London at War

Ziegler, Philip

ISBN 10: 1856193845 / ISBN 13: 9781856193849

Edité par London : Sinclair-Stevenson, 1995

A propos de cet article

Ships from the UK. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.

N° de réf. du vendeur GRP66030773

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: London at War
• Éditeur: London : Sinclair-Stevenson
• Date de parution: 1995
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 1856193845
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9781856193849
• Reliure: Couverture rigide
• Édition: First Edition.
• État de l'article: Good
• Poids: 1,704 livre

A propos de ce titre

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.

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 Through a wealth of interviews and unpublished letters and diaries, as well as innumerable books and newspapers, the author has built up a vivid picture of a population under siege.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.'