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Dresden by Frederick Taylor

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Dresden

Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing
Publish Date
14 May 2026
Run Time
21 hours 18 minutes
Format
Audiobook

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What to expect

Bloomsbury presents Dresden by Frederick Taylor, read by Gordon Griffin

The definitive story of the shocking and controversial Allied bombing of Dresden

‘In narrative power and persuasion, he has paralleled in Dresden what Antony Beevor achieved in Stalingrad' Independent on Sunday

‘Well-researched and unpretentious ... fascinating ... Taylor skilfully interweaves various personal accounts of the impact of the raids' Guardian

At 9.51 p.m. on Tuesday 13 February 1945, Dresden's air-raid sirens sounded as they had done many times during the Second World War. But this time was different. By the next morning, more than 4,500 tons of high explosives and incendiary devices had been dropped on the unprotected city.

At least 25,000 inhabitants died in the terrifying firestorm and thirteen square miles of the city's historic centre, including incalculable quantities of treasure and works of art, lay in ruins. In this portrait of the city, its people, and its still-controversial destruction, Frederick Taylor has drawn on archives and sources only accessible since the fall of the East German regime, and talked to Allied aircrew and survivors, from members of the German armed services and refugees fleeing the Russian advance to ordinary citizens of Dresden.

Critics Review

  • ‘In narrative power and persuasion, he has paralleled in Dresden what Antony Beevor achieved in Stalingrad'

    Independent on Sunday

  • ‘A well-written, scholarly account'

    Guardian

  • ‘Well-researched and unpretentious ... fascinating ... Taylor skilfully interweaves various personal accounts of the impact of the raids'

    Michael Burleigh, Guardian

  • ‘Impressive ... Taylor weaves a chilling narrative from eyewitness accounts and painstaking documentary research, particularly with German sources. He explains the conceptual and strategic background with admirable clarity. His account of the air operation itself is quite superb'

    The Times

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Details

Author
Frederick Taylor
Narrator
Gordon Griffin
Duration
21 hours 18 minutes
Release Date
14 May 2026
ISBN
9781037206931
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing
Genre
Second World War, European history, Aircraft and aviation

Synopsis

Bloomsbury presents Dresden by Frederick Taylor, read by Gordon GriffinThe definitive story of the shocking and controversial Allied bombing of Dresden‘In narrative power and persuasion, he has paralleled in Dresden what Antony Beevor achieved in Stalingrad' Independent on Sunday‘Well-researched and unpretentious ... fascinating ... Taylor skilfully interweaves various personal accounts of the impact of the raids' GuardianAt 9.51 p.m. on Tuesday 13 February 1945, Dresden's air-raid sirens sounded as they had done many times during the Second World War. But this time was different. By the next morning, more than 4,500 tons of high explosives and incendiary devices had been dropped on the unprotected city. At least 25,000 inhabitants died in the terrifying firestorm and thirteen square miles of the city's historic centre, including incalculable quantities of treasure and works of art, lay in ruins. In this portrait of the city, its people, and its still-controversial destruction, Frederick Taylor has drawn on archives and sources only accessible since the fall of the East German regime, and talked to Allied aircrew and survivors, from members of the German armed services and refugees fleeing the Russian advance to ordinary citizens of Dresden.

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