Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
Read for Free
OR
$5.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Sold by Amazon.com Services LLC.
Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Alexander McKee
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Dresden, 1945: The Devil's Tinderbox (Alexander McKee Presents: Key Engagements in World War II) Kindle Edition

by Alexander McKee (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 170 ratings
See all formats and editions
The eye-opening definitive account of the horrific fire-bombing of the undefended city of Dresden.

This history of one of the most controversial events of the Second World War should be an essential book for readers who wish to learn the true story behind Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five.

Prior to World War Two, Dresden had an international reputation a beautiful cultural centre, filled with architectural masterworks. Yet on 13th February 1945 the RAF and USAAF began an ‘all out’ attack on the city. On this night and the following two nights, 1,300 British and American aircraft dropped 5,000 tons of incendiary and high-explosive bombs. The total number of resident women and children, refugees, and prisoners-of-war in transit who died will never be known, but it is likely that the official figures of between 35,000 to 45,000 were vastly understated.

The strategic reasons for bombing Dresden were limited and by February 1945 it was becoming increasingly clear that the Allies would win the war. So, who are the men responsible for this horrific event, and what justifications did they make for ordering it?

Alexander McKee, the renowned historian, saw first-hand the results of the Allied bombing of the ‘friendly’ French towns of Caen and Lisieux, as well as the destruction of enemy-held Emmerich and Arnhem, while serving with the 1st Canadian Army. Haunted by these scenes as well as the sheer barbarity of the Dresden raid, McKee interviewed survivors of the attack and the Allied airmen who flew in the raids, to provide a personal view of this atrocity, which is supported by a thorough examination of the official records.

‘A salutary reminder of the excesses to which democracies, too, may be prone under the pressures of war’ The Observer

‘a compelling account of the destruction of Dresden.’ The Journal of Historical Review

‘A worthy attempt to "bring out the terrible truth" about the Allied fire-bombing of Dresden at the close of World War II — widely condemned at the time and made indelible in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five. … [How] the author interweaves myriad individual stories and the extensive eyewitness testimony is potent.’ Kirkus Reviews

‘McKee's book is rigorously fair-minded and does not take the easy option of moral denunciation of the Allies, who were divided among themselves and still had a war to fight.’ The Irish Times
Previous slide of product details
  1. Part of series
    Alexander McKee Presents: Key Engagements in World War II
  2. Print length
    423 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    August 4, 2024
  5. File size
    2.5 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
Next slide of product details

Great on Kindle
Great Experience. Great Value.
iphone with kindle app
Putting our best book forward
Each Great on Kindle book offers a great reading experience, at a better value than print to keep your wallet happy.

Explore your book, then jump right back to where you left off with Page Flip.

View high quality images that let you zoom in to take a closer look.

Enjoy features only possible in digital – start reading right away, carry your library with you, adjust the font, create shareable notes and highlights, and more.

Discover additional details about the events, people, and places in your book, with Wikipedia integration.
Get the free Kindle app: Link to the kindle app page Link to the kindle app page
Enjoy a great reading experience when you borrow the Kindle edition of this book with your Kindle Unlimited membership. Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories.

Shop this series

See full series
See included books
Shop this series
There are 5 books in this series.
Bundle price: Kindle price
$17.97
Bundle price: Kindle price
$29.95
By placing your order, you're purchasing a license to the content and you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use.

This option includes 3 books.

This option includes 5 books.

Something went wrong.
Please try again.
Bundle price: Kindle price
$17.97
Bundle price: Kindle price
$29.95
By placing your order, you're purchasing a license to the content and you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use.

Customers also bought or read

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
  17. Patton the Commander
    Kindle Edition
    $5.99
Next page
Loading...

