Among the Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan

by A.C. Grayling

Book Overview

Is it ever right to target civilians in a time of war? Or do the ends sometimes justify the means? The twentieth century - the age of 'total war' - marked the first time that civilian populations came... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802714714
• ISBN13: 9780802714718
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Walker & Company
• Length: 361 Pages
• Weight: 1.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

War is HELL & Hindsight Proves Just That Fact...

One needs no further proof that we live in a free and democratic society than the fact that books such as this one are readily available. That the victorious would be criticized for their actions decades later would never have happened had the AXIS powers prevailed in World War 2. It is startling to note that Germany itself was virtually wiped off the face of the planet; were the actions of the Allied powers justified? No. But consider that just a few years later, the same foe that defeated Germany would save the nation; witness the Berlin Airlift. Again, one doubts that the NAZIS nor Imperial Japan would have shown any such humanity to the nations they would have been in control of had they won the war.

A moral conviction against strategic bombing of civilians.

If you are looking for a book that glorifies the civilian bombing campaigns over Europe ,dont waste your money. If you are looking for another book that is essentially "History written by the victors" dont waste your time. If are expecting a book that will say "Hell yah...we bombed the hell out of them and they deserved it.",you will be sorely disappointed. And that is apparently what the negative reviwers of this book were looking for. After viewing some of their other reviews it seems they were essentially seeking another book that agreed with their point of view or opinion that we never, ever did anything wrong. Admittedly, there are some chronological,and technical errors,minor in context, but this was not meant to be a reference book. As the proud son of a American WW2 veteran ,whos job it was to difuse mines ,shells,and bombs ,i certainly am no bleeding heart anti-american liberal looking to condemn our courageous veterans. But as in all wars, i find that atrociites start at the top, in the command structure,and there was no difference here. "Bomber Harris" gets the credit/blame for getting this ball rolling.And he is unaploigetic about it. If you are looking for a book that presents a "relatively" unbiased view ,in courtroom case manner, then you will find it a very interesting read. The view from both sides of the arguement is looked at, and analyzed, and judged ,aginst the statistical outcome that was achieved. If instead we had surrounded civilian poulation centers and told the commanders to send in their troops ,and go to every 6th building and drag the inhabitants out into the streets and kill them, then blow up or burn the structure to the ground,the results would have been the same statistically. But that would have been considered a war crime. Yet somehow ,the impersonal act of strategic bombing non combatant population centers gets a pass in the eyes of many history books. And that is the wrong that this book strives to right. Will this book change the past..no...But it can change the way this event is viewed in historical reference ,and hopfully prevent it from happening again.

essential reading

With the benefit of foresight i'd imagine that few German citizens would've voted Hitler into power and one also hopes that with the same luxurious perspective,a more carefully thought out bombing policy would've been implemented against the axis powers. Terrible things happen in the heat of war which don't come up well under close scrutiny so it's all the more important to standback and evaluate, not only for the sake of future conflicts, but also heal the wounds of the older generation who quite rightly feel emotive on this topic:the enemy can also be a victim and saying this in no way minimizes the horrors perpetrated by Germany and Japan. How about the strategic success of carpet bombing? Yes,Important resources were diverted into costly shelters,guns and planes but all in all it's a case of means not justifying the ends:the terrible losses of aircrew on the allied side were only slightly exceeded by losses on U-boats where 1 in 3 died. The Zoo in Berlin was bombed to pieces but the nearby armanants ministry was left unscathed.Need I say more? a blunt weapon at best (inpite of more precise options available in the later sages of WW2) and not decisive in the downfall of Nazi Germany.As with the ravaged remains of Stalingrad,the rubble of Berlin actually provided an ideal arena for the defenders. Grayling is masterly at laying forth all the arguments though gets in a bit of a muddle with the constant references to the holocaust as if overly worried he's going to come across as a Nazi sympathiser.On the contrary,this is an eminently sane text and should be mandatory reading,though perhaps uncomfortable for those of a more conservative disposition.

Learning from the past for the future

A very generative book that makes you think long and hard about the issues and the new perspectives raised. I have read a lot in this area and yet this brought out very many new angles and trains of thought. And it always occurs to me that those who criticize a work like this, which is an invitation to a dialogue, are doomed to fail to learn anything from history. Their minds are closed and that is the real tragedy. I am open to Grayling being wrong, (as I think Grayling is), but I doubt some of his critics are open to his being right. The real issue with area bombing is that it did not shorten the war AND was immoral indiscriminate killing of civilians. Focus on oil supplies and tactical interdiction/support of the front line fighting would have been both more effective AND involved less killing of civilians. Knowledgeable advocates were arguing this at the time,including the leadership of the US 8th Air Force and heads of the British Army and Navy re the Battle of the Atlantic. This is not hindsight or nit picking but profoundly important for our future. I think Grayling shows profound respect for those actually carrying out the bombing and the risks they took and casualties they suffered. No one writing today can write from the same situation of danger experienced by the bombers or the bombed, but that is no reason not to use our brains and the best scholarship we can muster. We must moreover debate these issues with the data, and a strong critical intelligence, not broad brush dismissals unpowered by real thought. There are real moral dilemmas here, which Grayling brings out powerfully and without Hollywood simplicities. Both my countries suffered grievously in world wars, but that is no reason we should not be adults looking carefully at our track record and those of our opponents with some distance, but while memories are still alive. Grayling is an adult, challenging and rigorous thinker.

Stop the quibbling - a magnificent book

As the son of a German woman who lived the terror of being a young civilian during World War II, some might see my apprecation for this elegantly written, carefully reasoned work as biased, but that is not the case. The deliberate bombing of civilians, by whomever and whenever, deserves the closest possible scrutiny, since it remains a preferred mode of warfare, having killed untold millions, and threatening to kill untold more. Grayling's impeccable storytelling brings these colossal matters, so recent and so powerfully yet misunderstood, to a humane level, where we as inheritors of the whirlwind of bombs raining on the alleged noncombatants reside. This is a profound book, one to ponder, investigate, apply to the contemporary world, and slow the poisonous adulation of obliteration of humans through armaments.