waste your money. If you are looking for another book that is essentially "History written by the victors" dont waste your time. If are expecting a book that will say "Hell yah...we bombed the hell out of them and they deserved it.",you will be sorely disappointed.
And that is apparently what the negative reviwers of this book were looking for. After viewing some of their other reviews it seems they were essentially seeking another book that agreed with their point of view or opinion that we never, ever did anything wrong.
Admittedly, there are some chronological,and technical errors,minor in context, but this was not meant to be a reference book.
As the proud son of a American WW2 veteran ,whos job it was to difuse mines ,shells,and bombs ,i certainly am no bleeding heart anti-american liberal looking to condemn our courageous veterans.
But as in all wars, i find that atrociites start at the top, in the command structure,and there was no difference here. "Bomber Harris" gets the credit/blame for getting this ball rolling.And he is unaploigetic about it.
If you are looking for a book that presents a "relatively" unbiased view ,in courtroom case manner, then you will find it a very interesting read.
The view from both sides of the arguement is looked at, and analyzed, and judged ,aginst the statistical outcome that was achieved.
If instead we had surrounded civilian poulation centers and told the commanders to send in their troops ,and go to every 6th building and drag the inhabitants out into the streets and kill them, then blow up or burn the structure to the ground,the results would have been the same statistically. But that would have been considered a war crime. Yet somehow ,the impersonal act of strategic bombing non combatant population centers gets a pass in the eyes of many history books.
And that is the wrong that this book strives to right. Will this book change the past..no...But it can change the way this event is viewed in historical reference ,and hopfully prevent it from happening again.

Omits the Deadest City of All--Warsaw.......2006-08-26

Grayling combines factual information with dubious assertions and a very incomplete picture of the killings of civilians during the WWII air war. The only strength of his book is the existence of detailed maps, as well as a table of all bombing raids. One of the maps shows the bombed German cities as pie charts, with the diameter of the pie representing the size of the city and the blackened portion of the pie depicting the fraction of the housing destroyed by Allied bombing. Another map shows concentric circles depicting the distances to bomber bases in the British Isles. However, this ignores the fact that many bombing raids were also carried out from Allied-captured Italy in the latter stages of the war.

Among the many dubious assertions of Grayling is the one regarding German bombers. Grayling rejects the contention that massive Allied bombing at least forced the Germans to build a large fleet of fighter planes at the expense of their own bombers. He argues that the Germans' use of V-1 and V-2 rockets eliminated the need for a large bomber fleet. This seems ridiculous. The total damage done by the German rocket weapons is dwarfed by the damage that would have been caused by a large and long-range would-be German bomber force. Besides, these never-built German bombers could have been used alongside, and not instead of, the V-1 and V-2 rockets.

The current Judeocentric approach to WWII depicts Jews as the only victims of the Nazis worthy of repeated discussion. Not surprisingly, Grayling follows this trend. He exclusively compares what he considers the lesser immorality of Allied carpet bombing with the greater immorality of the Germans' murder of the Jews. He not only ignores the millions of non-Jews murdered by the Germans, but pointedly ignores the MAIN civilian victims of German bombing. In fact, another reviewer has already commented on the fact that Grayling completely ignores the Luftwaffe activities on the eastern front. What an understatement! Grayling's criticisms, on both tactical and moral grounds, of Allied bombing raids that killed considerable numbers of civilians should start with the very beginning of World War II. Already in the predawn hours of September 1, 1939, the Luftwaffe was slaughtering tens of thousands of Polish civilians in indiscriminate attacks on non-military targets. Grayling mentions Warsaw only twice, and then in a very cursory fashion. He justifies the ignoring of Warsaw compared with Rotterdam on the basis of the fact that Warsaw was far away from the west, and thus its experiences were not well known. That may have been true during the early stages of the war but it is certainly not true now--least of all for Grayling.

In Warsaw alone tens of thousands of Polish civilians perished in three weeks of furious German bombardment. Not until some 3 years into the war did a single Allied air raid cost the lives of 10,000 or more German or Japanese civilians! Grayling ignores the fact that German attacks on such places as Guernica, Rotterdam, and London were primarily tactical in nature. In contrast, German attacks against the Poles, and later other Slavs, were motivated by genocide. Hitler himself stated at the start of the war that Germans should "Kill without mercy every man, woman, and child of Polish extraction." Three million Polish gentiles were murdered by the Germans during the German occupation. In time, Warsaw became the deadest city of all, nearly 100% destroyed as a deliberate act of cultural genocide directed against the Poles. No other European capital came close to this level of devastation. The Germans did not blow up the militarily-innocent cultural cities of Krakow and Czestochowa only because they failed to complete the laying of the explosive charges before the unexpectedly-early arrival of the Red Army.

Personally, and again after having read Grayling's book, I find it difficult to feel sorry for the Germans for at least two reasons. The first is their long history of aggression against the Slavic peoples. The second is the fact that 89% of the Germans voted for the Nazis in free elections, all the while fully knowing who Hitler was and what he stood for (after all, Hitler had written his infamous Mein Kampf a decade earlier).

