Synopses & Reviews
Churchill called it his nationand#8217;s greatest trial and its finest hour. Europe had fallen to Hitler and Britain stood alone. Determined to bomb the English into submission, the German Luftwaffe attacked London nearly every night, targeting the and#147;Square Mile,and#8221; the heart of the city and the site of some of its greatest landmarks. In this gripping historical narrative, Margaret Gaskin puts the reader into the middle of the Blitz, its horror and its heroism, by vividly reconstructing the night that Hitler tried to burn the city to the groundand#151;the night that one of the warand#8217;s most haunting photographs was taken, showing St. Pauland#8217;s still standing amid burning ruins. Stunningly vivid and compelling, Blitz uses the voices of those on whom the bombshells felland#151;the ordinary and the famous, including Edward R. Murrow and FDRand#151;to tell the story as it has never before been told.
Review
"A refreshing, dramatic narrative that brings to life a city's wartime heroism and stoicism." --
Review
PRAISE FOR
BLITZand#160;"Brings the reader to the very heart of Britainand#8217;s most testing timeand#151;Londonand#8217;s harshest nightand#151;and does so in a way that holds the attention from the first page to the last."--Sir Martin Gilbert, author of
Churchill: A Life"Londonand#8217;s Blitz was a triumph of grim determination and jocular defiance, and Gaskin does it full and subtle justice."--The Sunday Times (London)
Review
"With block-by-block detail, Gaskin richly portrays London's civic personality during one terrible night in wartime."andnbsp;
Synopsis
A historical narrative of Germany's 1940 Luftwaffe attack on London vividly reconstructs the events of December 29 during which Hitler's forces attempted to burn the city to the ground, in an account told from the perspectives of everyday survivors as well as such figures as Edward R. Morrow and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
About the Author
MARGARET GASKIN studied history at Queen Mary College in London's East End. She lives in London.
Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction: and#147;Like the curtain of a theatre . . . ,and#8221;
PRELUDE
and#160;1and#160;and#147;Very Well, Alone,and#8221;and#160;
and#160;2and#160;and#147;Obdurate and cocky,and#8221;
and#160;3and#160;and#147;Practically no talk of horrors at all,and#8221;and#160;
and#160;4and#160;and#147;Old man of the tribe,and#8221;and#160;
and#160;5and#160;and#147;A leaning towards acrobatics,and#8221;and#160;
and#160;6and#160;and#147;Two opposing worlds,and#8221;and#160;
and#160;7and#160;and#147;Things had been wonderful,and#8221;and#160;
and#160;8and#160;and#147;You would not mind London at all now,and#8221;and#160;
and#160;9and#160;and#147;The Typhoid Marys,and#8221;
FUGUE
10and#160;and#147;Boots on the lawn, boots on the wide stone stair,and#8221;
11and#160;and#147;Goodnight Children, Everywhere!,and#8221;
12and#160;and#147;Early English louts,and#8221;
13and#160;and#147;Great sound waves washing over the city,and#8221;
14and#160;and#147;It is going to be a warm night,and#8221;
15and#160;and#147;As light as day,and#8221;
16and#160;and#147;Burnt off like weed patches from the air,and#8221;
17and#160;and#147;Blackwall Tunnel only, mate,and#8221;
18and#160;and#147;St. Pauland#8217;s must be saved at all costs,and#8221;
19and#160;and#147;A ghostly pilgrimage,and#8221;
20and#160;and#147;Like a sprig of holly on top of a Christmas pudding,and#8221;
21and#160;and#147;Many fires about tonight, old boy?,and#8221;
22and#160;and#147;The most beautiful thing I have ever seen,and#8221;
CHORALE
23 and#147;Poor old London,and#8221;
24 and#147;Letand#8217;s not look back too much,and#8221;
CODA
Envoi: and#147;This is what weand#8217;ve been fighting for,and#8221;
APPENDIX A: The and#147;Arsenal of Democracy,and#8221;APPENDIX B: What Remains Behind,
Acknowledgments
Illustration Credits/County of London Map/
City Endpaper Map Index
Select Bibliography
Notes
Index