Overview

The bestselling historian's gripping account of the Allied bombing of Dresden for the 75th anniversary In February 1945 the Allies obliterated the German city of Dresden. Bombs weighing over 1,000 lbs fell every seven and a half seconds and killing an estimated 25,000 people. But was Dresden a legitimate military target or a last act of mass murder in a war already won? In Dresden, bestselling author Sinclair McKay creates a vast canvas and brings it alive with touching human detail, from the history of the city to the attack itself through the eerie period of reconstruction. Impeccably researched and deeply moving, McKay uses never-before-seen sources to relate the untold stories of a city, its people and their triumph in the face of disaster.

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9780241986011

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Reviews

This minute-by-minute retelling tackles the big questions, but also - by drawing on the letters and diaries from the Dresden City Archive - never loosed sight of the experiences of people who witnessed, and suffered, the attach first-hand * BBC History Revealed, Book of the Month * A weighty and considered investigation of events . . . an excellent book . . . providing a reliable, engaging, informative and, above all, sober narrative of events. The book will enable readers to make up their own minds - should they so desire - on the rights and wrongs of the matter. It is highly recommended * BBC History Magazine * A passionate and original account of the Allied bombing of Dresden in 1945, one of the most controversial evens of the Second World War * Best Books of 2020: our favourites so far * McKay's book is better than narrative history. It is biography, but of place, rather than person. He makes Dresden come alive, before, during, and after the infernal 13th -- John Lewis-Stempel * Daily Express, ***** * Rich and colourful . . . [there is] a vividness and poignancy that other accounts have lacked -- Richard Overy * Financial Times * Accomplished * Prospect * There have been many books on the bombing of Dresden (not least Kurt Vonnegut's novel, Slaughterhouse Five ), but Sinclair McKay's account is a worthy addition. McKay's purpose is neither to condemn nor condone, but to record what happened and why. Above all, he rejoices in the modern city's resurrection * Economist * A carefully researched, finely written and moving account of one of the great tragedies of 20th-century history * Daily Telegraph * McKay recounts the story of Dresden's destruction through the recollections of those who miraculously survived, creating a kaleidoscope of experience . . . His prose, even when describing gruesome destruction, is often breathtakingly beautiful. This superbly rendered story allows the reader entry into the soul of an extraordinary city -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times * McKay brings that time vividly alive but he's also alive to the moral ambiguities -- Charlotte Heathcote * Daily Mirror * Fascinating, riveting, unsettling, and wonderfully rich in period detail * Mail on Sunday on Mile End Murder * Lucid, well-researched and rich in detail * Daily Mail on The Spies of Winter * Painstakingly researched and fascinating * Daily Mail on The Secret Listeners * Extraordinary . . . a remarkably faithful account * Guardian on The Secret Life of Bletchley Park * Along with much affecting human detail, I particularly like the way it contextualises the city's obliteration with scenes from Dresden's rich history * Bookseller * Masterful -- Simon Griffith * Mail on Sunday * McKay's rich narrative and descriptive gifts provide us with an elegant yet unflinching account of that terrible night . . . a very readable and finely crafted addition to the literature on one of modern history's most morally fraught military operations -- Frederick Taylor * Wall Street Journal * This is a brilliantly clear, and fair, account of one of the most notorious and destructive raids in the history aerial warfare. From planning to execution, the story is told by crucial participants - and the victims who suffered so cruelly on the ground from the attack itself and its aftermath -- Robert Fox, author of We Were There One of my favourite historians -- Dan Snow * History Hit * Compelling . . . Sinclair McKay brings a dark subject vividly to life -- Keith Lowe, author of Savage Continent Beautifully-crafted, elegiac, compelling - Dresden delivers with a dark intensity and incisive compassion rarely equalled. Authentic and authoritative, a masterpiece of its genre -- Damien Lewis, author of Zero Six Bravo Churchill said that if bombing cities was justified, it was always repugnant. Sinclair McKay has written a shrewd, humane and balanced account of this most controversial target of the Anglo-American strategic bombing campaign, the ferocious consequence of the scourge of Nazism -- Allan Mallinson, author of Fight to the Finish Powerful . . . there is rage in his ink. McKay's book grips by its passion and originality. Some 25,000 people perished in the firestorm that raged through the city. I have never seen it better described -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *

