Metropolis at War: London

This book covers the years of terror and death faced by the metropolis of London during World War II. This is about the city and its people, not about war strategies, generals and politicians, although historical currents flowed through the city during the war. The city expected to be invaded. It was subject to starvation. It was bombed during a two-year period. Later, it was the first great city subjected to on-going rocket and missile attacks, including the V-2 Rocket, forerunner of the intercontinental ballistic missile. While terror rained down, the people of the city carried on with their lives, fought back, organized resistance and worked on ways to defeat the enemy. Film studios cranked out movies, theaters continued with shows. People lived and loved, even as others died in the bomb and rocket attacks. Spies and counterspies worked in the city. New nations were in the throes of birth, including Israel, India, and Pakistan. Exiles from dozens of nations flocked to the city. In the end, the city—and nation—survived and went on to thrive. Compared to those days, the “terror” threat of today seems far less menacing.