Firestorm, hardcover/paul addison

On the night of 13th and 14th February 1945, the RAF bombed the German city of Dresden, causing devastating fires which obliterated the historic city centre and killed many thousands of people.

Sixty years later, these raids remain one of the most notorious and also one of the most controversial episodes of the Second World War.

Firestorm: The Bombing of Dresden, 1945 assembles a cast of distinguished scholars, including Sebastian Cox, Nicola Lambourne, Soenke Neitzel, Richard Overy and Hew Strachan, to review the origins, conduct, and consequences of the raids.

Each contributor writes from his or her own perspective, offering the reader a panoramic reassessment of the evidence and the issues, including the question of whether or not the bombing of the city constitutes a war crime.

Firestorm cogently demonstrates the reasons why Dresden has come to symbolize the military and ethical questions involved in the waging of total war.