About the Author

A. C. Grayling is Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of several books, among them Meditations for the Humanist, and biographies of Rene Descartes and William Hazlitt. A fellow of the World Economic Forum and past chairman of the human rights organization, June Fourth, he contributes frequently to the Financial Times and the Economist. He lives in London.

Reviews

"A probing, thoughtful meditation...The excellence of Among the Dead Cities, however, rests less on Grayling's deductions than his provision of enough information and argument for readers with alternate premises to draw different conclusions. That richness makes wrestling with his views a demanding intellectual exercise." --Carlin Romano, Philadelphia Inquirer"Was the indiscriminate bombing of civilians--in Hamburg, in Dresden, in Tokyo, in Hiroshima, in Nagasaki--justifiable militarily, or was it 'in whole or in part morally wrong'?... Almost immediately one senses what [Grayling's] answer will be--an unequivocal "Yes"--but he must be given full credit for reaching that conclusion only after a careful, nuanced analysis...If there was no military justification for the bombings, then there cannot possibly be a moral one, and Grayling's judgment that they were immoral seems to me exceedingly difficult to refute." --Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post"In an age of political terror, when it is urgent to come up with a persuasive distinction between legitimate and illegitimate violence, it is hard to overstate the importance of the questions Grayling raises." --Fredric Smoler, American Heritage"In his timely examination of "area bombing," which targeted civilian populations for destruction during World War II, British philosopher A.C. Grayling brings a fresh perspective to some of the great questions of modern history...and gives answers that should broaden thinking about how the United States conducts its global war on terrorism and its conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan." --G. Pascal Zachary, San Francisco Chronicle"In this book, one of the world's most passionate and articulate humanists attends to one of the twentieth-century's largest unexploded moral conundrums...Grayling's verdict is surprising not in ultimately condemning the attacks but in doing so in an elegantly blunt fashion that simultaneously radiates profound compassion for the perpetrators." --Booklist, starred review

A probing, thoughtful meditation...The excellence of "Among the Dead Cities," however, rests less on Grayling's deductions than his provision of enough information and argument for readers with alternate premises to draw different conclusions. That richness makes wrestling with his views a demanding intellectual exercise. "Carlin Romano, Philadelphia Inquirer" Was the indiscriminate bombing of civilians--in Hamburg, in Dresden, in Tokyo, in Hiroshima, in Nagasaki--justifiable militarily, or was it in whole or in part morally wrong'?... Almost immediately one senses what [Grayling's] answer will be--an unequivocal "Yes"--but he must be given full credit for reaching that conclusion only after a careful, nuanced analysis...If there was no military justification for the bombings, then there cannot possibly be a moral one, and Grayling's judgment that they were immoral seems to me exceedingly difficult to refute. "Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post" In an age of political terror, when it is urgent to come up with a persuasive distinction between legitimate and illegitimate violence, it is hard to overstate the importance of the questions Grayling raises. "Fredric Smoler, American Heritage" In his timely examination of "area bombing," which targeted civilian populations for destruction during World War II, British philosopher A.C. Grayling brings a fresh perspective to some of the great questions of modern history and gives answers that should broaden thinking about how the United States conducts its global war on terrorism and its conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. "G. Pascal Zachary, San Francisco Chronicle" In this book, one of the world's most passionate and articulate humanists attends to one of the twentieth-century's largest unexploded moral conundrums Grayling's verdict is surprising not in ultimately condemning the attacks but in doing so in an elegantly blunt fashion that simultaneously radiates profound compassion for the perpetrators. "Booklist, starred review""

"A probing, thoughtful meditation...The excellence of "Among the Dead Cities," however, rests less on Grayling's deductions than his provision of enough information and argument for readers with alternate premises to draw different conclusions. That richness makes wrestling with his views a demanding intellectual exercise."--Carlin Romano, "Philadelphia"" Inquirer"
"Was the indiscriminate bombing of civilians--in Hamburg, in Dresden, in Tokyo, in Hiroshima, in Nagasaki--justifiable militarily, or was it 'in whole or in part morally wrong'?... Almost immediately one senses what [Grayling's] answer will be--an unequivocal "Yes"--but he must be given full credit for reaching that conclusion only after a careful, nuanced analysis...If there was no military justification for the bombings, then there cannot possibly be a moral one, and Grayling's judgment that they were immoral seems to me exceedingly difficult to refute."--Jonathan Yardley, "Washington"" Post"
"In an age of political terror, when it is urgent to come up with a persuasive distinction between legitimate and illegitimate violence, it is hard to overstate the importance of the questions Grayling raises."--Fredric Smoler, "American Heritage"
"In his timely examination of "area bombing," which targeted civilian populations for destruction during World War II, British philosopher A.C. Grayling brings a fresh perspective to some of the great questions of modern history and gives answers that should broaden thinking about how the United States conducts its global war on terrorism and its conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan."--G. Pascal Zachary, "San Francisco Chronicle"
"In this book, one of the world's most passionate and articulate humanists attends to one of the twentieth-century's largest unexploded moral conundrums Grayling's verdict is surprising not in ultimately condemning the attacks but in doing so in an elegantly blunt fashion that simultaneously radiates profound compassion for the perpetrators."-- "Booklist," starred review"

