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The Longest Night Hardcover – October 4, 2005

by Gavin Mortimer (Author)

16 customer reviews

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The first in-depth account of the WWII raid that almost defeated England.

Seven months after the Nazi Blitz began in September 1940, London remained the center of the free world's resistance to Hitler's Germany. But-contrary to popular belief-the city's "all-in-together" camaraderie was disintegrating after two devastating Luftwaffe raids. Civil Defenses were chronically short of volunteers and newspapers reported looting, petty crime, and price-gouging.

But there was reason for optimism. Churchill remained steadfast, rallying the English. London hadn't been bombed in three weeks, while the RAF shot down 90 German bombers over Britain. It began to appear that the worst could be over.

So, when the air raid sirens sounded on the evening of May 10, 1941, Londoners were nonchalant. It soon became clear, however, that this was no ordinary bombing, but a devastating Luftwaffe raid that would eclipse all others.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Drawing on scores of eyewitness accounts and previously classified records, British journalist Mortimer has written the first extensive account of the deadliest night of the 1940–1941 London Blitz. Believing that "terror attacks" against civilians would break "England's will to resist," the Luftwaffe began bombing London on September 7, 1940. Instead of caving in, however, the British responded with an endearing bravado. The great raid of May 10—"the savage climax to the Blitz"—severely strained that indomitable spirit. That night, the Germans sent 507 aircraft to drop 711 tons of bombs—including 86,173 incendiary bombs—on London. By dawn on May 11, London was near collapse. More than 2,000 fires blackened the sky, 11,000 homes lay in ruins and more than 3,000 people were dead or wounded. What Londoners did not know was that that night would be the last major raid against the city; the Blitz would end on May 16. While Mortimer focuses on London, he also switches the narrative seamlessly among the city's residents, the air crews at their bases in the English countryside and the Luftwaffe pilots attacking from their bases in occupied France. The author notes that the Blitz has become a cliché to later generations and asks rhetorically if it has "relevance in modern London." The recent terrorist bombings in London's subways emphatically answer that question. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

By September 1940 the Battle of Britain had ended. Hitler's attempt to destroy British airfields and pave the way for an amphibious invasion had failed. Instead, the Luftwafte switched to terror bombing of British cities. From September 1940 through May 1941, British civilians, especially Londoners, endured the horrors of the "Blitz." The bombing campaign reached its height on May 10, when a massive German raid on London shattered water mains and set large parts of the city ablaze. Journalist Mortimer recounts the planning, the attack, and the aftermath of a catastrophic raid that almost shattered British powers of endurance. He makes effective use of recently declassified documents that reveal both German intentions and the doubts and fears of British political and military officials. Behind the official facade of proud British defiance, Mortimer reveals that the morale of civilians was close to breaking. This account is given special power and poignancy by using the recollections of surviving men and women who endured that terrible night. An outstanding addition to World War II collections. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product details

Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1St Edition edition (October 4, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425205576
ISBN-13: 978-0425205570
Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.3 x 9.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
Average Customer Review: 16 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,337,305 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8215 in Books > History > Europe > Great Britain > England
- #10569 in Books > History > Europe > Germany
- #28012 in Books > History > Military > World War II

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3.4 out of 5 stars

5 star		25%
4 star		19%
3 star		31%
2 star		6%
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A Night of Hell

Bynew york johnon March 18, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I love London. And the Blitz has always interested me. The courage of the people, the damage, the devastation, the morale. I will admit I am not an expert on London in 1941 or during the Blitz so, unlike some reviewers I can't speak of the facts or figures mentioned. But I can say that Gavin Mortimer's account of the bombing of May 10th kept my interest and, once again, made me marvel at how people coped. Not the best book I ever read but a good one.

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AP World History Review

ByAnonymouson May 3, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I thought this book was pretty good, it had a lot of details, well put together, and it had excitement. Mortimer does a good job at grouping the details and inserting the eye-witness reports (which make up a bulk of the book)in the right places. He describes the scenes in such detail, you can feel you are almost in the midst of the havoc and chaos being spread throughout London on the night of May 10th 1941. His book gives many heroic tales of ordinary citizens, police men and women, firefighters, and civil defense members. He describes the horrific sights beheld by witnesses and the amazing stories of a near misses between life and death. His use of words paint a picture of the crimsons, yellows, and oranges that engulf the city as the German bombers scream above dropping high explosive and incindeary bombs.
Mortimer does a good job at achieving his porpouse by describing the horrific events and informing the outside world of the raid that spanned 12 hours. it is very informative and gave me insight to things i never even knew happened during WWII. It opened up my eyes to what that war was really like for the people who went to bed every night with the threat of an air raid disrupting theirs thoughts for the days to come. The constant worry, especially for those living closest to the enemy, the loss of a family member of friend, the destruction of your home, all terrible things that happened to people and kept their nerves on end for years. I would recomend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about WWII history or anyone who just wants to read an interesting non-fiction book about real life heroes and saviors.

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Wonderful and accurate

ByJo Ann GrahamVINE VOICEon February 13, 2008

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

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.

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Five Stars

ByAmazon Customeron May 15, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Great reading also informative.

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A Superfluous Bit of Flotsam

ByIlluminatusVINE VOICEon March 25, 2006

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This supposedly "untold story" of London's worst air raid of the Second World War contains little useful information not easily available in any number of previous sources. Indeed, a good bit of the book is nothing more than a loosely correlated compendum of tiresome vignettes that highlight a cross section of the people involved (flyers, policemen, firefighters and so on). While the graphic description of some of the destruction inflicted on London makes for a good, quick read, much, like the "exciting" details of a rugby game, is boring and irrelevant. Finally, many of the author's "facts" are just plain wrong. The RAF was neither "bled dry" nor "on its knees" in 1941, having emerged from the Battle of Britain with greater strength than when it entered. And some of the stated losses suffered by the RAF exceed reality by nearly an order of magnitude. Finally, there is not one scintilla of evidence offered to support the conclusion that this raid "almost brought Britain to military collapse."

In short, this is a poorly researched and largely valueless work best ignored in favour of the many better executed histories available.

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The fastest read

Byshirley liebon October 30, 2005

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

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.