London At War [Hardcover]

Philip Ziegler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 1995

In 1939, London was not merely the greatest city in the world; it was the most tempting and vulnerable target for aerial attack. For six years it was in the front line of the free world's battle. It endured the horrors of the blitz of 1940 and 1941, and the terrifying new bombs - the V2s, the V2s. Other cities suffered more intensely; no other city was so consistently under attack for so long a time.

This is the story of Londoners at war - for Philip Ziegler, best known as a biographer, is above all fascinated by the people who found their lives so suddenly and violently transformed: the querulous yet strangely gallant housewife from West Hampstead; the turbulent, left-wing, retired schoolmaster from Walthamstow, always standing up to the authorities; the odiously snobbish woman from Kensington, sneering at the 'scum' who took shelter in the Underground; the typist from Fulham; the plumber from Woolwich. It was their war every bit as much as it was Churchill's or the King's, and this is their story.

Through a wealth of interviews and unpublished letters and diaries, as well as books and newspapers, the author has built up a dazzling portrait of an entire population under siege. There were cowards, there were criminals, there were incompetents, but what emerges from these pages is above all a record - in story after story - of astonishing patience, dignity, courage and humour. "I hope," Ziegler writes, "we will never have to endure again what they went through between 1939 and 1945. I hope, if we did, that we would conduct ourselves as well."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ziegler (Mountbatten) tells the epic story of the British capital's wartime ordeal largely through the words of contemporary Londoners. The dominating drama of this elegant narrative revolves around the German air raids, the underground culture of the bomb shelters and rescue crews where common purpose cut across class lines. Despite widespread death and destruction during the blitz and the threat of invasion, the plucky Londoners not only maintained business as usual but kept alive their cricket matches, held debutante balls and availed themselves of an extraordinary array of entertainment. Ziegler describes the arrival of American GIs along with dire predictions of their unruliness, the early impression being that "U.S. forces were peopled entirely by short-tempered pugilists." Though he avoids sentimentalizing the Londoners' legendary indomitability, Ziegler's overall view is sympathetic and admiring. Photos.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Biographer Ziegler's (King Edward VIII, LJ 1/91) contribution to the literary observation of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II is this lively account of everyday life in London during the war years. He moves entertainingly through prewar skepticism, the building of shelters, the short-lived evacuation of children, the Blitz, rocket missiles, and victory at last. Shelter life, cinema, museums, opera and theater, the homeless (one out of every six Londoners, at one time another)?all are described, largely in the words of those who were there as recorded in letters, diaries, and personal interviews. Ziegler evenhandedly reports both problems and triumphs. Not essential but evocative, readable, and a good choice for general collections.?Nancy C. Cridland, Indiana Univ. Libs., Bloomington
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 372 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1st American ed edition (May 10, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679432981
• ISBN-13: 978-0679432982
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #835,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling story, May 18, 2003

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: London at War, 1939-1945 (Paperback)

Zeigler has managed to give a real sense of what it must have been like to be in London during the war years. Zeigler takes the tactic of examining history as the impact of events upon the people of London -- the growing clouds of war, the first alerts, the lulls, the bombing, the terror and the courage of a people determined to keep their community, their great city, alive. He describes the slow acclimatising toward austerity of which not all wanted to participate; particularly in the lull between the declaration of war (in which there seemed to be little impact on the London scene save rising prices and product scarcity) and the beginning of bombing (at which time the population rallied much more completely).

'On 24 August (1940) the first bombs fell on central London, starting fires in the East End. Probably the bombing was accidental, but retaliatory raids on Berlin made it inevitable that the process, once started, would escalate dramatically.' The rallying effort to build the community was great, such that 'by February 1941, it was estimated that 92 per cent of London's population could be accommodated in public or private shelters.'

At the end of the war, the preparations of the rationing ministries and the police to keep civil order were almost as detailed and daunting as D-Day; the demand for material (flags) and food for celebrations required a reaffirmation of ration regulations; London and the rest of Britain would still remain on rations for years after the war. Even ceremonies such as the State Opening of Parliament would be scaled down due to the unreadiness of transport or lack of men and material.

Zeigler regrets that human nature reverted back to norm and the community spirit built up during the war quickly disintegrated after the war. Grand plans for rebuilding were never carried out -- London incurred more than half the casualties of cities during the war (over 80,000 in London alone), and the community pulled together to survive, but this cohesion didn't last after the threat was gone; however, Ziegler states, 'there is much that Londoners can look back on with pride, remarkably little about which they need to feel ashamed.'

Picture plates complete the visual story of London at war (the photograph on the cover of men looking through the still-standing library shelves of a bombed-out building is fascinating), and the writing style of Zeigler is compelling and full. A journey into our recent past definitely to be taken.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Social history at its best, October 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: London at War, 1939-1945 (Paperback)

The real story of London during World War II. Ziegler goes beyond the myths to tell the whole story, warts and all. Full of interesting anecdotes and recollections that illustrate the challenges and stresses of living in London during those fateful years.