Frederick Taylor Knihy

Kvalitní, velmi obsáhlá a zajímavá publikace o historii "saské Florencie", zejména o ničivém bombardování města na sklonku 2. světové války. Nálety na Varšavu, Rotterdam, Coventry, Londýn, Hamburk či Drážďany... bezpočet mrtvých, obrovské materiální škody, zničené památky nevyčíslitelné ceny. Běsnění 2. světové války si nevybíralo. V únoru r. 1945 bylo při opakovaných spojeneckých náletech téměř úplně zničeno jedno z nejkrásnějších německých měst s velmi bohatou a pestrou minulostí. Exkurs do historie města, sídla po více než osm století vládnoucí dynastie Wettinů, je jen doplňkem podrobného popisu událostí z 13. února 1945.

Neexistoval snad výmluvnější symbol studené války, než byla berlínská zeď, dělící rozdělené město v rozdělené zemi na rozděleném evropském kontinentě. S příběhem berlínské zdi jsou spojeny osudy a tragédie mnoha lidí, strategické i taktické úvahy a rozhodnutí předních světových politiků. Frederick Taylor její příběh pečlivě prozkoumal v mnoha archivech, a strhujícím způsobem popsal. Kniha je prvním mimořádně zdařilým pokusem celou událost všestranně vylíčit a zhodnotit. Obraz proslulého města, jeho obyvatel i jeho osudu.

The narrative chronicles Fred Taylor's remarkable six-decade journey in the entertainment industry, where he played a pivotal role in developing three prestigious clubs. It highlights his talent for discovering, promoting, and managing numerous renowned stars, offering an insider's perspective on the evolution of showbiz. The story captures the essence of dedication and passion within the vibrant world of entertainment.

At 9.51 pm on the 13th of February 1945 an airstrike on Dresden started that left at least 25,000 people dead and 13 square miles of the centre destroyed. In this study of that night Taylor has researched in German, American and British archives and talked to those involved on all sides.

At 9.15 p.m. on Tuesday, 13 February 1945, Dresden's air-raid sirens sounded as they had done many times in the previous five years, until then almost always in false alarm. By the next morning, 796 RAF Lancasters and 311 USAAF Liberators had dropped more than 4500 tons of high explosives and incendiary devices. More than 25,000 inhabitants (possibly many more) perished in the terrifying firestorm, and thirteen square miles of the city's historic centre, including quantities of treasure and works of art, lay in ruins. It was Ash Wednesday, 1945. Almost a lifetime later, the name of the city continues to echo uneasily in our collective memory, and controversy about Dresden's destruction persists. In this fascinating and meticulous new study, Frederick Taylor has intensively researched the German, British and American archives, and talked to the allied air crew and to the city's survivors - whether Jews working as slave labourers in the munitions and radar factories, refugees, members of the German armed services, or civilians - to reveal the most complete portrait of the city and its fate ever attempted.

The appearance of a hastily-constructed barbed wire entanglement through the heart of Berlin during the night of 12-13 August 1961 was both dramatic and unexpected. Within days, it had started to metamorphose into a structure that would come to symbolise the brutal insanity of the Cold War- the Berlin Wall. A city of almost four million was cut ruthlessly in two, unleashing a potentially catastrophic East-West crisis and plunging the entire world for the first time into the fear of imminent missile-borne apocalypse. This threat would vanish only when the very people the Wall had been built to imprison, breached it on the historic night of 9 November 1989. Frederick Taylor's The Berlin Wall reveals the strange and chilling story of how the initial barrier system was conceived, then systematically extended, adapted and strengthened over almost thirty years. Patrolled by vicious dogs and by guards on shoot-to-kill orders, the Wall, with its more than 300 towers, became a wired and lethally booby-trapped monument to a world torn apart by fiercely antagonistic ideologies. The Wall had tragic consequences in personal and political terms, affecting the lives of Germans and non-Germans alike in a myriad of cruel, inhuman and occasionally absurd ways. The Berlin Wall is the definitive account of a divided city and its people.

The definitive - and very human - account of a divided city and its people from the acclaimed author of Dresden

Set in the autumn of 1938, the narrative explores the fragile optimism in Europe as it emerges from the devastation of the Great War. The populace yearns for peace and stability, yet within a year, pivotal decisions by a handful of leaders plunge the continent back into conflict. This shift not only alters the course of history but also deeply affects the lives of millions, highlighting the precarious nature of peace and the far-reaching consequences of political choices.

The first major account of the birth of democracy in the ruins of Hitler's Germany, from "one of the brightest historians writing today" (Newsweek)

Set against the backdrop of autumn 1938, the narrative explores the stark transition from optimism for peace to the grim reality of impending war in Europe. Utilizing contemporary diaries, memoirs, newspapers, and interviews, it vividly captures the emotions and experiences of individuals as they faced the rise of the Second World War, providing a personal and historical perspective on this pivotal moment in history.