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I don't remember the last time it took me this long to get through a book, but this was one that I could only digest in 15-minute doses on the way to/from work. It doesn't make for the best nighttime reading material.

Thoroughly researched and thoroughly exhausting to read, "Der Brand" ("The Fire") is about as detailed an account as you can probably find on the bombing of Germany during World War II.

Friedrich gives what I found to be a very neutral, matter-of-fact 600 pages on the subject matter. This is a book about the bombing of a country - how it was done, why it was done that way, and what effect it had on a country. Keep in mind that is squarely focused on the bombing of Germany and does not discuss the politics of the war.

The book is broken down into 7 major chapters, each covering a different aspect of the bombing of Germany. The more prominent chapters focus on:
* The use of cellars as hiding places (which were essentially turned into ovens where civilians were baked alive - most German deaths during WW2 were the result of smoke inhalation or exposure to extreme heat).
* The evolution of bomb-making by the Allied powers.
* The targeting of hospitals and railway lines.
* How the superior air war of the Allied powers crushed Germany.

"The Fire" also serves as a sad reminder that Germany is a country which, throughout its history, is periodically razed. It was a bit disheartening to read about all the history that was lost - artifacts, church relics, art work, the homes of Goethe and Heinrich von Kleist, Franz Liszt's tomb, etc.

Even if it's a depressing read, it's still very well done. The only negative I can point out is that I found it to occasionally suffer from some translation problems. (I believe it was originally written in Dutch.)

If you are uncomfortable with descriptions of children being burned alive or women carrying bags full of body parts of their dead husbands and babies so that they can receive a proper burial, this book might not be for you.