Thoughtful and Wrong.......2006-06-26

This is an interesting examination of the morality of Allied strategic bombing in WWII. The author is a well known British philosopher and public intellectual. Contrary to one of the blurbs on the dust jacket, this is hardly the first careful examination of this issue. It has been discussed often, for example, by Michael Walzer in his well known Just and Unjust Wars. Grayling deserves credit, however, for bringing attention to this difficult issue and for doing a good job of framing the moral issues. Grayling is careful to specify that he is not opposed to bombing per se, even if it results in substantial significant civilian casulties. The subject discussed by Grayling is restricted to the deliberate attack of civilian urban populations by mass bombing. This so-called "area bombing" strategy was practiced by the RAF, and to a lesser extent by the USAAF, over Germany. The preferred strategy, though not always the reality of USAAF efforts, was more targeted bombing of key economic and military targets. A particularly devastating form of area bombing was practiced by the USAAF over Japan and the use of nuclear weapons can be said to be the logical conclusion of an area bombing strategy. Most of the book actually discusses the area bombing campaign of the RAF and the USAAF efforts in Europe are discussed largely for comparison. The discussion of USAAF efforts in the Pacific is cursory because Grayling thinks that moral conclusions about area bombing, based on the experience of the RAF, will be universally applicable.
Grayling opens with a concise discussion of the bombing campaign, discusses the experience of the bombed, and has a good section on the thnking behind the pursuit of area bombing. To establish the moral context of area bombing, Grayling has an interesting chapter on British critics of area bombing. This was a small minority but included some impressive individuals like Bishop Bell of Chichester and the pacifist advocate Vera Brittain. These individuals were successful in making the public and the British government aware of the moral issues, so Grayling can claim that his examination is not anachronistic. Grayling also discusses traditional just war doctrine, the history of diplomatic conventions regarding attacks on civilian populations, and even postwar conventions related to attacks on civilian populations. All of this is to establish that the general tenor of moral discussion prior to and after WWII was against deliberate targeting of civilian populations.
Grayling does not take the mechanical and legalistic view that because the RAF and USAAF deliberately targeted civilian populations, area bombing was immoral. He is very aware that the allies was engaged in a life and death struggle against a pitiless and completely immoral foe. The nature of this struggle justified actions which might otherwise be considered immoral. He identifies, I believe correctly, that the key issues were whether or not area bombing was necessary and "proportionate", that is did it contribute significantly to the conquest of Germany and Japan. Based on his reading of the historical literature, he concludes that area bombing (including the use of nuclear weapons) fails these tests and was immoral.
This historical analysis, not the philosophic analysis, is where Grayling fails. I don't think he deals effectively with the arguments of historians like Richard Overy who have argued that Allied strategic bombing was crucial to defeating Germany. He argues that because the Allied area bombing campaign didn't prevent German industrial output relevant to the war effort from rising after 1942, it was a failure. This seems incorrect. As Grayling admits, prior to the invasion of the Soviet Union, Germany was running a 'Guns and Butter' economy; only in 1942 was total mobilization begun. German economic output of arms and other relevant products was destined to rise regardless of what the Allies did because it was starting from a relatively low level. Bombing certainly wasn't decisive but it is hard to imagine that the devastation wreaked on German cities (40% of the building in German cities destroyed by the war's end) didn't have a significant impact. Grayling is dismissive also of arguments that the Allied bombing forced the Germans to pour key resources into air defence. He states, for example, that many of the troops used for air defense in Germany were second line formations. True enough, but these second line formations would probably have been better than the poor Hungarian and Romanian divisions that the Germans were forced to use in some crucial front line sectors. Similarly, Grayling describes that air defense needs caused the deployment of something like 10,000 anti-aircraft weapons in Germany. Many of these could have been used on the Eastern front as anti-tank guns, and there were times when German and their allied units had critical shortages of anti-tank guns. Implicit in several of Grayling's comments is his apparent ignorance of the fact that the Eastern Front was the crucial battlefield of the war. Everything the western allies did in Europe was essentially to make it possible for the Red Army to defeat Germany. The Allied bombing campaign diverted crucial manpower, anti-tank guns, and aircraft resouces from the Eastern Front, and this is why Overy and others suggest that bombing was crucial. Grayling partially addesses this issue but not successfully. He suggests that the RAF and USAAF should have concentrated on a strategic bombing campaign attacked crucial military resources, transportation linkages, and key industries. This is unrealistic. As shown by the experience of both the RAF and USAAF, accurate strategic bombing wasn't possible until late in the war. The alternative would have been giving the Germans a free ride, a totally unacceptable alternative. Grayling's suggestion that the British, when confronted with the choice of area bombing or ineffectual efforts, should have developed the means to purse precision bombing, as was eventually done by the USAAF. This suggestion betrays an almost laughable ignorance of the horribly constrained circumstances faced by Britain during the war.
As for the actions of the USAAF in the Pacific, Grayling doesn't really discuss them. I think similar criticisms of his position can be made about the military necessity, in this case, not so much the need to guarantee victory as to end the war as fast as possible. The use of nuclear weapons is a complex issue and has been the subject of a good deal of scholarly writing. My reading of this literature is that the use of nuclear weapons was the best of a series of unpalatable alternatives.
Area bombing was tragic but it was not immoral in the specific context of WWII.

