Bombing the City is a much-needed study on the human and social costs of the aerial warfare of World War II. In this comparative history, Aaron William Moore provides insightful analysis of the firsthand accounts of citizens of Japan and Britain, two empires subject to heavy regimes of aerial bombing during periods of national mobilization in World War II and the Asia-Pacific War. This is not a story of innocents suffering, but rather of diverse individuals confronting the new reality of urban areas transformed into battlefields by rapidly evolving technologies of bombs and delivery systems. By examining an extensive collection of writings by noncombatants who lost their family, friends, and cities to aerial bombings, the book offers a window into the complexity and contradictions of life during total war.
In this social history, Moore brings to light a wealth of firsthand written accounts of ordinary people's experiences and memories, drawing...
