I don’t want to set the world on fire
The photographs above are by Sergey Larenkov. He’s reshot WW2-era photos (these are from the siege at Leningrad) from their original perspectives, and then faded the original image back in. A haunting and arresting mashup of images. Just trying to even imagine what life would have been like in Leningrad back then is difficult. According to Wikipedia, the blockade was ‘one of the longest and most destructive sieges of major cities in modern history’. Terrifying.
The siege at Leningrad is not included in the book I am currently reading, The Dark Valley - A Panorama of the 1930’s, but the author, Piers Brendon, does a great job covering the period leading up to the Second World War. Although it is massive, (just shy of 900 pages) it is very accessible and completely engrossing.
Tonight I plan on a few good cups of tea and digging into the next chapter, maybe some quiet music in the background - like this song, which was recorded by The Ink Spots in 1941, the year the siege at Leningrad first began……
Listen to The Ink Spots - I don’t want to set the world on fire mp3
(off the Fallout 3 soundtrack - thanks Jason)
