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

by Gavin Mortimer

Book Overview

"An emotionally stirring account of the single most devastating attack on London during the Blitz... A captivating and important contribution... History that reads like a novel."--Kirkus The untold... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425205576
• ISBN13: 9780425205570
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Length: 356 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful and accurate

I bought this book for my 84 year old mother who, as a teenager, lived through WW2 in London and the Dover/Deal south coast of England. Her birthday is May 12 just two days after The Longest Night and she recalls with great clarity and detail the events of that time period. She read this book with great enjoyment. She started reading as soon as she picked it up and read it through twice in less than a week. She loved recalling her part in the events discussed as well as recollecting each of them. A fascinating account of a difficult time and very brave people. She recommends its accuracy.

The fastest read

This is the gripping true story of a night in 1941 that almost, but not quite, finally brought London to its feet. The damage from the two waves of German heavy bombers hit almost every area of London. The damage was devastating. The blow to the British morale was awful. The fire brigades struggled with broken mains, leaking gas, incendiery bombs and little equipment. With nothing to work with many of the fires were left to burn. But the herosim of others saved St. Margarets at Westminsters, the abbey itself and many books and artifacts all over the city. The usual British practicality and stoicism has the water flowing in most parts of the city within several days and the severely damaged gas mains working well within a week of the raid. What brings the book to life are the real people whose stories are followed throughout the book. From the good times many were having before the sirens started to what they saw the morning after, you are with those people minute by minute. There is alot of information about life during the war, including rationing and the privations. And you learn that living throught he Blitz was not very romantic as it sounds today. What happened that night caused the British people to finally hate their enemy and it filled them with a resolve to pay back German with all the British had. London had a few hours where they almost coudn't take it, but as the last bombers headed toward Germany, I believe that the tide of war had already turned. No one was going to do that to England and get away with it. An exciting, untold story of the Blitz comes alive in this quick read. Anyone who loves WWII history should read about this little episode of the war.