Bomber cover art

Bomber

Penguin Modern Classics

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Bomber

By: Len Deighton
Narrated by: Richard Burnip, Len Deighton
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £15.24

Buy Now for £15.24

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

31 June, 1943. An RAF crew prepare for their next bombing raid on Germany. It is a night that many will never forget. Len Deighton's devastating novel is a gripping minute-by-minute account of what happens over the next twenty-four hours. Told through the eyes of ordinary people in the air and on the ground - from a young pilot to the inhabitants of a small town in the Ruhr - Bomber is an unforgettable portrayal of individuals caught up in the wreckage of war.

'Probably the best thing ever written about the wartime air campaign against Germany' Max Hastings

'Magnificent ... rich with historical detail' The Times

'A superbly mobilised tragedy of the machines which men make to destroy themselves. Masterly' Spectator

© Len Deighton 1970 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

 20th Century Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Military Thriller & Suspense War & Military Fiction War Exciting Aviation Air Force

Critic reviews

Probably the best and certainly the most accurate popular novel about the Second World War in the air. (John Sutherland)
A massively different novel... the effect is - quite literally - devastating.
A massive and superbly mobilised tragedy of the machines which men make to destroy themselves. Masterly and by far Mr Deighton's best. (Douglas Hurd)

Bomber is probably the best thing ever written about the wartime air campaign against Germany.

(Max Hastings)

A magnificent story ... the characters lean out of the pages.
What raises Deighton's genre to art is not only his absorbing characters but his metaphoric grace, droll wit, command of technical detail ... and sure sense of place. (Andy Solomon)
All stars
Most relevant
Bought this as i recall enjoying reading it when i was younger. It's a fantastic book let down by a terrible narration. The narrator has a knack of making all the characters; male and female, sound wooden and colourless thus spoiling the story beyond endurance. In the end i returned the book.

Great book, bad narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A excellent story well read will listen again. Loved the BBC radio version but the book is even better

cracking good read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A very good story somewhat spoilt by the reader who appeared to be unsure of what accent they were going to use for each character. One German character moved from an Irish to a Welsh to an indeterminate accent in the space of one conversation.
Half way through the book I was about to give up as I felt I had no clue who was speaking and why the characters had seem to deteriorate in various voices from The Goon show and Monty Python.
Sorry to be so negative but all the other eleven Len Deighton books I have listen to have been spot on.

Poor reader

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Well paced & interesting insight into a bomber mission in WW2, a subject that isn’t often covered.
Harrowing account of civilians bombed in error!

Extremely interesting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found this very affecting. The threads of the story span England, Germany and the Netherlands. The characters are well drawn and engaging. The account of what happens to them during the raid is really well drawn. Very sobering, indeed, tragic.

Very powerful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews