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Product 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'.
From the Back Cover
'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
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'.
'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
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
47 of 58 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There may be an interesting theory to be investigated about the creation of the myths by which we recall history, but this book isn't it. It is undermined by at least three huge flaws.
Firstly, it makes several false and mendacious claims about the French campaign in 1940. For example, that the BEF had orders to take no prisoners or that it collapsed into a rabble at the first appearance of the Germans, deserting their French allies who were still full of fight. There is even a claim that the massacre of about 170 British soldiers by the 1st SS and 3rd SS was in revenge for the murder of 400 SS troops, a massacre I can find no description of anywhere else.
Secondly, the theory being proposed seems to be that propaganda and behaviour became a self supporting feedback loop to create the "myth". Although there is a lot to describe how the Blitz was reported and the various depictions in a range of media there is almost no evidence on how it affected behaviour or how the behaviour then affected the official depiction/reporting of events.
Finally, the prejudices of the author shine through. Every book will be influenced by the views of its author, but Mr Calder seems to have a certain animus against either Britain or just the English. This comes through in various ways, from minor affectations (mention of the 1982 war in the "Malvinas" or the use of Eire) to sweeping claims that in the event of an invasion there would have been large numbers of collaborators and wide spread support for the final solution, challanging anyone who disagrees to prove that the British would have acted differently to other occupied nations. A generalisation that ignores the differing experiences of invasion by the various countries and the fundamental differences in political and social life between countries.
So in summary, an interesting idea let down by poor research, a poor structure and a lack of evidence. Buy this if you want a fulsome guide to the Blitz related reporting/film making/novel writing of the time otherwise I would advise against.
Firstly, it makes several false and mendacious claims about the French campaign in 1940. For example, that the BEF had orders to take no prisoners or that it collapsed into a rabble at the first appearance of the Germans, deserting their French allies who were still full of fight. There is even a claim that the massacre of about 170 British soldiers by the 1st SS and 3rd SS was in revenge for the murder of 400 SS troops, a massacre I can find no description of anywhere else.
Secondly, the theory being proposed seems to be that propaganda and behaviour became a self supporting feedback loop to create the "myth". Although there is a lot to describe how the Blitz was reported and the various depictions in a range of media there is almost no evidence on how it affected behaviour or how the behaviour then affected the official depiction/reporting of events.
Finally, the prejudices of the author shine through. Every book will be influenced by the views of its author, but Mr Calder seems to have a certain animus against either Britain or just the English. This comes through in various ways, from minor affectations (mention of the 1982 war in the "Malvinas" or the use of Eire) to sweeping claims that in the event of an invasion there would have been large numbers of collaborators and wide spread support for the final solution, challanging anyone who disagrees to prove that the British would have acted differently to other occupied nations. A generalisation that ignores the differing experiences of invasion by the various countries and the fundamental differences in political and social life between countries.
So in summary, an interesting idea let down by poor research, a poor structure and a lack of evidence. Buy this if you want a fulsome guide to the Blitz related reporting/film making/novel writing of the time otherwise I would advise against.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When is a debunking not a debunking?
This book is, first off, extremely honestly written. It also comes from the pen of a guy trained in literary criticism, so it's basically analytic.
I had known about this book for years and had never read it. Somehow I had the impression that it was a debunking. It isn't that. It's a book that takes the analytic tools of a literary critic and applies them to what people wrote and said about the Blitz. His conclusion is that basically the British people did act bravely under fire during the Blitz (and associated periods). So this isn't a debunking. He has actually tested the well-known story - pretty much to destruction - and found that, at root, it's true.
And the thing is, because he has tested it so stringently - and in such a wide-ranging way - the result is so much more convincing...
So 5 stars (Apart from the wealth of material he unearths in the process of coming to his conclusion).
His idea is that the myth of the Blitz was made up at the time, partly as a means of giving British people a positive way of viewing themselves in this extremely difficult period and so going on. If there hadn't been some important truth in it, people wouldn't have bought it. But they did and there was.
This book is, first off, extremely honestly written. It also comes from the pen of a guy trained in literary criticism, so it's basically analytic.
I had known about this book for years and had never read it. Somehow I had the impression that it was a debunking. It isn't that. It's a book that takes the analytic tools of a literary critic and applies them to what people wrote and said about the Blitz. His conclusion is that basically the British people did act bravely under fire during the Blitz (and associated periods). So this isn't a debunking. He has actually tested the well-known story - pretty much to destruction - and found that, at root, it's true.
And the thing is, because he has tested it so stringently - and in such a wide-ranging way - the result is so much more convincing...
So 5 stars (Apart from the wealth of material he unearths in the process of coming to his conclusion).
His idea is that the myth of the Blitz was made up at the time, partly as a means of giving British people a positive way of viewing themselves in this extremely difficult period and so going on. If there hadn't been some important truth in it, people wouldn't have bought it. But they did and there was.
35 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a history student with a keen interest in the subjects that this book covers I gladly greeted the opportunity to read this book as part of a module for my second year at University. However I found the way the author had written this book to be difficult to read despite my perseverance to the end. Furthermore his idea that the myth of the blitz was wholly a product of propaganda and that in fact Britain was made up of anti-Semitic collaborators who were one step away from crumbling and who relied almost totally on American support was deeply flawed. It seems a pity to me that the author missed the opportunity to write a genuinely interesting and different piece of work and instead produced a sensationalist piece that despite selling copies will soon end up in second hand shops.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Utter garbage
This book is written by a man who obviously has utter contempt for the country which gave him a free education; why, otherwise, would he refer to the "Malvinas" in the first... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Edgar
Previous reviewers don't do it justice.
It's an excellent piece of revisionist history. Calder is an incredibly thorough scholar, and puts forward a fresh perspective on the reality of wartime experience felt throughout... Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2010 by S. CROWTHER
Who needs 'historians'?
It is a common, and despicable gambit by historians of a certain type to write debunking revisionism. Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2008 by Mr. Derek J. Weston
Interesting but flawed
One of the now many books on Britain of the Blitz and one that thankfully dispenses with the sickening 'role out the barrels', 'business as ususal' stuff that we were all taught... Read more
Published on 5 May 1999
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