The Bomber War: Arthur Harris and the Allied Bomber Offensive, 1939-1945

Average customer rating:

Allied Strategic Bombing in WWII-with all the Warts on!
Four and 1/2 Stars
Long, interesting book
Good story, poorly edited.
Thoroughly Researched - Highly Illuminating

The Bomber War: Arthur Harris and the Allied Bomber Offensive, 1939-1945
Robin Neillands
Manufacturer: Overlook Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

To Destroy a City: Strategic Bombing and Its Human Consequences in World War II
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Among the Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan
Dresden: Tuesday, February 13, 1945
Bomber Harris

ASIN: 1585671622
Release Date: 2001-08-27

Amazon.com

"We must make war as we must, not as we would like," observed the great British general Lord Kitchener after witnessing the carnage of World War I. Former Royal Marines commando Robin Neillands concurs in this often grim account of a bombing campaign that devastated much of continental Europe in the cause of destroying Nazism.

In this history of the Allied air war over Europe, Neillands maintains that the use of bombers as strategic weapons aimed at the enemy's ability to wage war--as opposed to purely tactical weapons aimed at enemy troops--necessarily involved the loss of civilian life and the destruction of nonmilitary targets, however unintentional. One such target was Dresden, a once-beautiful city that, some historians have protested, had no strategic importance and merely served as an example of what would happen to the rest of Germany should the fighting continue. Those historians are off the mark, Neillands counters: Dresden produced essential war materiel, such as military aircraft engines, shell fuses, and cigarettes ("a vital product for maintaining wartime morale"), and thus it was a legitimate target. So, he continues, were cities such as Berlin, Ludwigshafen, and Hamburg, the last the site of a firestorm that killed some 46,000 civilians. Their deaths were unfortunate, Neillands suggests, but necessary in ending Hitler's regime and in inaugurating an era in which total war is unthinkable.

Neillands rightly observes that most histories of the Allied air war in Europe present either the English or the American side, and he does a good job of weaving both accounts, drawing on official histories and the memories of veterans (including some German fliers) alike. More detailed and technically inclined than recent work by Stephen Ambrose and other popular writers on World War II, his book makes a useful addition to the historical literature. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

The Bomber War is the book about the brutal war in the skies during World War II and the dedication and heroism of the airmen who paid the ultimate price for victory. The bomber campaign against Germany is one of the most contentious of World War II. Was anything achieved by the deaths of thousands of German civilians - many of them women and children? Or were all means justified against Nazi Germany?

Acclaimed historian Robin Neillands examines every detail of the Allied campaign led by British Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris: the strengths and fundamental flaws, the technical difficulties and developments and, above all, the day-by-day, night-by-night endurance of the crews flying to the limit in discomfort and danger, facing flak and enemy fire. Personal experiences of British, American, Canadian, Australian & other Allied fliers are a key part in this account, along with those of German airmen & civilians.

Though The Bomber War discusses Guernica and the destruction of Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it concentrates on the European theater, on Germany's air war against the Allies - over Warsaw, Rotterdam, London and Coventry - which led to the fierce Allied raids carried out against Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin and the Ruhr and - most notorious of all - the tremendous firestorm unleashed on Dresden in the final months of the war. Robin Neillands also examines the complex moral issues involved in the air war, and of the case made against "Bomber" Harris. This is an important and timely addition to the history of armed conflict; the age of free-fall bombs may have passed, but many veterans - on both sides - are still alive to state their case, and to tell a new generation what their war like.

Customer Reviews:

Allied Strategic Bombing in WWII-with all the Warts on!.......2007-06-13

Prof. Neillands does an excellent job setting the props, introducing the actors and explaining the plot of that incredibly tragic drama which was Allied strategic bombing in World War II. If there are compliments to be rendered or blame to be assessed he doesn't shirk at the task. Rich in data yet compelling in pace, Prof. Neillands kept my interest at a level I seldom reach with nonfiction.

There are those who will still castigate him for his defense of Air Marshal Harris. Having been in the military myself, I understand the limitations of command. As far as bombing Dresden is concerned, there is very little doublt but that Harris and Spaatz were following orders. Therefore, the blame must rest higher.

All in all, I would place this in the top ten of all WWII nonfiction I have ever read. If you have a choice of books on the Strategic Bombing Offensive, please consider the late Robin Neilland's book first.

