I’m away travelling this week: as mentioned previously, I am leading a training course on SOA, service-oriented IT architectures. Somewhat surprisingly, my client requested the course to take place in Mombasa, Kenya, at their annual company conference… so here I am. Africa is fascinating and full of contrasts, teaching requires a lot of energy so I’d rather restrict myself to this one post during the week, commencing more reqular updates again next week.

However, I’d like to share my impressions about the newest book acquisition which became my companion during this trip. A leisurely visit to a bookstore is one of the better things one can do during a stop between the flights at Heathrow. This time I grabbed Joshua Levine’s Forgotten Voices of the Blitz and the Battle of Britain, in paperback edition and sold at 2 pounds’ discount.

The sole purpose of this purchase was to have something easy to read during my next flight to Africa. For this purpose, I was attracted by the non-sequential nature of the book. However, it turned out to be lots more than that and I read it end-to-end during the following days. There have been hundreds of history books about the Battle of Britain and I can say I have read a few of them before. This one is different from the most and worth having even if you are already familiar with the events of the BoB.

Basically, the entire book is a collection of short excerpts from interviews, radio broadcasts etc. made with people who experienced the Battle of Britain and the Blitz first-hand. Imperial War Museum’s sound archive is quoted as the prime source of information. The gallery of interviewees is vast, including not only pilots, but soldiers, airmen, fire-fighters, air-raid wardens, civilians, WAAFs and more. Each short piece constitutes a small story in its own right, and they have been cleverly organized into subject areas. Everything about the Battle of Britain is there – the defeat in France, the air battles, fate of parachuting airmen, McIndoe’s guinea pigs, night life, the bombing, the Poles, the stress, misery and horror, but also humor and glory.

One is struck by the directness of the story – there is no commentary by a historian giving you a “balanced” view of the events. On the contrary, if various people perceived events differently, it is dutifully reflected in the text. This kind of “raw” history is trustworthy, direct, moving. It gives the reader an insight about the people and their lives under these extraordinary times that few other history books can provide.

If there is anything missing in the book it’s the larger share of German voices. Contrary to what is suggested on the cover, these are limited to interviews with comparatively few German aircrew, contrasting with the vast array of British sources.

If you are interested in broader wartime history, this book is a highly recommended read.