num_pages: 224
description: W. G. Sebald completed this extraordinary, important and controversial book before his untimely death in December 2001. It is a harrowing study of the devastation of German cities by Allied bombardment in World War II, and an examination of the silence in German literature and culture about this unprecedented trauma. On the Natural History of Destruction is an essential and deeply relevant study of war and society, suffering and amnesia. Like Sebald’s novels, it is studded with meticulous observation, moments of black humour, and throughout, the author’s unmatched intelligence and humanity.
language: English
title: On the Natural History of Destruction
titlecomplete: On the Natural History of Destruction
genres: Philosophy, Essays, Criticism, History, War, World War II, Germany, German Literature, Literature, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 2618
publisher: Knopf Canada