In a very well written and exceptionally well organized book, Flinn achieves her goal: She clearly highlights the political and institutional reasons why the reconstruction plans for the blitzed cities didn't come to fruition … [For] anyone interested in a better understanding of the incredible challenges involved with rebuilding Britain after the war, I'd recommend it enthusiastically.

Fred Smith, Davidson College, USA, EH.net

A meticulous, detailed account of what became of cities such as Coventry, Liverpool, Hull, Exeter and Portsmouth whose urban fabric was torn to shreds by German planes, and the ideas of the planners who sought to rebuild them ... This book [contains] extraordinary attention to detail.

Sam Wetherell, University of York, UK, Contemporary British History

A superbly researched and useful addition to the existing body of work on reconstruction.

Lucy Noakes, The University of Essex, UK, Journal of British Studies

Catherine Flinn's excellent book raises important questions that extend far beyond the reconstruction of blitzed cities, the role of planners, and the triumph of modernism over historical reimagining. It also raises questions of how limited resources were allocated after the war, how decisions were made by the local and national state, how private economic interests operated within a planned economy. Her findings will be of great interest not only to urban and architectural but also to economic, political and cultural historians of postwar Britain.

Martin Daunton, Emeritus Professor of Economic History, University of Cambridge, UK

The devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans, the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima, and the Grenfell Tower Disaster in London demonstrated that while causes of urban disaster may be simple, the consequences present major challenges. In her meticulous study, Flinn shows that the reconstruction of Britain following the air raids of World War Two saw many grand plans. Some were realized, while others were undermined by political, practical and economic constraints. Rebuilding Britain's Blitzed Cities is essential both for our understanding of post-war British history, but also as a corrective to naive arguments that urban renewal can always be straightforward.

Mark Clapson, Professor of Social and Urban History, University of Westminster, UK

Making a contribution to our understanding and knowledge of post-war architecture and planning … [Rebuidling Britain's Blitzed Cities] will provide a new momentum to re-theorize and interpret postwar planning theories and histories. It might even stimulate a renewed debate into some of the lost powers of the planner-architect in current developments.

Wesley Aelbrecht, Cardiff University, UK, Planning Perspectives