" A probing, thoughtful meditation...The excellence of "Among the Dead Cities," however, rests less on Grayling's deductions than his provision of enough information and argument for readers with alternate premises to draw different conclusions. That richness makes wrestling with his views a demanding intellectual exercise." -- Carlin Romano, "Philadelphia"" Inquirer"
" Was the indiscriminate bombing of civilians-- in Hamburg, in Dresden, in Tokyo, in Hiroshima, in Nagasaki-- justifiable militarily, or was it ' in whole or in part morally wrong' ?... Almost immediately one senses what [Grayling' s] answer will be-- an unequivocal " Yes" -- but he must be given full credit for reaching that conclusion only after a careful, nuanced analysis...If there was no military justification for the bombings, then there cannot possibly be a moral one, and Grayling's judgment that they were immoral seems to me exceedingly difficult to refute." -- Jonathan Yardley, "Washington"" Post"
" In an age of political terror, when it is urgent to come up with a persuasive distinction between legitimate and illegitimate violence, it is hard to overstate the importance of the questions Grayling raises." -- Fredric Smoler, "American Heritage"
" In his timely examination of " area bombing, " which targeted civilian populations for destruction during World War II, British philosopher A.C. Grayling brings a fresh perspective to some of the great questions of modern history... and gives answers that should broaden thinking about how the United States conducts its global waron terrorism and its conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan." -- G. Pascal Zachary, "San Francisco Chronicle"
" In this book, one of the world's most passionate and articulate humanists attends to one of the twentieth-century's largest unexploded moral conundrums... Grayling's verdict is surprising not in ultimately condemning the attacks but in doing so in an elegantly blunt fashion that simultaneously radiates profound compassion for the perpetrators." -- "Booklist," starred review

Adult/High School-Grayling's purpose is not to condone the atrocities carried out by the Axis or to condemn the Allies for carpet bombing cities in Germany and Japan, but to show that, even in a "good" war, the good guys can do bad things. He examines the decision making, the circumstances, and the contemporary debate over the practice that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the destruction of so many cities. While the author discusses the practical military drawbacks of the tactic, he is most engaged with its moral implications. Black-and-white photos show the effects of the campaign. This is an engaging and readable work, intended to bring readers into contact with the shaded moralities of war.-Ted Westervelt, Library of Congress, Washington, DC Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

"A probing, thoughtful meditation...The excellence of Among the Dead Cities, however, rests less on Grayling's deductions than his provision of enough information and argument for readers with alternate premises to draw different conclusions. That richness makes wrestling with his views a demanding intellectual exercise." --Carlin Romano, Philadelphia Inquirer"Was the indiscriminate bombing of civilians--in Hamburg, in Dresden, in Tokyo, in Hiroshima, in Nagasaki--justifiable militarily, or was it 'in whole or in part morally wrong'?... Almost immediately one senses what [Grayling's] answer will be--an unequivocal "Yes"--but he must be given full credit for reaching that conclusion only after a careful, nuanced analysis...If there was no military justification for the bombings, then there cannot possibly be a moral one, and Grayling's judgment that they were immoral seems to me exceedingly difficult to refute." --Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post"In an age of political terror, when it is urgent to come up with a persuasive distinction between legitimate and illegitimate violence, it is hard to overstate the importance of the questions Grayling raises." --Fredric Smoler, American Heritage"In his timely examination of "area bombing," which targeted civilian populations for destruction during World War II, British philosopher A.C. Grayling brings a fresh perspective to some of the great questions of modern history...and gives answers that should broaden thinking about how the United States conducts its global war on terrorism and its conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan." --G. Pascal Zachary, San Francisco Chronicle"In this book, one of the world's most passionate and articulate humanists attends to one of the twentieth-century's largest unexploded moral conundrums...Grayling's verdict is surprising not in ultimately condemning the attacks but in doing so in an elegantly blunt fashion that simultaneously radiates profound compassion for the perpetrators." --Booklist, starred review

A probing, thoughtful meditation...The excellence of "Among the Dead Cities," however, rests less on Grayling's deductions than his provision of enough information and argument for readers with alternate premises to draw different conclusions. That richness makes wrestling with his views a demanding intellectual exercise. "Carlin Romano, Philadelphia Inquirer" Was the indiscriminate bombing of civilians--in Hamburg, in Dresden, in Tokyo, in Hiroshima, in Nagasaki--justifiable militarily, or was it in whole or in part morally wrong'?... Almost immediately one senses what [Grayling's] answer will be--an unequivocal "Yes"--but he must be given full credit for reaching that conclusion only after a careful, nuanced analysis...If there was no military justification for the bombings, then there cannot possibly be a moral one, and Grayling's judgment that they were immoral seems to me exceedingly difficult to refute. "Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post" In an age of political terror, when it is urgent to come up with a persuasive distinction between legitimate and illegitimate violence, it is hard to overstate the importance of the questions Grayling raises. "Fredric Smoler, American Heritage" In his timely examination of "area bombing," which targeted civilian populations for destruction during World War II, British philosopher A.C. Grayling brings a fresh perspective to some of the great questions of modern history and gives answers that should broaden thinking about how the United States conducts its global war on terrorism and its conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. "G. Pascal Zachary, San Francisco Chronicle" In this book, one of the world's most passionate and articulate humanists attends to one of the twentieth-century's largest unexploded moral conundrums Grayling's verdict is surprising not in ultimately condemning the attacks but in doing so in an elegantly blunt fashion that simultaneously radiates profound compassion for the perpetrators. "Booklist, starred review""