Four and 1/2 Stars.......2006-11-22

I just wrote a long review & my computer crashed before I could submit it, so I'll be brief. Yes, the book is pro-Bomber Command, but theirs was a remarkable story & they did, after all, win. The first person narratives are fascinating, and the author gives due credit to the USAAF 8th Air Force. The 9th Air Force is stiffed, which is fair because the author tells you that he is going to stick to strategic bombing, but surely more could have been written about the 15th Air Force?? I also thought the Halifax and its pilots were given a bit short shrift, but the author gets kudos for being fair about the B-24, and giving its pilots their props. Neilland is not a "professional" historian, but is more or less a professional military history writer, and he writes lucidly and compellingly. Definitely recommended for the WWII buff, especially if you have not given enough due to Bomber Command. I think one of the author's theses, that he is seeking to exonerate Air Chief Marshall Harris, is successful, even on the Dresden bombing. I also think the author's criticisms and conclusions about strategic bombing are fair and well-put.

Long, interesting book.......2006-09-28

Took a bit to get through this book. The information provided regarding the tactics and technology used during the various phases of the war was well presented. It was very interesting to read how the human element played in the development of the tactics and testing of them.

The interviews and sections provided by various people was very interesting. The reports from those under the bombers, those who felt and experieneced the effects first-hand, were astonishing. These reports truely tell the tale. The crews accounts also were great, as those who were there are able to recount the sights, sounds, and experiences. We need to do more to document as much as possible of those in the skies before the generation is lost.

The ending of the book where he seeks to defend the Dresden raid wasn't really in line with the rest of the book. I enjoyed the blending of historical facts, numbers, and personal accounts throughout, but the ending didn't quite fit as he devoted an awful amount of time and effort to Harris.

Overall a good addition to anyone's collection of WW2 bomber library.

Good story, poorly edited........2006-09-21

The story was very good and engrossing. It is well written. The author starts out with a thesis and sets out to support it. It is shocking how many men went to their deaths daily in the bomber war over Europe. Given the very close accounting kept of current skirmishes, I think it would have been truely appalling, though informative, if everyone knew exactly how many people were being killed every day during World War II.
However, I do find the book to be very repetitive and I have never seen a professionally published book with more typographical errors than this one. Editing and proofreading were lacking.

Thoroughly Researched - Highly Illuminating.......2006-05-10

Four stars for this thoroughly researched and eminently readable book. It is also pleasing to note on this page that veteran flyers and relatives of such find this book to be accurate and respectful.

Neillands uses a wide variety of documents to examine the way strategic bombing developed as a tool of warfare, describes how technology evolved and likewise traces the way in which the allies constructed their policies on this aspect of the war. It is all fascinating.

One thing that Neillands always does very well is the incorporation of veterans' recollections into his work. This is accomplished without appealling to emotion and depicting images of blood & guts like in Ambrose's books, that goes without saying. Rather he simply relays the stories of men getting on with their jobs and leaves the reader to construct his/her own emotions.

Morality? Civilians died in their tens of thousands, but all war is immoral.

The late Robin Neillands does have a tendency to be a little repetitious in his books, and I do feel that a couple more maps night have been useful here - hence one star docked. Nevertheless, this book is a significant achievement and quite rightly champions the crews who died and endured.

Finally, post-war the politicians involved in developing bombing policies and directives (including Churchill) failed to put their hands up when the accounting was done, allowing the prosecutors, men like Harris and his crews to shoulder the opprobrium.........things don't change. That Churchill refused to sanction a campaign medal for Harris's men of is a black mark against his name. Fighter Command received due adulation in 1940, it is a scandal that Bomber Command have not been sufficiently honoured

Average customer rating:

just a great historical book about an impossible mission
Great History of the Doolittle Raid
The First Heroes is a must read
Not researched but well embellished
Meet some of America's heroes

The First Heroes
Craig Nelson
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0670030872
Release Date: 2002-09-26

Book Description

The Doolittle Raiders, as they became known, were a squadron of eighty scarcely trained young men led by the famous daredevil aviator Jimmy Doolittle. Their mission-the daring World War II bombing raid of Tokyo and other cities in April 1942-was successful until Japanese spies forced most of the squadron to crash-land in enemy-occupied China, where pilots were ferried underground across the country to safety. One plane landed in the Soviet port of Vladivostok, where the crew was eventually smuggled out of the country through Persia. Others were captured by the Japanese, confined to years of imprisonment and torture. The fact that 90 percent of the men involved came home alive was little short of a miracle.

Extensively researched, including interviews with twenty of the twenty-seven remaining survivors, The First Heroes vividly recreates America's first great victory of World War II. Craig Nelson follows the Doolittle Raiders from their secret training on a Florida airfield to their tense days in transit across the Pacific to the bombing itself and finally to their courageous accounts of survival against astonishing odds. This story of America's striking back at its enemies after a vicious surprise attack will resonate widely with the general public today and is sure to appeal to all readers of Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation.

Customer Reviews:

just a great historical book about an impossible mission.......2007-01-22

This book is wonderful! Gives a sense of the courage needed after pearl harbor and how it was met by young americans. Harrowing!
I can't recommend it any more than A MUST READ. I have sent many to soldiers and friends!

