Bomber

Deighton weaves a masterly tale of a Lancaster crew’s final raid over Germany during the Second World War. While a novel, his meticulous research gives the book a documentary feel, which serves to heighten the foreboding sense of approaching death, destruction and terror that was strategic bombing. The themes that Deighton explores are central attributes of warfare and include the effect of acute stress on capability, the value of teamwork, and the unexpected emergence of courage—Deighton also captures Clausewitz’s idea of friction. Despite its detailed planning the mission slowly goes wrong, culminating in the obliteration of the wrong target.