The Battle of Hamburg, Allied Bomber Forces Against A German City in 1943 by Martin Middlebrook

The Battle of Hamburg, Allied Bomber Forces Against A German City in 1943 by Martin Middlebrook this is an oral history backed up with archival research. Attempts were made to gather perspectives from those on both sides of the battle. This battle was a series of RAF and American attacks on the German city. The interviews and correspondence from witnesses is quite interesting. The Hamburg raid has gone down in second world war history as being particularly controversial. Middlebrook describes the ethics of the aerial bombing strategy from various points of view. I found it rather unfortunate that he was unwilling to give his own perspective. In books of this type the civilian infrastructure like firefighters and police are usually not referenced. Fortunately they are in this book.

I did find some of the writing style to be irritating. I don't mind the inclusion of introductory material in fact I learned one or two things about American Air Force organization but I do mind it when the author feels the need to apologize for including it.

Recommended.