Fiction

Bomber

Bomber

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  • Create Date：2021-04-07 00:51:25
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Len Deighton
  • ISBN：0241493706
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Summary

'Magnificent 。。。 rich with historical detail' The Times

31 June， 1943。 An RAF crew prepare for their next bombing raid on Germany。 It is a night that many will never forget。 Len Deighton's devastating novel is a gripping minute-by-minute account of what happens over the next twenty-four hours。 Told through the eyes of ordinary people in the air and on the ground - from a young pilot to the inhabitants of a small town in the Ruhr - Bomber is an unforgettable portrayal of individuals caught up in the wreckage of war。

'A superbly mobilised tragedy of the machines which men make to destroy themselves。 Masterly' Spectator

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Reviews

David Reid ，

Read many years ago- thought it was one of the best books I ever read

David ，

A Very interesting， carefully arranged， and effective novel。 Deighton spends roughly the first 35 to 40% of the book establishing a multitude of characters and making clear why the reader should care about them and generally wish them well， even the Germans who， for a reader who grew up in the first postwar generation of the Allies’， are automatically the villains。 Then the remainder of the novel focusses on the single bombing raid， wrongly targeted， in which most of those characters die。 It is A Very interesting， carefully arranged， and effective novel。 Deighton spends roughly the first 35 to 40% of the book establishing a multitude of characters and making clear why the reader should care about them and generally wish them well， even the Germans who， for a reader who grew up in the first postwar generation of the Allies’， are automatically the villains。 Then the remainder of the novel focusses on the single bombing raid， wrongly targeted， in which most of those characters die。 It is a tour de force of empathy。 。。。more

Lisa ，

Written in the multiple viewpoints style of "The Longest Day" and "Is Paris Burning？"， "Bomber" focuses on the 24 hours around a RAF bombing raid on a German town that goes terribly wrong。 We meet the RAF bomber pilots and their crews， the Luftwaffe night fighter pilots sent to intercept， German radar and artillery crews mounting a defense from the ground and the town residents struggling to survive the raid and dig out their loved ones from the smoking ruins of homes and businesses。 There are m Written in the multiple viewpoints style of "The Longest Day" and "Is Paris Burning？"， "Bomber" focuses on the 24 hours around a RAF bombing raid on a German town that goes terribly wrong。 We meet the RAF bomber pilots and their crews， the Luftwaffe night fighter pilots sent to intercept， German radar and artillery crews mounting a defense from the ground and the town residents struggling to survive the raid and dig out their loved ones from the smoking ruins of homes and businesses。 There are many acts of heroism on both sides， but ultimately few survivors。 The amount of research that went into this narrative is impressive and Deighton's descriptions of events are rich and meticulous。 。。。more

Demetrios Dolios ，

It really takes you there！ Look past the terms but take in that context for it shows that life was not simple then either。 You won’t read about heros and what’s even more interesting is that no one cries。

Matt Raubenheimer ，

A magnificently detailed and believable historical novel which covers a single day in the lives of characters both British and German， centred on a bombing raid carried out by RAF Bomber Command on a German town。 The novel takes its time introducing all of the numerous characters， and the result is that tension slowly builds towards the violence that is to come in the second half of the book。 The vivid description of the raid did not disappoint after all of the build up。 Len Deighton’s talent fo A magnificently detailed and believable historical novel which covers a single day in the lives of characters both British and German， centred on a bombing raid carried out by RAF Bomber Command on a German town。 The novel takes its time introducing all of the numerous characters， and the result is that tension slowly builds towards the violence that is to come in the second half of the book。 The vivid description of the raid did not disappoint after all of the build up。 Len Deighton’s talent for writing thrilling books， combined with his excellent knowledge of WWII make Bomber a special novel， and definitely up there with the best war novels I have read。 。。。more

Donmbrown ，

I had a strong emotional response to this book。 My intuition is that it very accurately portrays British Bomber Command in WWII。

