The Longest Night: The Bombing of London on May 10, 1941

by Gavin Mortimer

“An emotionally stirring account of the single most devastating attack on London during the Blitz… A captivating and important contribution… History that reads like a novel.”— Kirkus
 
The untold story of the massive bombing raid that almost brought Britain to military collapse, The Longest Night  reveals just how close the Luftwaffe came to total victory. On the night of May 10, 1941, Nazi Germany sent some five hundred aircraft to drop more than seven hundred tons of explosives on London. This vivid, dramatically told account depicts how fate shifted based on Hitler's mistaken belief that he'd actually lost the air war over Britain, and portrays the unsurpassed, "we-can-take-it" bravery of the British people when they'd been pushed beyond all human endurance.

“An excellent book… Gavin Mortimer has interviewed scores of survivors for his gripping narrative.”—Andrew Roberts, The Wall Street Journal

 

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, London, British Literature, Aviation, War

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

For a detailed biography, to learn more about all the books I have written and to discover my forthcoming projects, please visit my website at the above link.

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fascinating and most educational documentary about the terrible night on 29 December 1940 in which the Nazis carried out a sustained bombing attack against London, targeting and almost destroying St Paul's Cathedral (which had burned down twice in its twenty year history) and scorching a mile of the city.
Through a series of interviews, real footage and dramatic recreations, we get an idea of the terror, devastation and sacrifices which the ordinary people of London went through. And this is what makes this an incredibly pivotal book for anyone with an interest in these events, Should be studied is all schools when studying this period.

Nazi Germany aimed to break the will of the British people but as a citizen of London who lived through the blitz tells us they underestimated the will and valour of the British people. The vicious incendiary bombing of London only strengthened their determination to fight on and their hatred of the Nazi evil. some really poignant and heartbreaking parts.

A lot of young British people are not aware of the devastation caused by the blitz which makes this a truly important documentary. The British people may need to once again prove their metal, in an age of global terrorism and jihad
Britain is suffering Islamic terror now - don not forget the 7 July London tube bombings the murder of Lee Rigby , the June 2017 London Bridge stabbing attack, and the May 2017 Manchester Arena attack where little girls were blown up and killed or maimed for going to see their favourite pop star.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

One line from the book struck me especially. A surbivor of the terrible night of May 10, 1941, recalled, "I learned to hate the Germans." You can only understand why after reading about the horrors of that raid. The Germans were fighting a war, true, but for a regime that would have done the same to anyone who stood in their way. The book speaks of the tragic losses in lives and in history as buildings burnt down after standing for centuries. Hopefully, it will never happen again, and thankfully the great city was able to survive.

[Melissa McShane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished this book exactly 75 years to the day after the events recorded. That was coincidence, but it did give the read a little more significance. This account of the most severe bombing London endured during the Blitz is told through the lives of its survivors, many of whom Mortimer interviewed. That gives it maybe too personal a touch, as he also recounts events through the eyes of people he couldn't possibly have met or known their thoughts. I also wish he'd cut down on the number of people he followed, because it was sometimes difficult to keep track of who was who. As a snapshot in time, however, it's poignant. I didn't realize just how many Londoners remained in their homes while the bombing went on, nor how much resentment there was by lower-class Londoners of those of the well-to-do whose homes (due to the pattern of German bombing) were rarely in danger. An interesting read if you want a glimpse of the war through the eyes of the people who lived it.

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engrossing account of the London blitz but as seen through the first responders, citizens and even those in the clergy. The citizens of London lived through night after night of bombing but found an inner strength to help them survive the loss and devastation. The personal accounts from so many of the survivors had a common theme of putting their fears aside and doing whatever they could to help out others in need of comfort, aide and support. After the worst night of bombing on 10 May 1941, those same people put out fires, pulled survivors and victims from the wreckage and cleared debris and rubble from the streets to help emergency vehicles pass through. No one that survived that night knew that the worst was behind them and in retrospect, no one realized how close the people of London were to giving up. While reading this account I found it necessary to keep in mind that while this tragic story was about the London Blitz, the same story and worse, happened throughout Europe during this time of conflict. Towns were completely obliterated and countless innocent lives were lost on both sides of the war. For those interested, "Inferno: The Fiery Destruction of Hamburg, 1943" by Keith Lowe was an exceptional and heartbreaking account of the bombing and razing of an entire city.

[❀⊱RoryReads⊰❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, with lots of numbers and a long, boring, pointless account of a football match. There are some interesting stories here, including the memories of an actor from Fawlty Towers, however, there are a number books about the blitz that are far more compelling.

