Bomber

by Len Deighton

Book Overview

The classic novel of the Second World War that relates in devastating detail the 24-hour story of an allied bombing raid. Bomber is a novel of war. There are no victors, no vanquished. There are... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0008124868
• ISBN13: 9780008124861
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

WOW! Blockbuster novel of RAF Bomber Command

Fictional account of fictional mass bombing attack on a small city in the industrial Ruhr Valley of Germany on the night of June 31, 1943. If you think that death in the air is nice and clean, then you must read this book. Plenty of technical detail about the British Lancaster heavy bombers as well as the Luftwaffe night fighters, flak ships, air controllers and flak batteries that oppose them. Characters on both sides are developed in the book before the big raid which sends a stream of over 700 RAF bombers to carpet bomb the wrong target. You will get a good look at what it is like to make a raid in the big bombers as well as what it is like to be a German civilian on the receiving end of tons and tons of bombs. Could possibly be considered by some to be an anti-war book since it shows the folly of the fictitious raid and the horrible cost in human sacrifice - to what end? Definitely a testament to the bravery of the RAF bomber crews who relentlessly push on night after night against all odds as well as the German night fighter interceptors who try to destroy them. A good read and a great book.

Great, Well Researched Look at WWII Air War from Both Sides!

The best fictional account of the "Other Side's" (German) view of being the "attacked". Mr. Deighton obviously has done his homework in showing how one massive,confused attack on a German town in the Summer of 1943 devastates everyone involved from the British RAF planners and pilots, politicians, and even more the German civilian home front, not to mention just about everyone else on the German side,from the SS,Luftwaffe, to the totally innocent on the ground. When the air raid alarms go off in the ficticious German town to the inevitable,terrifying end, mistakes and all, you know you're reading from a master. The ending is as terrible as you can imagine...

The air war over Germany-from both sides

In this meticulously researched and finely-wrought novel, author Len Deighton interweaves the stories of a large cast of characters, German and British, in the hours leading up to a night bomber attack on a fictional Germany city. Due to crew error, a small German town is accidentally bombed by part of the bomber force. The story revolves around the men who fly the heavy British bombers, the men on the ground in Germany who must deal with the carnage of the bombs, and the German airmen and radar men who try to stop the bombers short of their tragic attack. Deighton writes that he read over 200 books to prepare for this novel. He also interviewed many British and German veterans and civilians and flew in most of the planes described in the book. The result is a book that favors neither side but instead focuses on the individual humanity of the characters, with all their strengths and weaknesses. Thousands upon thousands of warriors and civilians on both sides died horrible deaths and in a war that was, without a doubt, hell on earth. Though there is no glory in war, the book is filled with individual acts of selflessness and heroism that elevate the participants above the slaughter. Their heroism is not without great price, though, from the fireman battling the blazes to the British pilot who fights to bring his plane home only to suffer a breakdown, and the German pilot who is being hunted down for disagreeing with Nazi policy. I highly recommend this book. It is a must-read especially for those who desire to learn more about the air war over Germany.

The finest anti-war novel ever written

Deighton is at his best here in a subtle blend of fact and fiction that charts the lives (and in many cases, the deaths) of British and German characters in the air and on the ground. The novel spans a 24 hour period in 1943, as the Allied aerial bombing campaign was reaching its height and the outcome of World War 2 hung in the balanceThe book can be read and re-read on many levels. It is a first rate thriller, and the reader's inevitable prejudices are soon set aside as the terrible cost to mind and body escalates. As an accessible documentary of the campaign, Deighton is unflinchingly accurate in blending fact with the necessary mechanics of characterisation. The book also serves as one of the most effectively subversive and persuasive anti-war essays of all time - if not the finestThis is a complex read, with dozens of characters and quite dense technical detail in parts. This, however, inspires concentration and repeated re-reading which constantly reveals new layers and depth of meaning. Deighton has never surpassed himselfIf the main text is chillingly effective, then the Epilogue is a heart stopper. Deighton brings the story up to date (at the time of writing) and the fates of those who survived 1943 are vividly captured in the most evocative and sparing writing style of all.Now, those who flew the bombers and those who fought and loved them are mostly gone, with none of the survivors under 75. Soon this book and a very few others will serve as an epitaph to a time when Europe was a battlegound where everyone, of all ages and races, civilian and miltary, was plunged into a lottery of life and death.

A fascinating account of a fictional WWII RAF bombing raid

Len Deighton has written a fascinating novel of a tragically bungled (fictional) night bombing raid by the RAF in 1943. The book is full of information about the men and machines which took part on both sides. Readers knowledgeable about the air war will appreciate the technical details which Deighton lavishly provides but the casual reader will also be caught up by his talented storytelling. Folly piles upon folly in revealing the tragic and often unintended ramifications of making war.The ironic tone which suffuses the novel is reflected in the subtitle. As the author points out in the disclaimer, there was no June 31st in 1943 or any other year. A book to read and reread.