56 pages • 1 hour read
Erik LarsonA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Another defensive device of the RAF. Also known as a “silver elephantine,” it consisted of a giant bag of lighter-than-air gas attached to a mile-long steel cable anchored to the ground. It was used by the British in World War II to thwart low-flying German aircraft, forcing them to a higher altitude and thus minimizing surprise and accuracy of bombing. Larson describes the 562 barrage balloons aloft over London, attached to mile-long cables (46).
The headquarters of Allied codebreaking in World War II, charged with intercepting secret communications of the Axis powers. It was located in a country estate in Buckinghamshire. Crucially in The Splendid and the Vile, code breakers at Bletchley decipher a German radio transmission that alerts Jones to the German knowledge of navigation beams (70).
A sudden, swift, and overwhelming military attack, usually using tanks and aerial bombardment. The word is a shortening of the German Blitzkrieg, “lightning war,” which denotes a swift, focused attack using maneuverable forces and relying on speed and surprise to overwhelm and produce psychological shock in the enemy. The Nazis relied on this technique for a quick victory over their opponents with minimal loss of soldiers and artillery. “The Blitz” is the popular designation for the Nazi aerial bombardment of Britain during 1940-41 that forms the heart of the book.
By Erik Larson
Dead Wake
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing Of The Lusitania
Erik Larson
In the Garden of Beasts
In the Garden of Beasts
Erik Larson
Isaac's Storm
Isaac's Storm
Erik Larson
The Demon of Unrest
The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War
Erik Larson
The Devil in the White City
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Erik Larson
Thunderstruck
Thunderstruck
Erik Larson