The Bombing of Dresden 1945

Firestorm

A brilliant book about one of the most controversial British and America air campaigns of the Second World War.

An authoritative, stimulating and compact guide to the often-disputed facts

Extraordinary... deserve[s] to be read, not only by those interested in the history of the Second World War, but also by those who continue to be interested in the ethical questions of warfare

Paul Addison (Author) Paul Addison teaches history at the University of Edinburgh and is a former visiting Fellow of All Soul's College, Oxford. He is the author of Now the War is Over, a social history of post-war Britain which accompanied an acclaimed BBC television series; and Churchill on the Home Front, described by David Cannadine in the Observer as 'the best one-volume study of Churchill yet available'. Jeremy A Crang (Author) Paul Addison and Jeremy Crang work at the Centre for the Study of the Two World Wars at the University of Edinburgh. They are the editors of The Burning Blue (Pimlico, 2000) and Firestorm (Pimlico, 2006), collections of essays on the Battle of Britain and the Allied bombing of Dresden respectively.

On the night of 13 and 14 February 1945 the RAF bombed the city of Dresden, causing devastating fires which obliterated the historic city centre and killed many thousands of people. Sixty years later these raids remain one of the most notorious, and also one of the most controversial, episodes in the history of the Second World War. 
 
Firestorm: The Bombing of Dresden 1945 assembles a cast of distinguished scholars, including Sebastian Cox, David Bloxham, Nicola Lambourne, Soenke Neitzel, Richard Overy and Hew Strachan, to review the origins, conduct, and consequences of the raids. Each contributor writes from his or her own perspective, offering the reader a panoramic reassessment of the evidence and the issues, including the question of whether or not the bombing of the city constitutes a war crime. 
 
Firestorm cogently demonstrates the reasons why Dresden has come to symbolise the military and ethical questions involved in the waging of total war.

Paul Addison

Jeremy A Crang

The historical value of this evidence is enormous

Digestible form with valuable contextual notes.  There are many fleeting gems

This invaluable book brings us history in real time. With its echo of voices of civilians... Listening to Britain provides a matchless insight into the contradictory, confused and complex experience of living through Britain's "finest hour"

[The reports] offer an invaluable and unvarnished insight into thoughts and feelings about events without the benefit of hindsight... I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes reading non-fiction about the war or fiction set at this time

The sort of book that will have social historians salivating

A strangely liberating and liberated catalogue of everyday grumbles, both great and small

Home Intelligence Reports on Britain's Finest Hour, May-September 1940

From May to September 1940, a period that saw some of the most dramatic events in British history - including the evacuation of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and the opening stages of the Blitz - the Ministry of Information eavesdropped on the conversations of ordinary people in all parts of the United Kingdom and compiled secret daily reports on the state of popular morale.

Jeremy A Crang

Praise for Listening to Britain

The historical value of this evidence is enormous

Digestible form with valuable contextual notes. There are many fleeting gems

This invaluable book brings us history in real time. With its echo of voices of civilians... Listening to Britain provides a matchless insight into the contradictory, confused and complex experience of living ...

The historical value of this evidence is enormous

Digestible form with valuable contextual notes. There are many fleeting gems

This invaluable book brings us history in real time. With its echo of voices of civilians... Listening to Britain provides a matchless insight into the contradictory, confused and complex experience of living ...

The historical value of this evidence is enormous

Digestible form with valuable contextual notes. There are many fleeting gems

This invaluable book brings us history in real time. With its echo of voices of civilians... Listening to Britain provides a matchless insight into the contradictory, confused and complex experience of living ...

Books by Jeremy A Crang

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter