London at War, 1939-1945 - Couverture rigide

Ziegler, Philip

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 1856193845 ISBN 13 : 9781856193849

Editeur : Sinclair-Stevenson Ltd, 1995

Synopsis

Published to coincide with a major exhibition at the Imperial War Museum, this book tells the story of London's experiences of war from 1939 to 1945. It describes the Phoney War, the blackouts, the first evacuations and the horrors of the Blitz, followed in the last days of the war by the terror of the doodlebugs, and recalls the spirit of defiance that united all sections of society against Hitler's Luftwaffe.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

In 1939 London was not merely the greatest city in the world, it was the most tempting and vulnerable target for aerial attack. For six years it was the frontline of the free world's battle against Fascism. It endured the horrors of the Blitz of 1940 and 1941, the V1s, the V2s. Other cities suffered more intensely; no other city was so constantly under attack for so long a time. This is the story of London at war - or, perhaps, of Londoners at war, for Philip Ziegler, known best as a biographer, is above all fascinated by the people who found their lives so suddenly and violently transformed: the querulous, tiresome yet strangely gallant housewife from West Hampstead; the turbulent, left-wing retired schoolmaster from Walthamstow, always having a go at the authorities; the odiously snobbish middleclass lady from Kensington, sneering at the scum who took shelter in the Underground; the typist from Fulham, the plumber from Woolwich. It was their war, quite as much as it was Churchill's or the King's, and this is their history. Through a wealth of interviews and unpublished letters and diaries, as well as innumerable books and newspapers, the author has built up a vivid picture of a population under siege. There were cowards, there were criminals, there were incompetents, but what emerges from these pages is above all a record of astonishing patience, dignity and courage. 'I hope,' Ziegler writes, 'we will never have to endure again what they went through between 1939 and 1945. I hope, if we did, that we would conduct ourselves as well.'

Biographie de l'auteur

Philip Ziegler was educated at Eton and New College, Oxford, where he gained first class honours in Jurisprudence. He then joined the Diplomatic Service and served in Vientiane, Paris, Pretoria and Bogota before resigning to join the publishers William Collins, where he was editorial director for over fifteen years. He lives in London.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Sinclair-Stevenson Ltd
• Date d'édition: 1995
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1856193845
• ISBN 13: 9781856193849
• Reliure: Relié
• Numéro d'édition: 1
• Nombre de pages: 400
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible