The Longest Night: The Bombing of London on May 10, 1941 - Softcover

Mortimer, Gavin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0425211835 ISBN 13: 9780425211830

Publisher: Dutton Caliber, 2006

Synopsis

The Longest Night reveals the untold story of the horrific bombing raid that almost brought Britain to military collapse - using extensive survivors' testimony and previously classified documents to reveal just how close the Luftwaffe came to total victory. This vivid, dramatically told account depicts how fate shifted based on Hitler's mistaken belief that he'd actually lost the air war over Britain - and portrays the unsurpassed, "we-can-take-it" bravery of the British people when they'd been pushed beyond all human endurance.

About this title

About the Author:

Gavin Mortimer is a native Londoner. He began writing by freelancing for several publications, including the London Evening Standard, the Observer, and the Guardian. He has contributed articles to a richly diverse range of magazines from Esquire to BBC History to Rugby World. This is his fourth book, the first to be published in the U.S.

From Publishers Weekly:

Drawing on scores of eyewitness accounts and previously classified records, British journalist Mortimer has written the first extensive account of the deadliest night of the 1940–1941 London Blitz. Believing that "terror attacks" against civilians would break "England's will to resist," the Luftwaffe began bombing London on September 7, 1940. Instead of caving in, however, the British responded with an endearing bravado. The great raid of May 10—"the savage climax to the Blitz"—severely strained that indomitable spirit. That night, the Germans sent 507 aircraft to drop 711 tons of bombs—including 86,173 incendiary bombs—on London. By dawn on May 11, London was near collapse. More than 2,000 fires blackened the sky, 11,000 homes lay in ruins and more than 3,000 people were dead or wounded. What Londoners did not know was that that night would be the last major raid against the city; the Blitz would end on May 16. While Mortimer focuses on London, he also switches the narrative seamlessly among the city's residents, the air crews at their bases in the English countryside and the Luftwaffe pilots attacking from their bases in occupied France. The author notes that the Blitz has become a cliché to later generations and asks rhetorically if it has "relevance in modern London." The recent terrorist bombings in London's subways emphatically answer that question. (Oct.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Dutton Caliber
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0425211835
• ISBN 13: 9780425211830
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384