Challenges the contention of Allied commanders that airpower was the ultimate key to victory and that it could have defeated the enemy by itself.
Gives some idea of what reaping a whirlwind is like.
This excellent work provides interesting insights into the concept of total war. The results are sobering and, one hopes, never to be endured again. That the Germans survived as well as they did is a tribute to the will of the human spirit. In explaining that, the author poses a troubing question: 'Could Americans survive this kind of devistation?'
A tribute to human resilience under extreme stress, both in response to the terror from the sky and to the sacrifices the Nazis imposed on their people.
The most vivid account available of what it was actually like to live under the bombings.
An enlightening, highly readable account of life in the war-ravaged Third Reich.
A description of what it was like to live, work, suffer, and die in wartime Germany.
"A description of what it was like to live, work, suffer, and die in wartime Germany." -- The Historian
"A powerful study." -- American Historical Review
"A testament to the traditional stubbornness and strength of the Germans that allowed them to hold on and rebuild the country after war's end....Offers a respite from the barrage of books on the Nazis, Hitler, and the Holocaust." -- Kirkus Reviews
"A tribute to human resilience under extreme stress, both in response to the terror from the sky and to the sacrifices the Nazis imposed on their people." -- History
"An enlightening, highly readable account of life in the war-ravaged Third Reich." -- Pineville Sun, Berea Citizen, Jackson Times, Beattyville Enterprize
"An overview of the major bombing raids and their material and human damage....This evocative study captures the horror of war for a trapped population." -- Library Journal
"Challenges the contention of Allied commanders that airpower was the ultimate key to victory and that it could have defeated the enemy by itself." -- America
"Gives some idea of what reaping a whirlwind is like." -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"The most vivid account available of what it was actually like to live under the bombings." -- Historian
"This excellent work provides interesting insights into the concept of total war. The results are sobering and, one hopes, never to be endured again. That the Germans survived as well as they did is a tribute to the will of the human spirit. In explaining that, the author poses a troubing question: 'Could Americans survive this kind of devistation?'" -- Warbirds
Challenges the contention of Allied commanders that airpower was the ultimate key to victory and that it could have defeated the enemy by itself.
Beck's latest and considerable volume is an easily accessible ``impressionistic description'' of life in Germany under Allied aerial bombardment. Beck mines the reports of the Nazi Security Service (SD), local and regional party, police, and school officials, a handful of graph ic memoirs by simple citizens, and the vast secondary literature. In each chap ter, covering a four- or five-month peri od, Beck first provides an overview of the major bombing raids and their mate rial and human damage; he then out lines the efforts of the party and state to repair or ameliorate the devastation and to maintain control of the increas ingly disillusioned populace. Each chapter then describes how Germans reacted to the air war and attempted to survive. Though there is some unneces sary repetition due to the book's organ ization, this evocative study captures the horror of war for a trapped popula tion. Recommended for larger public li braries and World War II collections. James B. Street, Santa Cruz P.L., Cal.
