“We read our mail and counted up our missions In bombers named for girls, we burned The cities we had learned about in school Till our lives wore out; our bodies lay among The people we had killed and never seen. When we lasted long enough they gave us medals; When we died they said, "Our casualties were low." They said, "Here are the maps"; we burned the cities.” PeopleLongSaidEnoughBodySchoolGirlCitiesOur LivesLowsDiedLaysMissionsMapsMailBurnedThey SaidMedalCasualtiesBombers Author:Randall Jarrell
“When Tony Benn became a minister in the 1960s -- and I think this must be apocryphal -- he had a huge map of Britain hung upside down in his office, so the channel was at the top and Scotland was at the bottom and, apparently, he said, "This is how we need to look at this country, with the money and the power draining by force of gravity out of the south east." That was a great idea. I rather liked him for that. I don't know if it's actually true or not.” IfsThinkingKnowsNeedsLooksSaidIdeasCountryForceHugeOfficeSouthBottomEastMinistersBritainMapsGravityHungScotland1960sGreat IdeaUpside DownDraining Author:Neal Ascherson