Simon Alderton ，

Simply the best WW2 fiction book ever written。

Sujit Banerjee ，

Very crisp， very authentic and very poignant。

Daniel Bratell ，

After reading the war propaganda book Bombs Away by John Steinbeck I was deeply disappointed。 Instead of being a realistic story about the life on a bomber during WW2， it was a book written for the American military。 The purpose was not to describe anything real but to make it easier for the US Air Force to recruit people willing to perform the allied terror bombings。Immediately afterwards I was determined to find a better， more realistic book， but it is not a topic that attracts good authors。 T After reading the war propaganda book Bombs Away by John Steinbeck I was deeply disappointed。 Instead of being a realistic story about the life on a bomber during WW2， it was a book written for the American military。 The purpose was not to describe anything real but to make it easier for the US Air Force to recruit people willing to perform the allied terror bombings。Immediately afterwards I was determined to find a better， more realistic book， but it is not a topic that attracts good authors。 There is probably a mix of shame and the feeling everything is just too random to make a story seem meaningful。 Or it's just a depressing topic。One exception is this book， by Len Deighton， one of the major thriller writers of the second half of the 1900s。 This is not a thriller， but， as he describes it， a story about how the war machine chews up people and throws out bodies。 Paraphrased。The book takes place in a time frame of 24 hours in the summer of 1943 when 600 British bombers go for Krefeld in the Ruhr。 Deighton tries to cover a lot of different people and different places。 There are British bomber crews， parents to bomber crews， ground crew。 German villagers and pilots and radar operators。 Really too many people， but it was his choice。Deighton describes people in love， people hating each other， people that are experts at what they do and people that are novices or just incompetent。 The common factor is that they all clash in the skies over western Europe， or on the ground of western Europe if you are on the wrong side of explosives。It is clear that， opposite of Steinbeck， Deighton tries to convey that war sucks， and nothing sucks more than the randomness of area bombing。 People live or die based more on luck than anything else and very little is accomplished。The book is not a great literary piece but it's a valuable counter point to the war propaganda。 And a reminder that there are few good guys in a war。 It is also， intentionally or accidentally， rather mean against British upper class officers。 In the foreword Deighton says it didn't come out as he intended and he regrets that he created a fault line between the NCOs and the officers。 Maybe because it's distracting。 Maybe because it's misleading。If anything， I would have liked to see more of those who were missed by lady "fortune"。 Those that from luck came through unscathed。 Now the book mostly focuses on everything that went badly for people。As a historical tidbit， Len Deighton claims this is the first novel written at a certain IBM machine。 Since this was published in 1971， word processors was not something anyone had， so maybe he is right。 。。。more

Furnison ，

DNF

John Threadgill ，

The tragic tale of a fictional （but very realistic） bomber raid in 1943。Told from both sides。 The raid goes horribly wrong when the only pathfinder aircraft left is shot down and crashes near a town several miles from the intended target。 The bomber stream comes over and bombs the town instead of the industrial complex nearby。There are good and bad characters on both sides。 There are terrified victims on both sides。Really cutting novel on the futility of war and the barbarity of carpet bombing o The tragic tale of a fictional （but very realistic） bomber raid in 1943。Told from both sides。 The raid goes horribly wrong when the only pathfinder aircraft left is shot down and crashes near a town several miles from the intended target。 The bomber stream comes over and bombs the town instead of the industrial complex nearby。There are good and bad characters on both sides。 There are terrified victims on both sides。Really cutting novel on the futility of war and the barbarity of carpet bombing of civilian targets。 。。。more