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

9 1.5-hour cassettes

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D3CVF4M1
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sapere Books (August 4, 2024)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 4, 2024
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.5 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 423 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1800559895
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 170 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Alexander McKee

Alexander McKee

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
170 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Dr. Physics
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Well researched. A humanely told history of the firebombing of a cultural city with no tactical military benefit. A war crime.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Benjamin E. Griffith
    4.0 out of 5 stars Gets you out of your comfort zone
    Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This is a somewhat tedious but graphic portrayal of the bombing of Dresden that forever changed this gem of baroque wonder and symbol of the highest level of artistic expression. Today Dresden has rebuilt from the ashes of February 13-15, 1945, but the tragedy of this particular “military operation” continues to haunt those who in their way helped bring WWII to an end. War is hell, and the ground level view in Dresden during and after the bombing illustrates that hell exquisitely.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Hans Dieter Wulf
    5.0 out of 5 stars Revisionist Review
    Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2005
    Dresden 1945 is an revisionist's dream. McKee, a Canadian veteran of the war who entered the Western Front in March 1945 and was assigned to serve in the British Zone for seven years has written a clear account of the successful Allied effort at mass genocide of the innocent. McKee explores the military planning, the morality and eventual responsibility that the allies face in making the decision to murder hundreds of thousands of civilians. Brandy soaked Churchill's erratic personality and military decision making capabilities are rightfully questioned particularly when it came to his decision to firebomb Dresden to impress Uncle Joe Stalin. McKee is not afraid to use statistics to support his findings. For example, British civilian losses in 5 and one-half years of war were 60,595 where in Germany and elsewhere to include Holland, Belgium, France, Italy and other countries were in the millions. He is not bashful to show that the demi-god Monty boasted that the Germans could no longer mount any offensives in December 1945 henceforth the Ardennes Offensive was a complete surprise to the egotistical and inept British commander. Dresden's firebombing should have never taken place. McKee's estimates of 35,000 to 70,000 deaths are of course too low and are partly based on Communist propaganda. German Police and Governmental death toll figures which have been hidden for decades show that in 15 hours of bombing, Churchill was personally responsible for the deaths of over 480,000 people. This story of another Allied War Crime which would fit nicely under its own 1945 Nuremberg War Crimes definitions is a dramatic truth that needed to be told regardless of some arrogant Allied protests.
    30 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • joe-maryland
    3.0 out of 5 stars too long obvious author bias
    Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This is an interesting book, but goes on and on and on and on and on. Besides for that, the author repeats the same accounts more than once, so you can do some skipping.
    There is an obvious bias here where the author thinks of the RAF and "Bomber" Harris as basically evil incarnate.
    Was firebombing Dresden something that should have been done? Probably not, but you will need to read more than this book to make up your mind.
    4 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • RZ
    1.0 out of 5 stars One Sided
    Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2024
    Very biased, analysis became predictable as the book wore on.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Odin
    1.0 out of 5 stars Nazi apologist with an axe to grind.
    Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2015
    Fact is, Dresden was of major strategic importance and a the largest transportation hug in the Third Reich was both heavily defended by ground forces and fortifications and it was in front of the advancing Russian army, who would have taken massive casualties had the city remained untouched. It was a major manufacturing hub of everything from AA guns to poison gas to aircraft components (and other industries, many of which that relied on slave labour), and the supposedly innocent refugees were Germans who had settled on land whose legitimate inhabitants had been murdered for their benefit by the German government.
    Furthermore, the area bombing tactics used were a result there being no other options due to the lack of accuracy - neither the USAAF nor the RAF had the ability to target specific buildings, or even blocks, but instead had to use a shotgun approach, which naturally aimed for the city centre. In addition, he treats the Dresden bombing in a moral vacuum, forgetting the much greater atrocities committed by the Germans, whose aggression extended to invading and murdering civilians in all of their neighbours, including France, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia and others.
    Atrocities the bombing of Dresden helped end by making it abundantly obvious to a large portion of the German Army that it had could not win.
    The propaganda value alone of a city the size of Dresden being utterly destroyed, through which many troops retreating from Russian advanced had to pass through shortened the war.
    None of which you'll hear from the author.
    29 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report