Great History of the Doolittle Raid.......2006-07-23

Here's a compelling and well told history of the daring Doolittle Raid of 1942. Nelson does a good job recounting America's first offensive action against Japan in WWII.

More of a morale booster for America and a psychological defeat for the Japenese, the raid did little actual damage. It did however prove to the world that the Japanese were vulnerable.

This story of the daring men who went on what amounted to a suicide mission is riveting. Nelson takes us through the training for the ultra secret mission, to the actual raid itself, and the following crash landings in China.

Nelson does a very good job of placing these events in the overall context of WWII and follows the fates of all involved up to the present. A little slow at first, The First Heroes rewards persistence. Recommended for anyone interested in WWII.

The First Heroes is a must read.......2006-03-23

The First Heroes by Craig Nelson is a must read for anyone who is interested in history, especially World War Two. It is the story of America's finest pilots getting their first vengeance after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The task seemed impossible: fly bombers off of an aircraft carrier in the Pacific, drop bombs over Tokyo and somehow land in China. The mission didn't go as planned. Only one plane made it to Allied soil and the other 15 crashed in Japanese occupied China, but not before dropping their payload over Japan. It was a daring move but it paid off in the end. The book is full of first hand accounts which bring a sixty year old story back to the present times. It was so good that I read it in about two weeks. It had me from the first page. Instead of focusing on just one main character, Craig Nelson tells the stories of all 100 men involved, giving this unique event many different angles. I only read non fiction books and this one read like a work of fiction, with lots of suspense and surprises at every turn. It shows human suffering and how humans can overcome physical and mental suffering if they have the will to do so. I was also amazed at how the Japanese treated their prisoners of war. They had little respect for anyone who was not their own, something that the western world has a hard time fully understanding. This is a must read for anyone interested in the aviation of the Second World War. Craig nelson weaves an intriguing story.

Not researched but well embellished.......2006-03-04

I was only able to read as far as page 146 before I was turned off by the author's lack of knowlege of the subject. For instance, on the page mentioned above he quotes Lt Joyce as saying "my rear gunner was firing." He did record the fact that the tail guns had been removed and replaced by broom sticks. Where was his editor? Other reviewers have also pointed out other glaring errors committed all before page 146 such as diesel engins, "Billys", and B's taxiing, and so on. The first half of the book left much to be desired, I will not read the rest of the book.

Meet some of America's heroes.......2005-09-27

After reading "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" many years ago and having seen the movie of the same name as a child, I knew the basic story of Jimmy Doolittle's raid on Japan in 1942, and I was familiar with the ordeal of those in plane #7, the "Ruptured Duck." However, I always wondered what happened to the guys in the other 15 planes.

This book answers that question and many more. In it, you meet all the crew members; learn what their missions were and how they faired, and what became of them either during WWII or later in life. The book is well researched, well written, and well presented. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in World War II, American history in general, or simply in America's heroes. And these men were and are truly American heroes.

The only drawback to the book, which I found from a reader's perspective, is that to some extent it lacks continuity. But to my mind this can't be helped. After all, the book relates the exploits of the five airmen in each of sixteen separate B-25s, all but one of which either crash landed or was abandoned in flight over Japanese held China when their fuel ran out.

I found the stories of the captured airmen to be of particular interest. Anyone who believes that embarrassing Iraqi terrorists, as was supposedly done at Abu Grebe, is torture will have an eye opening experience when they see what real torture is all about. Rather than being treated as prisoners of war, these men were sentenced to death as "terrorists" on trumped up charges. Three were then executed. The sentences of the rest were commuted to life in prison in solitary confinement under inhumane circumstances. For example: with no windows, they were forced to sit on a plank facing the rear walls of their cells for eight hours a day. They had nothing to read and could only leave their cells to exercise, wash, and converse once a week. And they always lived with the knowledge that if Japan won the war, they would spend the rest of their lives in these same small unheated/un-cooled/un-ventilated cells, and if Japan lost the war they would be executed.

One airman eventually starved to death, but the rest managed to survive. But the strangest story of all is that of Corporal Jacob DeShazer who had a revelation, foresaw the end of the war, and came to believe that God had called him to return to Japan and preach the gospel to the Japanese people, which he did following the war.

Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing that Divided Gilded Age America

Average customer rating:

Well Written and Accessible History Lesson
Interesting history lesson
A very sobering account of the labor battles in early Industrial America
The first labor movement and a sham trial.
Haymarket -- Still an open wound

Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing that Divided Gilded Age America
James Green
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Haymarket
The Haymarket Tragedy

ASIN: 1400033225
Release Date: 2007-03-13

Book Description

On May 4, 1886, a bomb exploded at a Chicago labor rally, wounding dozens of policemen, seven of whom eventually died. A wave of mass hysteria swept the country, leading to a sensational trial, that culminated in four controversial executions, and dealt a blow to the labor movement from which it would take decades to recover. Historian James Green recounts the rise of the first great labor movement in the wake of the Civil War and brings to life an epic twenty-year struggle for the eight-hour workday.

