Holland is excellent on telling detail...This is a notable account of an epic human experience, told with the informality and enthusiasm that distinguish Holland's work...If the story is familiar, Holland tells it with authority and exuberant panache

Holland is one of a new generation of historians who were born long after the war but who bring to the subject a freshness and proper spirit of enquiry. A great achievement

Excellent on all the technicalities of the conflict ... full of lively pen portraits and unusual insights

Stuffed with personal accounts that drive the narrative along at a cracking pace

Ambitious and comprehensive ... the pace never flags as the narrative ranges effortlessly from the cockpit of the Spitfire to the gallery of the House of Commons

Comprehensive and readable

Holland is superb at switching the focus of the action while maintaining the pace and drama of the story

A definitive record...The fact we won is remarkable, and Holland brings the events vividly to life *****

A full and fascinating account...Edge-of-the-seat exciting

Holland is a narrative historian par excellence who believes that people should be at the heart of any story and brings the characters of the age to life...[an] excellent, highly-readable volume

Full of lively accounts of aerial contests and well-observed details.

History told with panache and an excellent grasp of the technical details

Holland's narrative is impressively comprehensive and is a superb introduction to one of the great turning points of the last war. More importantly it is stirring, occasionally even exhilarating, as any history of this period is obliged to be

A fitting, and beautifully illustrated, tribute to the Few, while not forgetting the unsung heroes of Bomber Command

McKay recounts the story of Dresden's destruction through the recollections of those who miraculously survived, creating a kaleidoscope of experience . . . His prose, even when describing gruesome destruction, is often breathtakingly beautiful. This superbly rendered story allows the reader entry into the soul of an extraordinary city

A carefully researched, finely written and moving account of one of the great tragedies of 20th-century history

There have been many books on the bombing of Dresden (not least Kurt Vonnegut's novel, "Slaughterhouse Five"), but Sinclair McKay's account is a worthy addition. McKay's purpose is neither to condemn nor condone, but to record what happened and why. Above all, he rejoices in the modern city's resurrection

Accomplished

Rich and colourful . . . [there is] a vividness and poignancy that other accounts have lacked

McKay's book is better than narrative history. It is biography, but of place, rather than person. He makes Dresden come alive, before, during, and after the infernal 13th

A passionate and original account of the Allied bombing of Dresden in 1945, one of the most controversial evens of the Second World War

A weighty and considered investigation of events . . . an excellent book . . . providing a reliable, engaging, informative and, above all, sober narrative of events. The book will enable readers to make up their own minds - should they so desire - on the rights and wrongs of the matter. It is highly recommended

This minute-by-minute retelling tackles the big questions, but also - by drawing on the letters and diaries from the Dresden City Archive - never loosed sight of the experiences of people who witnessed, and suffered, the attach first-hand

It's a wonderful book, so absorbing, thoughtful and thought provoking, I didn't want it to end

The story of the Allied bombing of Dresden in 1945 is well known, but McKay's searing account is in a league of its own. His research is first-class, his writing elegant and emotive. He is brilliant at portraying the city's prewar beauty, grimly powerful on the horror of the firestorm, and moving and thoughtful about Dresden's rise from the ashes. By the end, I was itching to jump on a flight to Germany. That tells you about the skill and spirit of this terrific book