Blitz: The Story of 29th December 1940: The Story of 29 December 1940

Blitz: The Story of 29th December 1940: The Story of 29 December 1940

by Margaret Gaskin (Author)

Synopsis

A thrilling account of 'the second great fire of London.' A quiet Sunday teatime and, in the City of London, clerks and draper's assistants, canteen ladies, caretakers, architects and clerics join firefighters and wardens preparing to protect their 'Square Mile' through the night. In France meanwhile, the Luftwaffe's elite pathfinders take off at the head of a terrifying fire-raid - designed to burn off, 'like weed patches from the air', London's ancient heart. The image of St Paul's that night amid clouds of black smoke immediately became the ultimate symbol of Britain's Blitz defiance. But the reality of this 'Second Great Fire of London', in all its unprecedented destruction and indomitable humanity, is almost lost amid myth and counter-myth. Now, in a stunningly vivid and immediate work of historical storytelling, M. J. Gaskin tells the true story of London's desperate hours. And she shows how, across the Atlantic, Americans agonized over the cost of aiding Britain's struggle against the Nazis - and the cost of letting her fall.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 432
Edition: Main
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Published: 29 Sep 2005

ISBN 10: 057121794X
ISBN 13: 9780571217946
Book Overview: Blitz: The Story of 29 December 1940 by Margaret Gaskin is a stunningly vivid and immediate work of historical storytelling, telling the true story of 'the second great fire of London.'

Media Reviews
With block-by-block detail, Gaskin richly portrays London's civic personality during one terrible night in wartime.
Author Bio
M. J. Gaskin is a journalist, critic, historian and editor. She studied for her History and Politics degree at Queen Mary College in London's East End and has lived in the capital most of her life, except for a few years as Publications Editor of the Royal Shakespeare Company.