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Chastise

The Dambusters

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Chastise

By: Max Hastings
Narrated by: Peter Noble, Max Hastings
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THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A masterly history of the Dambusters raid from bestselling and critically acclaimed Max Hastings.

Operation Chastise was one of the most extraordinary episodes of the Second World War, yet it has also become one of the most misunderstood.

Max Hastings tells the gripping story of the Dambusters raid, from the invention of the bouncing bomb to the moonlit cockpits of young pilots flying at treetop height through lethal enemy fire. But Hastings also challenges what we think we know about the Dambusters, bringing to light the difficult truths that have often been left out of the legend.

‘Brings it to life as never before … Hour by nerve-jangling hour’ Daily Mail

‘Superb … The heroes shine, but their achievement haunts’ Times

‘A virtuoso performance from a veteran military historian. It is a white-knuckle narrative that brings clarity and insight to a much-loved tale, as well as offering a vital corrective to the drum-thumping conclusions of earlier books’ Sunday Times

Entertainment & Performing Arts Europe Film & TV Germany Great Britain Military World War Thought-Provoking Entertainment Inspiring Imperialism Aviation Submarine Air Force
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Critic reviews

Praise for Chastise
‘A virtuoso performance from a veteran military historian. It is a white-knuckle narrative that brings clarity and insight to a much-loved tale, as well as offering a vital corrective to the drum-thumping conclusions of earlier books.’ Sunday Times
‘Hastings recounts the actual raids with dramatic intensity … He brings us into those Lancasters, flying perilously low, straight into flak … Superb.’ Times
‘Thoughtful and gripping … This is a fine book combining great storytelling with a deep appreciation of the melancholy and waste that march in step with glory.’ Patrick Bishop, Telegraph
‘What is at stake in this revision of the old glorious narrative is something important. The debate over whether this particular raid mattered is, in miniature, the wider historiographical debate over the morals and efficacy of the whole bombing war … A powerful parable which might instruct us in our own confused times.’ Spectator
‘Hastings, who is a master of his craft, unfolds the story skilfully … It doesn’t matter how many times you have seen the film, or heard the story, this book is gripping from start to finish’ Keith Lowe, Literary Review
‘A riveting account that also shines a light on the fact that more than 1,400 civilians died in the floods that followed … It’s a monumental read’ Sun
‘A fine book about that moonlit Dambusters’ raid of 76 years ago, a worthy tribute to the men of 617 Squadron – and their hapless victims’ Sunday Express
‘A remarkable book … Combining formidable narrative power with equally potent explanatory insight, it situates the Dambusters Raid in the broader strategic context of World War II’ Washington Post
All stars
Most relevant
Detailed account of raid, its preliminaries and consequences. Well researched. Written and narrated. Tiresome that you require more words.

Superb account of Dambusters operation

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... But this was a fascinating listen peppered with facts and figures that I wasn't aware of.
A previous reviewer has complained that the book makes too much of the overall bombing policy of the time but I don't agree. Having a better understanding of the policy just emphasises the amazing achievement of this raid whether the results were as expected or not.

I've heard the story many times before ...

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If you were brought up with the memory of the 1955 film and tally ho tales of derring do the real story of the Dambusters is much more moving, tragically nuanced and morally ambiguous. A story of real people with all the flaws of real people which, doesn't detract from the heroism of their actions. Max Hastings also relates in moving detail the tragic loss of life sustained by the civilian population and foreign forced labourers caught in the deluge unleashed by the breached dams. Thought provoking and moving.

A Story of Real People and Moral Complexity

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Had to give up on this excellent book due to the appalling flat lack lustre narration.

Very irritating voice

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The best analysis of operation Chastise and its aftermath to be found. Precisely and succinctly read.

Essential history of Chastise

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