On September 7, 1940, the Blitz began. The strategic bombing of London, by over one thousand planes on that night alone, was recognised at the time as being a direct measure to break the country's resistance, 'softening' Britain's shores for the planned Operation Sealion. It was a day long feared and anticipated, but the physical, political and personal shockwaves it sent through the British population outstripped all expectations.

The First Day of the Blitz tells of the enormous impact that this new terror from the skies had on the British people and the course of the war. From bureaucratic preparations, massively underestimating the decimation of housing, through the actual bombs dropped in the later afternoon and early evening, to the individual, collective and official responses, Peter Stansky argues that the first twelve hours of bombing determined much of the future of Britain. Not only was the country's ultimate victory over Germany in evidence; so too was the need for a transformation of British society. The wave of terror designed to demolish morale quite literally put into question what the British people were made of.The fact and idea of their stoicism and courage was fused into myth; with the intense feeling of camaraderie came a new consciousness of national identity, which paved the way towards the New Jerusalem of Beveridge and the 1945 Labour victory. The bombardment that so radically altered the physical face of London also changed the whole conception of what it meant - and means - to be 'British'.

Weaving together a wide range of rich archival sources, among them newspaper reports, military documents, literary responses and unpublished testimonies, Peter Stansky gives a fascinating insight into the Blitz and a compelling analysis of what it signifies. It is an incisive account of British society at the very point of its transformation, and a timely examination of the first impact of terror in its modern form. We still live in the shadow of 'Black Saturday'; most relevantly to our concerns today, both the effectiveness of terror and its ultimate failure are made powerfully clear.

Peter Stansky is Frances and Charles Field Professor of History, Emeritus at Stanford University. He is the author of numerous distinguished works in the field of modern British social, cultural and political history, including Sassoon (Yale 2003).

'He offers a vivid account of how Londoners withstood attack. Recent events have shown how that resilient spirit lives into our own day.' - William Hay, Literary Review

'From the ruins of the buildings levelled on that first night, the myth of the Blitz, still potent today, arose. Stansky makes well-judged use of eyewitness accounts to highlight the reality behind that myth.' - Nick Rennison, Sunday Times

'...Stansky has trawled both the available British and American Blitz literature -- especially writer-witnesses such as George Orwell and Vera Brittain -- and the unpublished accounts of humbler folk. The result is a competent and workmanlike survey fo the most traumatic day in London's long life.' - Nigel Jones, Sunday Telegraph

'Through diligent and intelligent use of archival material, Stansky conveys the terror Londoners felt as the bombs rained down.' -Gavin Mortimer, BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine

'There is no shortage of books about the Blitz, but Peter Stanksky's is up there with the best.' - John O'Connell, Time Out

'The "Blitz" is now the stuff of legend, but from a wider perspective Stansky characterizes its failure as evidencing a fundamental transformation in the British psyche. Using a variety of archival sources and unpublished testimonies, he convincingly argues that in the darkness of the Blitz can be seen the birth of a new national identity -- one that paved the way for the 1945 Labour victory and the birth of the welfare state.' - The Good Book Guide

'Historian Stanksy uses first-hand accounts to discover that far from demoralising the people of Britain, the bombings inspired them to rise up and eventually conquer the Nazi enemy.' - Dorset Echo

'This is a fascinating narrative of the Blitz, and it covers much more than just the first day. It vividly contrasts the official version of the experience with first hand eyewitness accounts of firemen, wardens, rescuers and the bombed Londoners themselves.' - Ian Cawood, Birmingham Post

'The best of the books under review here, by a long chalk, is Peter Stansky's The First Day of the Blitz, which may sound like a narrow look at what lasted from 10 September to the following May but in fact covers much more than what the title suggests.' - Isabel Quigly, The Tablet