William A。 ，

This is Len Deighton combining his love of history with his skill as a novelist。 Bomber is the story of man's inhumanity to man encapsulated in one 24 hour period。 Within this timespan the inanity of top army air force brass who care more about cricket than the war plays out while on the other side Hitler's Gestapo tracks down military officers who fight for the Reich but don't have their hearts in it。 Hapless civilians living in a small German town with no military or strategic value go about t This is Len Deighton combining his love of history with his skill as a novelist。 Bomber is the story of man's inhumanity to man encapsulated in one 24 hour period。 Within this timespan the inanity of top army air force brass who care more about cricket than the war plays out while on the other side Hitler's Gestapo tracks down military officers who fight for the Reich but don't have their hearts in it。 Hapless civilians living in a small German town with no military or strategic value go about their normal lives - that is until an awful mistake by allied Bombers brings the war to their doorstep。 If you read Catch-22， Slaughterhouse Five， Goodbye Mickey Mouse and want more this one's for you。 。。。more

Glass River ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 On Thursday， 28 June 2012 the Queen unveiled the absurdly belated memorial to the 55，573 young airmen of Bomber Command （including， as it happens， my father） who lost their lives during the Second World War。 That morning the one still-airworthy Lancaster dropped the corresponding number of red poppies on the rain-soaked capital， wholly mystifying litter to most Londoners。 There were sentimental editorials in the papers about ‘our bomber boys’。 The Dambusters theme echoed in the mind。 The event w On Thursday， 28 June 2012 the Queen unveiled the absurdly belated memorial to the 55，573 young airmen of Bomber Command （including， as it happens， my father） who lost their lives during the Second World War。 That morning the one still-airworthy Lancaster dropped the corresponding number of red poppies on the rain-soaked capital， wholly mystifying litter to most Londoners。 There were sentimental editorials in the papers about ‘our bomber boys’。 The Dambusters theme echoed in the mind。 The event was not celebrated in Dresden， Hamburg， or Berlin。 But why so long on the victors’ part？ The reason， of course， was that the Allies’ bombing campaign over Germany， even after all these years， was still politically radioactive。 There were those who saw the aerial bombardment as fighting back the only way they could。 Others saw it as ‘the most uncivilised means of warfare that the world had known since the Mongol invasions’。 Tellingly Winston Churchill – whose executive decision the British bombing campaign was – blanks it out in his history of the Second World War （for which he received the Nobel Prize for Literature – there being no Prize awarded for war）。 Len Deighton’s novel casts a cold eye on the event， tending towards the ‘Genghis Khan’ view of things。 The epigraph to Bomber starkly records the vast quantity of ordnance that was being dropped on North Vietnam at the time Deighton was writing。Bomber’s narrative is ‘circadian’ – one day and night in June 1943。 It climaxes with a night-time bombing raid on the industrial Ruhr by a force of 750 aircraft， which goes disastrously wrong when flares are dropped by Mosquito pathfinders on a harmless German village rather than a ‘legitimate’ industrial target。 The novel skips about， at bulletin speed， between various key locations。 They include the village which will suffer extermination by phosphorus and high explosive， a German anti-aircraft battery， a British RAF officers’ mess， and the Lancaster bombers themselves on their mission。 The plotline follows Sergeant Pilot Sam Lambert。 He is ‘uncommissioned’; he is by far the most able airman in the squadron but didn’t go to the right school， so no officers’ mess for him。 For Deighton the RAF is as class-ridden as the Bullingdon Society （Harry Palmer， the prole MI5 agent in The Ipcress File， makes the same Deightonish point）。 Lambert’s commanding officer wants him to play cricket in the camp’s team。 Sam declines to oblige， like Alan Sillitoe’s long-distance runner。 Lambert is also connived against by an ambitious officer （who did go to the right school）， who wants to poach the aircrew he has trained。 Lambert makes the mistake of voicing his socialist opinions and his scepticism about ‘strategic bombing’。 What have German children done to deserve incineration？ A dangerous question。Deighton is formidably well informed about aereonautics and the technical ‘specs of the Lanc’。 ‘I’d flown in Lancasters and Mosquitos during my time in the RAF’， he recalled， ‘and I knew many， many veterans of Bomber Command。’ He is as well up on the machineries and tactics of the German night-fighters – with whom， at times， his sympathies seem to lie。 ‘I spent a long time talking to Germans’， Deighton records。 For the British bomber crews the five per cent casualty rate every raid， and the sixty sorties which made up a ‘tour’ and marked retirement from active service， meant that they were ‘three times dead’ before the first take-off。 Lambert survives the raid and – to humiliate him – his commanding officer grounds him， putting the reluctant spin-bowler on latrine duties for the duration。 He will not， one guesses， vote for Churchill in 1945。 。。。more

