Description
“A major contribution to the story of Dresden.” (Christian Science Monitor )
“Deeply affecting ... a bracing rebuke to the myths and propaganda that have painted over the memory of this tragedy.” (People )
“Accomplished.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )
“Genius...an absolutely magnificent work both of scholarship and of narration.” (The Literary Review (London) )
“Fascinating....a fine, revealing work of revisionist history. He has also given us a deeply haunting human drama.” (Houston Chronicle )
“Compelling ... [Taylor] puts the assault in its proper context to reveal the inherent moral tangle of total war.” (Atlantic Monthly )
“The enigmatic past and the patient muse of history are brilliantly served ... by this blockbuster of a book.” (Chicago Sun-Times )
“I thought I knew what happened at Dresden on that fiery day in 1945 -- and then I read this book.” (James Bradley )
“Anyone who thinks that during World War Two Dresden manufactured just chinaware must read this penetrating book.” (Stanley P. Hirschson, author of General Patton: A Soldier's Life )
“A riveting narrative account.” (Salon.com )
“A provocative re-examination of the bombing of Dresden ... elgantly written and deeply moving.” (Peter Duffy, author of The Bielski Brothers )
“Well-researched, objective and compassionate...Frederick Taylor convincingly sets the record straight.” (Anthony Looch, Daily Post (Liverpool) )
“Groundbreaking … [shines] new light on that fateful day and the resulting myths.” (Calgary Sun )
“In narrative power and persuasion, [Taylor] has paralleled in DRESDEN what Antony Beevor achieved in STALINGRAD.” (Nicholas Fearn, The Independent on Sunday (London) )
“A strong and provocative work of World War II scholarship.” (Library Journal )
“[An] authoritative and moving account …. Impeccably documented.” (The Independent (London) )
“Compelling ... Mr. Taylor makes a persuasive case that Dresden was not an innocent bystander in the tragedy that was WWII.” (Washington Times )
Présentation de l'éditeur
For decades it has been assumed that the Allied bombing of Dresden -- a cultured city famous for its china, chocolate, and fine watches -- was militarily unjustifiable, an act of retribution for Germany's ceaseless bombing of London and other parts of England.
Now, Frederick Taylor's groundbreaking research offers a completely new examination of the facts and reveals that Dresden was a highly militarized city actively involved in the production of military armaments and communications. Incorporating first-hand accounts, contemporaneous press material and memoirs, and never-before-seen government records, Taylor proves unequivocally the very real military threat Dresden posed -- and how a legacy of propaganda shrouded the truth for sixty years.