Blending a gripping narrative, outsized characters and a panoramic portrait of a major social movement, Death in the Haymarket is an important addition to the history of American capitalism and a moving story about the class tensions at the heart of Gilded Age America.

Customer Reviews:

Well Written and Accessible History Lesson.......2007-06-09

I've lived in and around Chicago my entire life and slowly I've been trying to educate myself about the important events in the city's history. To be honest, the Haymarket has intimidated me as a subject for years because it seemed to involve so many unknowns. But, when I saw this book, I finally decided to take the plunge. While Mr. Green acknowledges the unknowns and the controversies, he offers a coherent narrative, so often missing in works about historical events, that makes the event less daunting than I expected it to be. If anything, I am more curious about this event and the topic of Chicago in the late 1800's than I was before. The issues at hand are clearly stated as events build toward the riot itself and the aftermath, including repercussions to this day, are laid out in detail. It is as if this was a work of well formulated fiction rather than the narrative history of the turning point in labor history.

Interesting history lesson.......2007-03-15

Author James Green is a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He grew up outside Chicago.

This book is especially important in light of recent encroachments on the rights of citizens. What happened in Haymaket Square on May 4, 1886? I would wager that many Americans do not know. After striking workers had been killed by private security guards the day before (trying to get an 8-hour work day, at that time most workers worked ten-hour days), a labor rally had included especially outraged speeches by labor leaders August Spies and Albert Parsons, among others.

During a march after the rally, police formed ranks six deep and charged menacingly towards the crowd, when a bomb exploded in the ranks of the police, killing seven, and injuring many more. Shots rang out, and those still left at the rally (it had begun to rain, and only around 500 people were left listening to the last speaker) fled in confusion. Police shot indiscriminately into the crowd, probably wounding some of their own. Hundreds of arrests and searches followed.

The speakers at the rally and well-known labor leaders August Spies and Albert Parsons were tried for murder along with "anarchists" Louis Lingg (the only one who had ever made a bomb, though it could not be proved that one of his bombs was used that night), Adolph Fischer, George Engel, Sam Fielden, Oscar Neebe, and Michael Schwab. After a long and contentious trial and appeals, Governor Oglesby upheld the death sentences of Parsons, Spies, Fisher and Engel; and commuted the sentences of Fielden and Schwab to life in prison. Louis Lingg had committed suicide while in prison a few hours before.

Was there evidence of a conspiracy? Did these men deserve to die? Or were they killed for simply speaking out against the murder of workers?

This is a well-written account of the events in the years leading up to this rally, with an epilogue outlining the labor movement and the perceptions of the Haymarket martyrs in the years up to the present day. Green brings the characters involved to life, and uses illustrations, maps, writings, and transcripts of speeches to great effect.

Armchair Interviews says: This would be an excellent selection for a book club discussion.

A very sobering account of the labor battles in early Industrial America.......2007-03-10

It is nice to see this book will soon be out in paperback making it available to a broader audience, because it is a much needed account of the early days of the labor movement in America. James Green has done a remarkable job of building the events that surrounded the notorious Haymarket bombing of 1886 by exploring the lives of the eight men who stood accused for inspiring the incident. He starts with the explosive incident, and then digs back into the archive of union organization in Chicago and the attempts to form a national labor union. While most of the figures were foreign born, one figure, Albert Parsons, hailed from Texas and became the most charismatic figure of the Chicago Eight.

Green shows how the media, police and state militia were predominantly held under the influence of the industrialists, who felt it their god-given right to set the rules for the market economy at the time. While economic giants like McCormick and Pullman attempted to create more ameniable workplaces, even they refused to negotiate with unions, preferring instead to hire scabs and use the Pinkerton Agency to break strikes. The early socialist movement preferred to negotiate with the industrialists, knowing it was a long term process to get better pay and working conditions, but the anarchists felt that stronger resistance was necessary and labor leaders like Parsons and Spies became the spokesmen for the growing anarchist movement in America.

The book chronicles the events that led up to the Haymarket bombing, illustrating the many attempts of the industrialists and indeed the city to quash the labor movements. While the mayor of Chicago, Carter Harrison, was sympathetic to the socialists, and relied heavily on their political organization, he was also cognizant of the stronghold the industrialists had on the city. One particular figure, Marshall Field, did more than anyone to harness the forces the city to defeat the unions, but nevertheless the unions flourished thanks in large part to the steady flow of European immigrants.

Green connects the labor movement in America to that in Europe and how the two fed off each other, noting the strong influence of Marx and Bakunin on American labor leaders. It was this fear of foreign influence that the media used to help sway public opinion in favor of the industrialists, despite their well noted abuses of power.

Whether you agree with the tactics of the anarchists or not, you will be enlightened by the depth of understanding that James Green demonstrates in this book. Most important is how Green links the events of 1886 with the ongoing labor struggle in the new age of globalization as industrialists take advantage of cheap labor much in the way they did 120 years ago, using every hook and crook to break labor organizations. He shows how the Chicago Eight became iconic figures in the international labor movement as a result of a bogus trial. Four were executed and one died in jail, who also faced execution. It is a very sobering account of the labor battles in early industrial America.