Bruce Welton ，

A fascinating， tightly-written chronicle of many lives on or between two continents across 24 hours。 My appreciation of this book is Deighton’s acute attention to detail in the development of its locales， characters， procedures， and equipment described page by page。 He brings you vivid experiences in this book。

David Hambling ，

（Having actually flown in a Lancaster bomber I was expecting to enjoy this more）I think Deighton really wanted to write a non-fiction book。。。the narrative is drowned out by almost lunatic levels of technical data and asides， and the massive cast of characters are （perhaps necessarily？） all wafer-thin and in some cases virtual caricatures of RAF airmen distinguished only be regional accents。 It's a good antidote to traditional war stories， and probably very necessary at the time but perhaps by 20 （Having actually flown in a Lancaster bomber I was expecting to enjoy this more）I think Deighton really wanted to write a non-fiction book。。。the narrative is drowned out by almost lunatic levels of technical data and asides， and the massive cast of characters are （perhaps necessarily？） all wafer-thin and in some cases virtual caricatures of RAF airmen distinguished only be regional accents。 It's a good antidote to traditional war stories， and probably very necessary at the time but perhaps by 2019 the whole thing has been played out and we no longer have so many illusions。That said， the writing is very capable， the plot rolls along （slowed down by the technical freight） and the multiple plotlines converge and connect in satisfying ways。 With the right editor， this could have been quite a read。 It was never going to be Slaughterhouse-5， but it might have been a bit more human， 。。。more

Svein Asmussen ，

Excellent Deighton。 A must read。 The first novel written by a text proccesor is enouh to make it an interesting book。 The story unfolds in different plotlines， all packed into 24 hours of the total war that we call the second world war。 And this is about one bombing operation and thats it。 Then add up the 24 hours to cower the hole periode。 Add land， sea and other ellements and the brutality of the war gets multiplied in your mind， then it gives a smal picture of the rotal brutality。 Motorhead w Excellent Deighton。 A must read。 The first novel written by a text proccesor is enouh to make it an interesting book。 The story unfolds in different plotlines， all packed into 24 hours of the total war that we call the second world war。 And this is about one bombing operation and thats it。 Then add up the 24 hours to cower the hole periode。 Add land， sea and other ellements and the brutality of the war gets multiplied in your mind， then it gives a smal picture of the rotal brutality。 Motorhead with lead man Lemmy even mamed a song after this book。 。。。more

Thiago ，

This book was devastating。 It was stimulating， and gives a great look into WW 2 bombers and life。 Great book， I recommend to anyone who wants a sad， stimulating and good book。

Nicoleta ，

https://vdocuments。mx/bombardierul-vo。。。 https://vdocuments。mx/bombardierul-vo。。。 。。。more

Lorraine Medved ，

Book reviewGood fast action read based on true （？）storylines。The author did a fine job in writing about air warfare in World war teo

Howard Lambka ，

December 2019。 It is a long book。 The build up to the action of fying over Germany at night is a bit too long。 There is a lot of character development and it runs together so you have to be careful you are aware of which character is being examined。 However， reading into the bombing run and the night fighters attack on the British bombers is thrilling。 The descriptions of the action put the reader in the air with the combatants。A lot of research of combat flying went int this story。

