The Myth Of The Blitz

The Myth Of The Blitz PDF Author: Angus Calder
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1448104041
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
The Myth of the Blitz was nurtured at every level of society. It rested upon the assumed invincibility of an island race distinguished by good humour, understatement and the ability to pluck victory from the jaws of defeat by team work, improvisation and muddling through. In fact, in many ways, the Blitz was not like that. Sixty-thousand people were conscientious objectors; a quarter of London's population fled to the country; Churchill and the royal family were booed while touring the aftermath of air-raids; Britain was not bombed into classless democracy. Angus Calder provides a compelling examination of the events of 1940 and 1941 - when Britain 'stood alone' against the Luftwaffe - and of the Myth which sustained her 'finest hour'.

The Myth Of The Blitz

The Myth Of The Blitz PDF Author: Angus Calder
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1448104041
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 318

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Myth of the Blitz was nurtured at every level of society. It rested upon the assumed invincibility of an island race distinguished by good humour, understatement and the ability to pluck victory from the jaws of defeat by team work, improvisation and muddling through. In fact, in many ways, the Blitz was not like that. Sixty-thousand people were conscientious objectors; a quarter of London's population fled to the country; Churchill and the royal family were booed while touring the aftermath of air-raids; Britain was not bombed into classless democracy. Angus Calder provides a compelling examination of the events of 1940 and 1941 - when Britain 'stood alone' against the Luftwaffe - and of the Myth which sustained her 'finest hour'.

The Blitz Companion

The Blitz Companion PDF Author: Mark Clapson
Publisher: University of Westminster Press
ISBN: 1911534491
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
The Blitz Companion offers a unique overview of a century of aerial warfare, its impact on cities and the people who lived in them. It tells the story of aerial warfare from the earliest bombing raids and in World War 1 through to the London Blitz and Allied bombings of Europe and Japan. These are compared with more recent American air campaigns over Cambodia and Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s, the NATO bombings during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, and subsequent bombings in the aftermath of 9/11. Beginning with the premonitions and predictions of air warfare and its terrible consequences, the book focuses on air raids precautions, evacuation and preparations for total war, and resilience, both of citizens and of cities. The legacies of air raids, from reconstruction to commemoration, are also discussed. While a key theme of the book is the futility of many air campaigns, care is taken to situate them in their historical context. The Blitz Companion also includes a guide to documentary and visual resources for students and general readers. Uniquely accessible, comparative and broad in scope this book draws key conclusions about civilian experience in the twentieth century and what these might mean for military engagement and civil reconstruction processes once conflicts have been resolved.

The Secret History of the Blitz

The Secret History of the Blitz PDF Author: Joshua Levine
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1471131033
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 433

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Book Description
The Blitz of 1940-41 is one of the most iconic periods in modern British history - and one of the most misunderstood. The 'Blitz Spirit' is often celebrated, whereas others dismiss it as a myth. Joshua Levine's thrilling biography rejects the tired arguments and reveals the human truth: the Blitz was a time of extremes of experience and behaviour. People werepulling together and helping strangers, but they were also breaking rules and exploiting each other. Life during wartime, the author reveals, was complex and messy and real. From the first page readers will discover a different story to the one they thought they knew - from the sacrifices made by ordinary people to a sudden surge in the popularity of nightclubs; from secret criminal trials at the Old Bailey to a Columbine-style murder in an Oxford College. There were new working opportunities for women and clandestine homosexual relationships conducted in the shadows. The Blitz also allowed for a melting pot of cultures: whilst prayers were offered up in a south London mosque, Jamaican sailors crossed the country. Unlikely friendships were fostered and surprising sexualities explored - these years saw a boom in prostitution and even the emergence of a popular weekly magazine for fetishists. On the darker side, racketeers and spivs made money out of the chaos, and looters prowled the night to prey on bomb victims. From the lack of cheese to the increased suicide rate, this astonishing and entertaining book takes the true pulse of a 'blitzed nation'. And it shows how social change during this time led to political change - which in turn has built the Britain we know today.