The first labor movement and a sham trial........2007-01-25

After having lived in Chicago for the better part of twenty years, it is amazing that little is known of the Haymarket here. It is also a shame. Of those put on tial for the murder of the three policeman, perhaps one was guilty. The rest spoke out about the grave injustices of the industrial system. What they got as a reward was the hangman's noose. What the judicial system proved was that people who spoke out but did not engage in violence were met with a violent end by a judicial system that defended the status quo.

Green does a great job of detailing the beginnings of the industrial system here in Chicago. He is perhaps a little lengthy in this respect but he shows the growth of this vibrant city. He also shows the underlying decay and how it affected the city's less affluent. On top of this system were the fat cats led by the McCormick brothers and Pullman. They were also defended by the Chicago Tribune. Below this social status were immigrant communities being exploited for their labor. When a German immigrant named Spies and a Texan named Parsons spoke out on this system, they became targets of the upper class. When the tragedy of the Haymarket happened, the judicial system blamed the speakers and not the bomb thrower. The system engaged in judicial murder.

This is a fine book. The only issue I have on it is the lengthy introduction to the cast of characters. However, the author puts alot of detail in his writing. The reader will understand why the Haymarket tragedy came about.

Haymarket -- Still an open wound.......2007-01-04

From the funeral of President Lincoln through the recent past, James Green traces the events and social conditions leading up to the Haymarket bombing, the trial and execution of the radical leaders blamed for the incident, and how these events continue to act as a focus of social division between advocates of social order and social activists.

The book is compeling, informative and well researched and written. Green explores the radicalization of the individuals executed for the bombing, and how the individual actually responsible was never found.

On the Natural History of Destruction (Modern Library Paperbacks)

Average customer rating:

Non-fiction of as good quality as his fiction
Not only the Germans have gaps in their consciousness
The aftermath of the War
German guilt writing
Elimination as Defensive Reflex

On the Natural History of Destruction (Modern Library Paperbacks)
W.G. Sebald
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

German | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Journalism | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0375756574
Release Date: 2004-02-17

Book Description

During World War Two, 131 German cities and towns were targeted by Allied bombs, a good number almost entirely flattened. Six hundred thousand German civilians died—a figure twice that of all American war casualties. Seven and a half million Germans were left homeless. Given the astonishing scope of the devastation, W. G. Sebald asks, why does the subject occupy so little space in Germany’s cultural memory? On the Natural History of Destruction probes deeply into this ominous silence.

Customer Reviews:

Non-fiction of as good quality as his fiction.......2005-07-31

In both his fiction and non-fiction, this writer can take
seemingly banal experiences and transform them into interesting even mysterious encounters--and he does it all without seeming pretentious and overly learned.

"On the Natural History of Destruction" is however not about
banal experiences. It's about the trauma of total warfare as
endured by Germans citizens in the Allied bomb attacks waged mercilessly againt them in the Second World War, how that trauma was dealt with or suppressed, and the unreality of never having
come to terms with that trauma.

Sebald describes the German tendency to suppress feelings of
trauma as a product of a proud, even defiant, compulsion to rebuild Germany as well as the discomfort of collective guilt which Germans ultimately shared for having brought the war on
themselves.

When a society like Germany chooses to drown out feelings of
loss in post-war materialism, the memory of all the innocents who suffered is forgotten: the Jews, the children of German cities, even the zoo animals killed and displaced in the Allied bombings.
Sebald writes graphically and sympathetically about them all.

In the desire to move past their wartime tragedy, Germans brushed aside the memory of the innocent.

Memories of past moral shortcomings and complicities were also
brushed away. Sebald writes a chapter on the post-war writer
Andersch who reinvents himself after the war as a writer of conscience when in reality he had only been an ambitious,
morally weak, opportunist--more comfortable with Nazi ideology
than he would ever admit.

Sebald sees one of his roles as a writer as uncovering and
preserving the collective memories of a society even if
it's as painful as Germany's was in 1945.

This non-fiction work is comparable in quality to Sebald's
best fiction and is no less intriguing.

Not only the Germans have gaps in their consciousness.......2004-09-10

This is one of the most remarkable books written around World War 2.

Whilst Sebald's primary subject is the lacunae and evasions in German texts around the experience of the Allied bombing campaigns of World War 2, the main essay of this collection also raises profound questions for any reader asssociated with the Allied nations of the war. The response in popular histories written from an Allied perspective is revealed in the wake of the Natural History of Destruction to be less than adequate. Am I alone in feeling a degree of shame and repulsion as a citizen of nations who also violated human rights in such cases as Dresden and Hamburg?
More honesty on our part is called for ... this book offers much food for thought especially around the human feelings at ground zero

Questions about whether this book assists the neo-Nazi cause and also the extraordinary tone (with strong overtones of Nazism)of the many angry letters received by Sebald further indicates how inadequate is later generations' response to the profound moral challenge of World War 2 - espcially now we are in the midst of another war where the goodies and baddies are not quite so easy to tell apart as they are in late night movies

3 other essays examine esteemed 20th century German literary figures in the wake of the war - these figures are less known outside of a German speaking context (with the exception of Weiss' theatre piece Marat/Sade) and serve to introduce them to a new audience

The prose is vivid and evocative - it is a tragedy that this writer was killed in a traffic accident at the height of his powers.

