Fire and Fury

The Allied Bombing of Germany, 1942-1945

By: Randall Hansen

Narrated by: Julian Elfer

During the Second World War, Allied air forces dropped nearly two million tons of bombs on Germany, destroying some 60 cities, killing more than half a million German citizens, and leaving 80,000 pilots dead. But the terrible truth is that much of the bombing was carried out against the expressed demands of the Allied military leadership, leading to the needless deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians. Focusing on the crucial period from 1942 to 1945, Fire and Fury tells the story of the American and British bombing campaign through the eyes of those involved: the military and civilian command in America, Britain, and Germany, the aircrews in the skies who carried out their orders, and civilians on the ground who felt the fury of the Allied attacks. Here, for the first time, the story of the American and British air campaigns is told - and the cost accounted for...

©2008 Randall Hansen (P)2018 Tantor

Illuminating for this general reader

As a non-historian who has read extensively on WWII, I found this book to be a beacon of light on a critical aspect of the war in Europe that I had perceived only vaguely before. As historians surely know (as I had not), the entire air war war in Europe (not just the Battle of Britain) was critical to the outcome, as it was in the Pacific. The book’s commentary on the strategic and moral questions raised by civilian casualties of bombing is most insightful, raising issues that remain relevant today.

Explains why allies devastated German cities

Narration is clear and nicely paced.

Content is interesting and informative though too long, overly detailed. Good candidate for summary.

Mostly strong survey of RAF campaigns, though a bit unfocused

This book is incorrectly titled; it isn't about the Allied bombing of Germany, it's about RAF bombing of Germany. Major USAAF campaigns and shifts in strategy are summarized. There's only one lengthy section from the US perspective, which offers us detailed backgrounds on 3 commanders. This section should've been omitted for concision IMO, because none of them figure prominently in the narrative.

I didn't like how much Hansen focused on a repetitive argument between RAF commanders Harris and Portal. It goes like this:

1) Portal advises Harris to stop carpet bombing civilians and focus on oil/factories like the USAAF

2) Harris says no, that won't work.

3) Portal capitulates and lets him do his thing cuz he's absurdly meek.

This conversation is repeated over. And over. And over. It comprises maybe an hour of the book, and I found it rather excruciating. Certainly, history should not always be exciting, but this hyper-focus on a specific topic belongs in a Harris or Portal biography, not a 4 year survey of a massive, expansive campaign.

Probably Harris's biggest contribution to scholarship is his firsthand accounts of the bombings from interviews he conducted with German witnesses. These are narrated with engrossing and appropriately horrific prose.