We Remember the Blitz

We Remember the Blitz PDF Author: Frank Shaw
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0091941563
Category : Britain, Battle of, Great Britain, 1940
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
"I went to the public baths and after I undressed I could hear someone whistling. I looked round to see if I could see anybody about, but I couldn't, so I got into the bath and lay back to relax. As soon as I did, of course, I looked up and saw a man putting in the glass windows that had been blown out the night before." --Joan Adams, Lichfield On the night of September 7, 1940, bombs rained down on the defenseless and unprepared population of London for nine long hours. In November, raids spread to the rest of the country--starting in Coventry and taking in everywhere from Portsmouth, Cardiff, Belfast, and Hull. During the nine months of the Blitz, thousands of people were killed and injured, and thousands of buildings and homes destroyed. But, with stoicism and humor, life went on. We Remember the Blitz is packed with vivid recollections from this important time in British history. Waking up in a damp shelter to the sound of bombing; coming out of a cinema to discover that fires made night as bright as day; and, worst of all, the shock of seeing individuals and whole families killed in an instant. We hear from many who were there to pick up the pieces: ARP wardens, firemen--even the bakers, who would return to work under tarpaulin to ensure their neighbors had their daily loaf. Filled with moving but often funny memories, We Remember the Blitz is a celebration of the British spirit, and clearly shows that the battle for Britain was won by "the many."

The First Day of the Blitz

The First Day of the Blitz PDF Author: Peter Stansky
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300125566
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
On September 7, 1940, the Blitz began. The bombing of London, by over one thousand planes on that night alone, was recognised at the time as being a direct measure to break the country's resistance. This book tells of the impact that this terror from the skies had on British people and the course of war.

I remember ... (pb)

I remember ... (pb) PDF Author: rich browne
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1105986691
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 501

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Book Description
Currently living in Ohio, Rich Browne has been something of a gypsy. He has lived in 12 states, visited 49 of the 50, two U.S. territories and 18 foreign countries. He was a journalist. He worked for nearly 30-some odd years for a variety of daily and non-daily newspapers in a wide range of positions, He also has been a "war correspondent" during Operation Just Cause in 1989 and a teacher and instructor. In addition he also won many journalistic awards. Rich served in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Naval Reserve in the Vietnam Era (but not in Vietnam); and was in the Army National Guard when he was called up for service in the Persian Gulf War, during both Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm where he served as an Army public affairs specialist in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Rich now is medically retired from the U.S. Army where he was a civilian public affairs officer.

I Remember When I Was Young

I Remember When I Was Young PDF Author: Rob Horlock
Publisher: Unlimited Publishing LLC
ISBN: 9781588320834
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
An extensive collection of peoples' personal memories, from the 1920s to the 1960s. You'll laugh, cry or shake your head (in agreement or disbelief!) 400 pages of memories from the decades of the 20th century.

The Splendid and the Vile

The Splendid and the Vile PDF Author: Erik Larson
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 038534872X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 609

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Book Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake delivers an intimate chronicle of Winston Churchill and London during the Blitz—an inspiring portrait of courage and leadership in a time of unprecedented crisis “One of [Erik Larson’s] best books yet . . . perfectly timed for the moment.”—Time • “A bravura performance by one of America’s greatest storytellers.”—NPR NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Time • Vogue • NPR • The Washington Post • Chicago Tribune • The Globe & Mail • Fortune • Bloomberg • New York Post • The New York Public Library • Kirkus Reviews • LibraryReads • PopMatters On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next twelve months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally—and willing to fight to the end. In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows, in cinematic detail, how Churchill taught the British people “the art of being fearless.” It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it’s also an intimate domestic drama, set against the backdrop of Churchill’s prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London. Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports—some released only recently—Larson provides a new lens on London’s darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family: his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents’ wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela’s illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the advisers in Churchill’s “Secret Circle,” to whom he turns in the hardest moments. The Splendid and the Vile takes readers out of today’s political dysfunction and back to a time of true leadership, when, in the face of unrelenting horror, Churchill’s eloquence, courage, and perseverance bound a country, and a family, together.

Broadcasts from the Blitz

Broadcasts from the Blitz PDF Author: Philip M. Seib
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
ISBN: 1597970123
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
The broadcasting pioneer at the nexus between journalism and foreign policy

Manchester at War, 1939-45

Manchester at War, 1939-45 PDF Author: Graham Phythian
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750955279
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
This new book is a remarkable and moving account of life on the home front in Manchester during the Second World War. Based on transcripts of recorded interviews with senior civilians and former members of the Armed Services, this book provides a first-hand narrative of what it was like to live under the shadow of war. The everyday hardships and heroism are recalled: the Blitz, rationing, the Home Guard, evacuees, war work, and the American presence prior to D-Day. Despite all the tragedy and difficulties, the Mancunian spirit shines through with the frequent dash of unquenchable humour. Richly illustrated, and filled with true accounts of local heroism and of the unbreakable spirit of the people of Manchester during these tumultuous years, this book looks at how the city fared during the Second World War, played her part in victory, and how the day-to-day life of her people was affected.