The aftermath of the War.......2003-12-18

In a series of essays, the longest of which on "Air War and Literature," Sebald probes the veil Germans placed over the massive allied bombing campaign that devastated German cities. He also looks at the Holocaust through the eyes of survivors like Jean Amery and Peter Weiss.

The book gets its title from a report by Solly Zuckerman, who had visited Cologne in the immediate aftermath of the war, and was overwhelmed by the devastation he saw. Sebald, many years later, tries to sift through the various writings on the subject and sort out the most trenchant observations of the war. But, he found this exceedingly difficult since most Germans tended to avoid the subject or treat it in overtly melodramatic tones. But, it was in such novels as Heinrich Boll's "The Silent Angel" and Hermann Kasack's "The City across the River," that Sebald found what he was looking for -- honest depictions of the massive bombing campaign and the impact it had on the German psyche.

In three additional essays, Sebald looks at writers who approached the subject. The first being Alfred Andersch, who he takes to task for his melodramatic depictions of WWII that seemed more an effort to compensate for his own shortcomings than in exploring the depths of the war. Andersch enjoyed wide spread popularity in Germany as a writer. Criticism tended to be muted. Not so with Sebald, who illustrates how Andersch reinvented himself, which served as a parable of sorts for the typical German after the war.

Sebald then looks at the writings of Amery and Weiss, who were survivors, and struggled throughout their lives to reconcile their feelings regarding the Holocaust. Sebald looks most closely at Amery whose writings were stripped of any heroic pretensions and gave readers an unvarnished look at the concentration camps. Weiss tried to explore the Holocaust through painting, but then turned to writing in an effort to give his experiences the full weight that bore down on his tortured soul. It is in these two essays that one sees the nexis for Sebald's more extensive book on the subject, "The Emigrants."

The essays are loosely written. The first was a series of lectures he presented in Zurich, and the others serve more as book reviews. But, in them one finds much food for thought as Sebald was one of the more probing writers of our time.

German guilt writing.......2003-08-07

In 1997, W.G. Sebald gave a now famous series of lectures at the University of Zurich in which he argued that German writers had almost universaliy neglected to document the horrors of the Allied bombing campaign against Germany. The air war, Sebald said, resulted in a national crisis of extreme proportion. Yet it was all but invisible in the national literature. He concluded that this absence was the result of an unspoken agreement among German writers to respect the taboo that had arisen in postwar Germany against speaking of the bombing, essentially a cultural conspiracy, the effects of which have lasted to the present.

He published them as a book Luftkrieg und Literatur, or Air War and Literature, two years later, in which he discussed some of the letters he received in response to provide more context to the lectures.

This is the English translation of that book. In which Sebald has called for a " natural history of the destruction," one that would comprehensively document the sheer number of the dead, the floods of refugees, the fires that caused the water in Hamburg's canals to boil, the sudden flourishing of rats and flies and other parasites that feed off corpses. The possiblity that the air war transformes a society of perpetrators into a society of victims.

Wonderful clear writing, the world will miss him

Elimination as Defensive Reflex.......2003-04-20

This posthumous volume of Sebald's non-fiction writing is a major contribution to German literary criticism and politico-cultural analysis. Accompanying his reflections on the traumatic impact of the air war against German cities are essays studying the very diverse reactions of three `witnesses' of that time as reflected in their post-war literary works. In AIR WAR AND LITERATURE, originally presented as the Zurich Lectures, Sebald delves deeply into some very uncomfortable questions. The air war on 131 German cities killed some six hundred thousand civilians and destroyed more than the homes of seven and a half million people. Why have these events resulted mostly in public silence for decades? Why have so few literary works attempted to speak to the traumatic impact on the population? Most Germans seem to have tried to come to terms with the realities of the war years by suppressing their immediate pain and the longer-term suffering. Sebald has thoroughly researched a multitude of authors, both in fiction and non-fiction. Yet, he deems their explanations unsatisfactory. Heinrich Boell is cited as one of the early exceptions, yet publication of his book, The Silent Angel, was delayed by forty years.

Sebald contemplates the different causes for this persistent silence. For example, basing himself on a range of contemporary sources, he confronts the reader with a detailed description of the Hamburg firestorm. As disturbing as his account is, Sebald's reflective style makes it readable. His objective reporting neither criticises the Allies' campaign nor does he apologise for German actions leading to the war. He wonders, though, whether the depth of the traumatic experiences of this and other air attacks may have left many people numb and dazed, unable to express their reactions for a long time. The account of a young mother wandering through the station confused and stunned is one of several examples. Her suitcase suddenly ope