Reviews

Among the Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan by A.C. Grayling

basia_elle's review

3.0

I read this for a class and I enjoyed it. The most interesting parts were when the author (and other scientists) are said to believe the atomic bomb will be used again and the comparisons I made with Harris to Hitler and Churchill to Hindenburg. Harris wanted to (area) bomb Germany just to see destruction and Churchill promoted him to see what he was up to and to try to control him more. I, also, liked the author's way of writing this book. I really respect the way they did it, especially because this is such a charged subject.

atsundarsingh's review

4.0

Grayling writes a moving prose account of why we should evaluate the Allied bombing campaigns in WWII Germany and Japan along the same criterion used in the Nuremberg trials. While I found the material a bit difficult to work through quickly, Grayling manages to strike the right balance between rational considerations of the ethics in play, and acknowledgement of what may have been on the minds of the men and women experiencing the bombings, planning them, executing them, and even advocating them. This is history well done.