I am a Max Hastings fan and this book does not disappoint. He has done his homework with his usual attention to detail and laid out how the Bomber Command began and evolved into what it became during the war. Like most histories of the bombing effort, he traces the history from WWI through the non-war years through WWII. The non-war years pretty much cast the command's future and greatly limited its options. Although many deplored area bombing and injury to citizens, even after the London blitz, there was no means of accurately dropping bombs in industrial areas other than area bombing. Further, as the effort was forced into a night operation, the target aiming was exacerbated greatly. Further, the failure to develop bomber defensive weaponry and failure to provide enough coverage with the weapons on board made the survivability of the crew dicey at best.After the London blitz, attitudes among some leadership on bombing German civilians began to shift to the affirmative for revenge and also to break their morale. Hastings tracks this and the on-going drama that shapes Bomber Command and its role in the war. He records the whole gamut of issues, warts and all. This is a very informative book that has been well-researched.I had trouble on the delivery of this book the first time I ordered through Biblio. They took care of the issue and got me the book. The five-star rating also applies to their customer service.