[gemsbooknook Geramie Kate Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE LONGEST NIGHT BY GAVIN MORTIMER
April 4, 2022
Edit
‘The bloodiest night of the London Blitz

The Blitz is one of the best-known events of the Second World War. It affected more British people than any other ‘battle’: soldier or civilian, man or woman, adult or child — the bombs made no distinction. Over 40,000 people were killed in the German air raids and many more were injured. The scars on London took 50 years to repair and even now there are sealed-up air raid shelters where the bodies remain entombed.

London’s firemen and emergency services did their jobs under a rain of bombs night after night, for eight months. Whole crews sometimes died as buildings collapsed on them: some of these heroes are commemorated today by having streets in the East End named after them.

Gavin Mortimer concentrates on one night: the particularly savage raids of 10-11 May 1941 to reveal what it was like to experience The Blitz. Based on interviews with survivors, his gripping minute-by-minute account recaptures a time when the very survival of this country hung in the balance.’

This book was amazing.

I have a huge interest in war history; especially WWII, so as soon as I saw this book I knew I had to read it. I went into this book with some knowledge of the Blitz but as I was reading this book I realized just how little I actually knew about the events that took place.

One of the things I loved most about this story was that it was about real people. It wasn’t a collection of facts and figures. It was a collection of human experiences that were equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking.

Gavin Mortimer has done a fantastic job with this book. The way in which he wove the various memories together in order to create a cohesive narrative while still keeping the people of London front and center in the story was utterly amazing.

I am so glad that I read this book as it has sparked an interest in me to find out more about the London Blitz.

The Longest Night by Gavin Mortimer is an absolute must-read for everyone.

Geramie Kate Barker
gemsbooknook.wordpress.com

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars - English Ebook

Review follows later.

[Nina Balassone · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m gonna start off this review by saying I would’ve never picked up this book if I didn’t have to read it for history. I was hopeful in the beginning because I found the topic really interesting, and I wanted to learn more about people’s stories, but the book was so difficult to follow along with. I felt the constant switch between characters and events was too confusing to understand. This could just be me, or the fact that this isn’t a genre that I would read often, or that I’m not used to this complex of a read, but I couldn’t appreciate the book because of how crazy the storyline was to me.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good POV book about the Blitz on this particular night, and really this night only for the most part. I recently saw a documentary about the Second Great Fire of London which was on Dec 29, 1940 and this book doesn't really reference earlier attacks much. It is totally centered around the experience of 24 people around London on May 10, 1941 and it's a very interesting read. Definitely made me wish I had asked my grandmother more about her WW2 experiences.

It captures some amazing scenes on this night--with more than 2,000 fires, 11,000 buildings in ruin, and 3,000 dead and wounded. "Another bunch of incendiaries fell, just a few meters in front of a prostitute coming up from Piccadilly. "She had an umbrella up," said Ballard, "and she was singing 'I'm Singing in the Rain.' The only rain coming down was the incendiary bombs." The brave prostitues of London feature a few times in that evening's events--a bucket chain of them forming up to help put out fires, looting from the lingerie store (that they helped save so the owner was okay with it), and dying in large numbers as a series of brothels scored a direct hit.

The sheer bravery and courage by all sorts of regular people is awe inspiring and this book does a good job to capture it in the recountings of firemen, ambulance drivers, the women manning the telephone and tea carts, and others.

[Greg Schloesser · Rating 3 out of 5]

The German bombardment of London during WWII still resonates with Englishmen -- and many others -- today. After the passing of nearly 70 years, however, there are little visible remains of the terrible destruction wrought by these "blitzes". Gavin Mortimer's book provides first-hand accounts from those who experienced the worst bombing of London, which occurred on May 10, 1941. Hitler's attention turned to the Soviet Union shortly thereafter, so no subsequent air raids over London proved anywhere near as severe and destructive.

The book is filled with stories from folks who witnessed and experienced the bombings. Some of these stories are riveting, while others seem somewhat superflous. Indeed, the biggest drawback of the book is that there are simply too many stories and too many characters. It is difficult to keep track of them all. Still, I am happy that their stories have been preserved for antiquity.

I also appreciate how he informed readers of the lives of many of the main characters mentioned in the book.

I would not consider this a must read for WWII fans, but the first hand stories did help one understand life during the blitz.

[Blake Bouza · Rating 5 out of 5]

The idea that the Blitz happened is always something I've known, but I wanted to UNDERSTAND it. I wanted to understand how people could live every day lives while bombs fell around them every night, friends and neighbors dying all around you, never sure if you're next or will make it to the next holiday.
I expected this book to be informative, but I didn't expect it to be beautiful.
Mr. Mortimer does a fantastic job highlighting the horrors of the Blitz to one night, May 10, while providing info on the larger state of things as it becomes necessary.
He begins the book from the perspective of a Nazi general looking at a map of London and tracing the route his bombers would take with a finger.
The rest of the book follows that path as Mortimer weaves into and out of the lives of everyday Londoners - cabbies, singers, firefighters, pilots, actors, and railwaymen. The military detail is as sharp as the human insights.
I can't wait to read this book again, and it definitely scratched the big itch I've had for a while now about the Blitz.