It's a wonderful book, so absorbing, thoughtful and thought provoking, I didn't want it to end This minute-by-minute retelling tackles the big questions, but also - by drawing on the letters and diaries from the Dresden City Archive - never loosed sight of the experiences of people who witnessed, and suffered, the attach first-hand * BBC History Revealed, Book of the Month * A weighty and considered investigation of events . . . an excellent book . . . providing a reliable, engaging, informative and, above all, sober narrative of events. The book will enable readers to make up their own minds - should they so desire - on the rights and wrongs of the matter. It is highly recommended * BBC History Magazine * A passionate and original account of the Allied bombing of Dresden in 1945, one of the most controversial evens of the Second World War * Best Books of 2020: our favourites so far * McKay's book is better than narrative history. It is biography, but of place, rather than person. He makes Dresden come alive, before, during, and after the infernal 13th -- John Lewis-Stempel * Daily Express, ***** * Rich and colourful . . . [there is] a vividness and poignancy that other accounts have lacked -- Richard Overy * Financial Times * Accomplished * Prospect * There have been many books on the bombing of Dresden (not least Kurt Vonnegut's novel, Slaughterhouse Five ), but Sinclair McKay's account is a worthy addition. McKay's purpose is neither to condemn nor condone, but to record what happened and why. Above all, he rejoices in the modern city's resurrection * Economist * A carefully researched, finely written and moving account of one of the great tragedies of 20th-century history * Daily Telegraph * McKay recounts the story of Dresden's destruction through the recollections of those who miraculously survived, creating a kaleidoscope of experience . . . His prose, even when describing gruesome destruction, is often breathtakingly beautiful. This superbly rendered story allows the reader entry into the soul of an extraordinary city -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times * McKay brings that time vividly alive but he's also alive to the moral ambiguities -- Charlotte Heathcote * Daily Mirror * Fascinating, riveting, unsettling, and wonderfully rich in period detail * Mail on Sunday on Mile End Murder * Lucid, well-researched and rich in detail * Daily Mail on The Spies of Winter * Painstakingly researched and fascinating * Daily Mail on The Secret Listeners * Extraordinary . . . a remarkably faithful account * Guardian on The Secret Life of Bletchley Park * Along with much affecting human detail, I particularly like the way it contextualises the city's obliteration with scenes from Dresden's rich history * Bookseller * Masterful -- Simon Griffith * Mail on Sunday * McKay's rich narrative and descriptive gifts provide us with an elegant yet unflinching account of that terrible night . . . a very readable and finely crafted addition to the literature on one of modern history's most morally fraught military operations -- Frederick Taylor * Wall Street Journal * This is a brilliantly clear, and fair, account of one of the most notorious and destructive raids in the history aerial warfare. From planning to execution, the story is told by crucial participants - and the victims who suffered so cruelly on the ground from the attack itself and its aftermath -- Robert Fox, author of We Were There One of my favourite historians -- Dan Snow * History Hit * Compelling . . . Sinclair McKay brings a dark subject vividly to life -- Keith Lowe, author of Savage Continent Beautifully-crafted, elegiac, compelling - Dresden delivers with a dark intensity and incisive compassion rarely equalled. Authentic and authoritative, a masterpiece of its genre -- Damien Lewis, author of Zero Six Bravo Churchill said that if bombing cities was justified, it was always repugnant. Sinclair McKay has written a shrewd, humane and balanced account of this most controversial target of the Anglo-American strategic bombing campaign, the ferocious consequence of the scourge of Nazism -- Allan Mallinson, author of Fight to the Finish Powerful . . . there is rage in his ink. McKay's book grips by its passion and originality. Some 25,000 people perished in the firestorm that raged through the city. I have never seen it better described -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *

