Love Among the Ruins: A memoir of life and love in Hamburg : a Memoir of Life and Love in Hamburg, 1945

At 22, The War Is Over For Raf Serviceman Harry Leslie Smith - The Now 92-year-old Activist And Author Of The Acclaimed Harry's Last Stand - But The Battle For Love And Hope Rages On. Stationed In Occupied Hamburg, A City Physically And Emotionally Ripped Apart By Allied Bombing, And Determined To Escape The Grinding Poverty Of His Yorkshire Youth, Harry Unexpectedly Finds A Reason To Stay: A Young German Woman By The Name Of Friede. As Their Love Develops, They Must Face Both German Suspicion And British Disapproval Of Relations With 'the Enemy'. Harry's Ardent, Straight-from-the-heart Memoir Brings To Life A City Reduced To Rubble, Populated With Refugees, Black Marketeers, Corrupt Businessmen And Cynical Soldiers. It's A Unique Snapshot Of A Terrible Period In Europe's History, And A Passionate Love Letter To A City, To A Woman, And To Life Itself. Harry Leslie Smith. '[Harry Leslie Smith] is absolutely one of my heroes. Everyone should read this and be humbled.' Annie Lennox 'A deep love of humanity is what animates Smith. He is a hero of our times.' Newsweek 'His straight-from-the-heart delivery makes these events seem as clear and immediate as if they happened yesterday' Morning Star At 22, the war is over for RAF serviceman Harry Leslie Smith – the now 92-year-old activist and author of the acclaimed Harry’s Last Stand – but the battle for love and hope rages on. Stationed in occupied Hamburg, a city physically and emotionally ripped apart by Allied bombing, and determined to escape the grinding poverty of his Yorkshire youth, Harry unexpectedly finds a reason to stay: a young German woman by the name of Friede. As their love develops, they must face both German suspicion and British disapproval of relations with ‘the enemy’. Harry’s ardent, straight-from-the-heart memoir brings to life a city reduced to rubble, populated with refugees, black marketeers, corrupt businessmen and cynical soldiers. Love Among Ruins: A memoir of life and love in Hamburg is a unique snapshot of a terrible period in Europe’s history, and a passionate love letter to a city, to a woman, and to life itself. "'As one of the last remaining survivors of the Great Depression and the Second World War, I will not go gently into that good night. I want to tell you what the world looks like through my eyes, so that you can help change it ... ' In November 2013, 91-year-old Yorkshireman, RAF veteran and ex-carpet salesman Harry Leslie Smith's Guardian article - 'This year, I will wear a poppy for the last time' - was shared almost 60,000 times on Facebook and started a huge debate about the state of society. Now he brings his unique perspective to bear on NHS cutbacks, benefits policy, political corruption, food poverty, the cost of education - and much more. From the deprivation of 1930s Barnsley and the terror of war to the creation of our welfare state, Harry has experienced how a great civilisation can rise from the rubble. But at the end of his life, he fears how easily it is being eroded. Harry's Last Stand is a lyrical, searing modern invective that shows what the past can teach us, and how the future is ours for the taking."--Publisher's description At 22, the war is over for RAF serviceman Harry Leslie Smith author of the acclaimed Harry's Last Stand but the battle for love and hope rages on. Stationed in occupied Hamburg, a city physically and emotionally ripped apart by Allied bombing, and determined to escape grinding poverty of his Yorkshire youth, Harry unexpectedly finds a reason to stay: a young German woman by the name of Friede. Their love develops uneasily, but gradually they win each others trust, Harry taking on the responsibility of finding food for Friedes near-destitute family. But they must face both German suspicion and British disapproval of relations with the enemy. Presenting a street-level view of a city reduced to rubble, populated with refugees, black marketeers, corrupt businessmen and cynical soldiers, Love Among the Ruins is a unique snapshot of a terrible period in Europes history, a passionate love letter to a city, to a woman, and to life itself. "At 22, the war is over for RAF serviceman, Harry Leslie Smith ... but the battle for love and hope rages on. Stationed in occuped Hamburg ... and determined to escape the grinding poverty of his Yorkshire youth, Harry unexpectedly finds a reason to stay: a young German woman by the name of Friede. As their love develops, they must face both German suspicion and British disapproval of relations with 'the enemy'. Harry's ... memoir brings to life a city reduced to rubble, populated with refugees, black marketeers, corrupt businessmen and cynical soldiers. It's a unique snapshot of a terrible period in Europe's hidtory, and a passionate love letter to a city, to a woman, and to life itself"--Publisher's description The paperback edition of one of this year's most exciting and influential political books 92-year activist and author of the acclaimed Harry’s Last Stand presents a unique memoir.