[Tobias · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing book which granularises the history of the blitz by zooming into a single night of May 10th 1941 - the worst night of the blitz. It tells the story of a hundred or so people scattered across the capital on that night and the gritty and horrific details of the bombs and fires they experienced. There is also memoirs from the Germans bombers and British fighter pilots who took part. The blitz as a whole has since become part of the subconscious memory of London as a city and its fascinating to see the lid lifted on this nightmare of 70 odd years ago.

[Gerry Welsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Must admit I eventually had to skim many chapters. I am very interested in this topic but the presentation of the material was somewhat repetitive and boring. Book would benefit greatly from inclusion of maps for readers not familiar with all neighborhoods and landmarks. Photos of people mentioned were marginally compelling. More photos of areas impacted by bombing would be better.

[Lee Harrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much has been written over the decades since the war ended of the horrific experiences endured by soldiers and sailors in World War II. This book focuses primarily on the impact of the war on the citizens of London during the Blitz, especially the night of 10 May 1941. I came through the book with two strong impressions. First and foremost is the sheer insanity of an incendiary bombing attack on civilian targets. Second is the absolute stoicism and strength of character of the British at that time in history.
The book is well researched and written. The author found innumerable first hand accounts of the events of that dreadful night. He was successful in finding many survivors of the bombing who told him their stories in the most remarkably glib, matter of fact terms. Firemen rushing about, saving lives, dodging falling buildings and then stopping a while for a quick cup of tea!
This book, more so than any battle narrative, gives the reader an idea of what “total war” really means. The people of Great Britain, the Soviet Union, France, Italy and Germany found out what that concept entails and we should all pray that we never have to experience it.

[Jason Baskerville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting and informative look at what life during an armed conflict can be like for the civilians and civil authorities. During this read, I noticed some interesting facts: 1) Tea is the solution for everything in London - it is mentioned many times, often while bombs are dropping and people are working hard to save London; 2) There are many parallels in this account to what we've just faced in the pandemic over the last 3 years: people categorized and denigrated for their choices, then revered as heroes (polarization - making people into villains or heroes in the press); people going about life as though nothing was happening - continuing on as normal; and an overwhelming amount of courage in the face of the unknown despite personal cost. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun. We would be wise to remember that and make our choices accordingly.

[Elizabeth Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took some time to get into this book, but once I did, I was hooked. There was a lot of detail, which at times was overwhelming, but there were plenty of stories about individuals that made up for it. While the description of the devestation of London was horrifying, the most haunting part for me was the epilogue - so many people were there in London, helping others through the chaos, fear, and unknown future, and yet many of them have passed on now. I highly recommend reading this book if you get the chance.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow! Detailed is right. The author buried me in the minutae of the many people he tracks over that longest night. I knew a bit about the challenge that the Blitz represented but I had no idea really. But having said that, I'm not sure after about Chapter 14, how much more of the details were actually necessary to make the point. It just seemed to go on and on, one building fire after another, all more or less the same: incendiaries, fires everywhere, overwhelmed firemen, building burns to the ground.

Still a good book if a bit overkilled.

[Beth Cloues · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson, I found this book on Bookbub. It is a good complement to the previous book mentioned. It makes clear the human cost of the battle through actual people’s experiences. As a coincidence, I finished it on the same day as the last major battle of the Blitz took place.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

very interesting...wish I knew London better to better understand the places he talked about.

[Cathy M. Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review

Point of view from Londoners during large German bombing raid of May 10, 1941. One of those things you just normally don't hear about.

[Shane Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic read about the deadliest night of the Nazi blitz on London!!

[Robert Drumheller · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is hard to imagine the horror of bombs being dropped around you. The book brings out the horror of warfare.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather complete anecdotal account of the heaviest bombing of London during the Blitz and the work of the fire brigades. May 10, 1941.

[Juliana AD · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of information is presented in this book, however it is constantly switching between stories which makes it hard to follow. I ended up skimming the second half of the book in order to finish it.

[Julie K Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and a good insight into what Londoners endured during WWII. A little more detail than I cared for, describing but types of bombs etc. but nonetheless a good documentation of history.

[EJ]

Read for study abroad

[Mitchell Godkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good read!

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and detailed story of the ‘worst night’ of the London blitz, chiefly drawn from eyewitness accounts.

[Derek Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love history. This was a little history and pages upon pages of minutiae - who walked which route to work, where they shopped, which singers played at which clubs. I tried hard to stay with it, but abandoned it about half way through.

[Kathryn Pulman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was obvious that a lot of research went into this, but it felt like a bit too much information at times.