Dresden casualties and an Atom bomb target?

[Jon]

Just finished reading Frederick Taylors superb book "Dresden"
I am still puzzled though, since the end of the Cold War we now have many more details on the raid and the book indicates caualties between 25,000 and 200,000+. I have always though the human losses were about the 40,000 region...do we now have true figures?
The book also claims that it was the target city for the Atom Bomb if the war in Europe had continued, do we know if this is true and how close it came to getting a green light, i appreciate the Atom bomb was not ready until 1945.
Certainly loooks to have been a well planned and carried out raid demonstrating to the approaching Russians what RAF bomber command was capable of of doing to a single city in one night.