Powerful . . . there is rage in his ink. McKay's book grips by its passion and originality. Some 25,000 people perished in the firestorm that raged through the city. I have never seen it better described -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times * Churchill said that if bombing cities was justified, it was always repugnant. Sinclair McKay has written a shrewd, humane and balanced account of this most controversial target of the Anglo-American strategic bombing campaign, the ferocious consequence of the scourge of Nazism -- Allan Mallinson, author of Fight to the Finish Beautifully-crafted, elegiac, compelling - Dresden delivers with a dark intensity and incisive compassion rarely equalled. Authentic and authoritative, a masterpiece of its genre -- Damien Lewis, author of Zero Six Bravo Compelling . . . Sinclair McKay brings a dark subject vividly to life -- Keith Lowe, author of Savage Continent One of my favourite historians -- Dan Snow * History Hit * This is a brilliantly clear, and fair, account of one of the most notorious and destructive raids in the history aerial warfare. From planning to execution, the story is told by crucial participants - and the victims who suffered so cruelly on the ground from the attack itself and its aftermath -- Robert Fox, author of We Were There McKay's rich narrative and descriptive gifts provide us with an elegant yet unflinching account of that terrible night . . . a very readable and finely crafted addition to the literature on one of modern history's most morally fraught military operations -- Frederick Taylor * Wall Street Journal * Masterful -- Simon Griffith * Mail on Sunday * Along with much affecting human detail, I particularly like the way it contextualises the city's obliteration with scenes from Dresden's rich history * Bookseller * Extraordinary . . . a remarkably faithful account * Guardian on The Secret Life of Bletchley Park * Painstakingly researched and fascinating * Daily Mail on The Secret Listeners * Lucid, well-researched and rich in detail * Daily Mail on The Spies of Winter * Fascinating, riveting, unsettling, and wonderfully rich in period detail * Mail on Sunday on Mile End Murder * McKay brings that time vividly alive but he's also alive to the moral ambiguities -- Charlotte Heathcote * Daily Mirror * McKay recounts the story of Dresden's destruction through the recollections of those who miraculously survived, creating a kaleidoscope of experience . . . His prose, even when describing gruesome destruction, is often breathtakingly beautiful. This superbly rendered story allows the reader entry into the soul of an extraordinary city -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times * A carefully researched, finely written and moving account of one of the great tragedies of 20th-century history * Daily Telegraph * There have been many books on the bombing of Dresden (not least Kurt Vonnegut's novel, Slaughterhouse Five ), but Sinclair McKay's account is a worthy addition. McKay's purpose is neither to condemn nor condone, but to record what happened and why. Above all, he rejoices in the modern city's resurrection * Economist * Accomplished * Prospect * Rich and colourful . . . [there is] a vividness and poignancy that other accounts have lacked -- Richard Overy * Financial Times * McKay's book is better than narrative history. It is biography, but of place, rather than person. He makes Dresden come alive, before, during, and after the infernal 13th -- John Lewis-Stempel * Daily Express, ***** * A passionate and original account of the Allied bombing of Dresden in 1945, one of the most controversial evens of the Second World War * Best Books of 2020: our favourites so far * A weighty and considered investigation of events . . . an excellent book . . . providing a reliable, engaging, informative and, above all, sober narrative of events. The book will enable readers to make up their own minds - should they so desire - on the rights and wrongs of the matter. It is highly recommended * BBC History Magazine * This minute-by-minute retelling tackles the big questions, but also - by drawing on the letters and diaries from the Dresden City Archive - never loosed sight of the experiences of people who witnessed, and suffered, the attach first-hand * BBC History Revealed, Book of the Month * It's a wonderful book, so absorbing, thoughtful and thought provoking, I didn't want it to end The story of the Allied bombing of Dresden in 1945 is well known, but McKay's searing account is in a league of its own. His research is first-class, his writing elegant and emotive. He is brilliant at portraying the city's prewar beauty, grimly powerful on the horror of the firestorm, and moving and thoughtful about Dresden's rise from the ashes. By the end, I was itching to jump on a flight to Germany. That tells you about the skill and spirit of this terrific book -- Dominic Sandbrook * The Times/Sunday Times Books of the Year *

Author Information

Sinclair McKay is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Berlin, Dresden, The Secret Life of Bletchley Park, The Secret Listeners, Bletchley Park Brainteasers and Secret Service Brainteasers. He is a literary critic for the Telegraph and the Spectator and lives in London.

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