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The Longest Night: Voices from the London Blitz

The Longest Night: Voices from the London Blitz

by Gavin Mortimer (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2005

    $3.25
Synopsis

The Blitz is one of the best known events of the Second World War. It affected more British people than any other 'battle': soldier or civilian, man or woman, adult or child -- the bombs made no distinction. Over 40,000 people were killed in the German air raids and many more injured. The scars on London took 50 years to repair and even now there are sealed up air raid shelters where the bodies remain entombed. The events of 9/11 highlighted the bravery of the New York Fire Department: yet London's firemen and emergency services did their jobs under a rain of bombs night after night, for eight months. Whole crews sometimes died as buildings collapsed on them: some of these heroes are commemorated today by having streets in the East End named after them. Gavin Mortimer concentrates on one night: the particularly savage raids of 10-11 May 1941 to reveal what it was like to experience The Blitz. Based on interviews with survivors, his gripping minute-by-minute account recaptures a time when the very survival of this country hung in the balance.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 368
 Edition: First Edition
 Publisher: Orion
Published: 01 Jul 2005
ISBN 10: 0297846388
ISBN 13: 9780297846383
Book Overview: The Blitz is one of the best known events of the war Ten times as many people were killed during the Blitz as in the 9/11 attacks on the USA Follows a small group of Londoners through the worst night of the blitz Think LAST MAN DOWN meets FORTRESS MALTA

Media Reviews
'The careful scene-setting painlessly imparts forgotten information about the facts of wartime life ... Gavin Mortimer's book is a timely reminder that there are still many living survivors who remember and were scarred by the terrifying experience.' LITERARY REVIEW 'An excellent book... Gavin Mortimer has interviewed scores of survivors for his gripping narrative...' -- Andrew Roberts SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY 'Mortimer deserves full credit for assembling a mountain of material and presenting it with lucidity and balance.' -- Philip Zeigler DAILY MAIL '[Mortimer's] record of London's darkest hour is brilliantly constructed and utterly absorbing' HAM & HIGH Well written... recaptures that desperate gripping time, when the very survival of the country seemed to hang in the balance.' -- John Green MORNING STAR '[Mortimer] switches the narrative seamlessly among the city's residents, the air crews at their bases... and the Luftwaffe pilots.' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, USA '...very readable... story of the ordinary people and how their spirits proved more impressive than the famous places and statistics.' THE ARMOURER 'engrossing... The story of [WWII] always needs new ways of being told, and this is a daring and effective attempt.' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Mortimer has done his homework meticulously, asking the right questions and digging deep... A masterpiece of research.' GOODTIMES
Author Bio
Gavin Mortimer was born in London 34 years ago. As a freelance journalist he has contributed articles to a diverse range of magazines and newspapers, including the Observer, the Guardian, History Monthly and Esquire. The Longest Night is his fourth book and the second to be published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. The first, Stirling's Men: the Inside History of the SAS in World War II, was published in 2004 and is now available in paperback.