The Myth Of The Blitz
1st Edition
Published on 30. June 2012
336 pages
978-1-4481-0404-8 (ISBN)
Description
The Myth of the Blitz was nurtured at every level of society. It rested upon the assumed invincibility of an island race distinguished by good humour, understatement and the ability to pluck victory from the jaws of defeat by team work, improvisation and muddling through.
In fact, in many ways, the Blitz was not like that. Sixty-thousand people were conscientious objectors; a quarter of London's population fled to the country; Churchill and the royal family were booed while touring the aftermath of air-raids; Britain was not bombed into classless democracy.
Angus Calder provides a compelling examination of the events of 1940 and 1941 - when Britain 'stood alone' against the Luftwaffe - and of the Myth which sustained her 'finest hour'.
In fact, in many ways, the Blitz was not like that. Sixty-thousand people were conscientious objectors; a quarter of London's population fled to the country; Churchill and the royal family were booed while touring the aftermath of air-raids; Britain was not bombed into classless democracy.
Angus Calder provides a compelling examination of the events of 1940 and 1941 - when Britain 'stood alone' against the Luftwaffe - and of the Myth which sustained her 'finest hour'.
Reviews / Votes
This is a book written with style, scholarship and compassion, which can only enhance and deepen our understanding of a still critical episode in modern British history -- Ian S. Wood * Scotsman * Disturbing as it may be to those who were there, Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and the Blitz have to be understood on one level as media events, and this Angus Calder does supremely well -- John Vincent * Sunday Telegraph *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
File size
2,00 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-4481-0404-8 (9781448104048)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Angus Calder was an academic, writer, historian, educator and literary editor, and Reader in Cultural Studies and Staff Tutor in Arts with the Open University in Scotland. He read English at Cambridge and received his D. Phil from the School of Social Studies at the University of Sussex. He was Convener of the Scottish Poetry Library when it was founded in 1984. In 1970 he won the John Llewellyn Rhys prize for his seminal work, The People's War. His other books include Revolutionary Empire and The Myth of the Blitz. He died in 2008.