Ross Nimmo ，

The greatest war fiction book EVER written。 The closest we'll ever come to realizing the horror of a thousand bomber raid， the bravery of the combatants on either side and the savagery of the machinery involved。My favorite book of all time！！ The greatest war fiction book EVER written。 The closest we'll ever come to realizing the horror of a thousand bomber raid， the bravery of the combatants on either side and the savagery of the machinery involved。My favorite book of all time！！ 。。。more

Tim Corke ，

A stunning piece of work that captures the horror of war and serves as a reminder that there is always incredible human loss and sadness regardless of the courage and bravery that is endured。

Tim Oliver ，

Simply the greatest novel of WW2 written， perhaps of all war。 It's universal message is relevant for any era - death is war's winner， no one else。 Superbly written， forensic detail， impeccable characters， viewpoints from every conceivable perspective。 Endlessly brilliant。 Simply the greatest novel of WW2 written， perhaps of all war。 It's universal message is relevant for any era - death is war's winner， no one else。 Superbly written， forensic detail， impeccable characters， viewpoints from every conceivable perspective。 Endlessly brilliant。 。。。more

Boris Feldman ，

This bomb is a dud。

Peter ，

They say that war is hell。。。 This book certainly does that statement justice。 No glorification。 No heroes。 No side better than the other。 Just death， destruction and awful coincidences。 Sorry to sound so negative。 It is actually an excellent read that gives much perspective， written in a time when World War II and the Allies were often glorified and the story one-sided。

Mr Roy Davidson ，

559 pages

Joe Rousmaniere ，

Very clinical。 Extraordinary。

Zoe Radley ，

Brilliant absolutely marvellous。。。 filled with suspense （ I never knew that talking about bombs and commands could be so dramatic） and drama not just of the British bombers but also of the everyday German people and their fighter planes。 It brings both sides perspectives in a parallel contrast to each other and makes both of them human。 There are a few characters who you hope with desperation will survive but as in life and war the surprises of their death stun you。 This is a book to read again Brilliant absolutely marvellous。。。 filled with suspense （ I never knew that talking about bombs and commands could be so dramatic） and drama not just of the British bombers but also of the everyday German people and their fighter planes。 It brings both sides perspectives in a parallel contrast to each other and makes both of them human。 There are a few characters who you hope with desperation will survive but as in life and war the surprises of their death stun you。 This is a book to read again and again love it 。。。more

Grant ，

Superb: one of the best war novels ever written。Story line: An RAF bombing raid on a German city， as experienced from several of those involved， on both sides。Absolutely brilliant - a masterpiece from Len Deighton。 I don't think I've been so engrossed in a book in my life。 Incredibly accurate and realistic。 No gung ho jingoism， no ridiculous plot developments， just a very plausible war story。The fact that it is told from both English and German sides， and then covers literally dozens of characte Superb: one of the best war novels ever written。Story line: An RAF bombing raid on a German city， as experienced from several of those involved， on both sides。Absolutely brilliant - a masterpiece from Len Deighton。 I don't think I've been so engrossed in a book in my life。 Incredibly accurate and realistic。 No gung ho jingoism， no ridiculous plot developments， just a very plausible war story。The fact that it is told from both English and German sides， and then covers literally dozens of characters， helps too。 Helps you understand just how it was for everyone involved in the air war in Europe。 Quite brutal too: no character is immortal， and some of the deaths come in unforeseen yet highly plausible fashions。This brutality and expendability combined with well-developed characters and individual story lines make the book highly engaging: you care about all the characters， want to see them survive and feel it when one of them dies。 What this also shows is just how cheap life was in these battles， and in war in general。A momentous work。 。。。more

Authorized Amy ，

Immersive reading。This hard to put down， fictionalized account of one day in the life of real WWII pilots from both sides， and those orbiting around them， is impressive in scope， detail and reality。A recommended read for those interested in history and the psychology of 20th century warfare。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Bomber

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Bomber&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Bomber&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0