Inferno
The Devastation of Hamburg, 1943
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Published:28th Jun '12
Should be back in stock very soon
In the last days of July 1943, British and American planes dropped 9,000 tons of bombs with the intention of erasing the German city from the map. The resultant firestorm burned for a month and left 40,000 civilians dead.
Inferno is a searing account of terrifying destruction: of how and why the Allies dropped a hail of high-explosive and incendiary bombs; of blizzards of sparks, hurricane-force winds and 800-degree temperatures; of survivors cowering in basements or struggling along melting streets; of a city and its people near annihilated from above.
Inferno is an epic story of human devastation and survival against impossible odds.
A real triumph: shocking, yet sensitive and supremely fair-minded. This is a wonderful book about hellish events.
-- Richard HolmesThe story of that hellish summer night is one Lowe tells well, unbliningly, exactly as he should...a tour de force * Sunday Times *
Compelling, startling and gripping. The definitive account of a great tragedy -- A.C. Grayling * Financial Times *
Admirable, impeccably researched and engagingly written...deserves its place on the shelves * Daily Telegraph *
Brilliantly researched. Lowe has produced many new first-hand accounts which give a human face to a tale of epic destruction * Daily Express *
Scrupulous...sensitive to all the paradoxes of the bombing war -- Richard Overy * Literary Review *
Exemplary * Observer *
Altogether a terrific book and work of research -- Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown, WWII pilot and author of 'Wings on My Sleeve'
Well written, meticulously researched...gripping and holds the attention effortlessly - Keith Lowe says he found it a compelling subject on which to write, I found it compelling to read * British Army Review *
Balanced, thoughtful, engaging...Inferno is well researched and well written. Admirably balances the testimony of the bombers and the bombed * History Today *
Total war, Lowe shows in this extraordinary study of the bombing of Hamburg in 1943, is experienced in every sense and assails every conceivable emotion * Scotsman *
Thoughful, scrupulous, intelligent. Inferno, humane, at times impassioned, constitues a powerful indictment of all policies that dissociate means from ends * Independent *
Meticulously researched...a powerful reminder of the human face of war * Choi
ISBN: 9780241964248
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 29mm
Weight: 330g
480 pages