Douglas Bader was a legend in his lifetime. After losing both legs in an air crash in 1931 and being dismissed as a cripple by the Royal Air Force; he fought his way back into the cockpit of a Spitfire to become one of the great heroes of the Battle of Britain. This inspiring biography of the famous World War II fighter pilot; first published in 1954; has a following of faithful readers who come back to the book time and again to re-read; share with their children and pass along to friends. Not many books have made such an impact on people's lives.Bader's story is so extraordinary that no one would dare invent it; and Brickhill succeeds in matching the excitement of Bader's war deeds with the triumph of his greater battle over a severe handicap. Told he would never walk without a cane; Bader learned to dance; swim; golf; and play tennis. Told he would never fly again; he became not only one of the RAF's top combat pilots but a squadron leader and innovator of fighter tactics that helped win the Battle of Britain. Among the thrilling incidents chronicled in the book are Bader's first successful encounter with an enemy plane; his own shoot down; and his succession of escapes from German prisons.
#860053 in Books Chicago Review Press 2002-07-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .59 x 6.00l; .85 #File Name: 1556524471224 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Chilling and cruelBy Farley X WilburThat's about all I can say. I have studied Jim Crow; racism and this nation's tarnished history for forty years. I've read hundreds of books dealing with lynching alone and have developed a tough stomach for these tales of abject horror in my search to understand white Americans (I'm a white German). This one turned even my stomach.However; it is essential to learn these horrors if one really wants to understand the truth of American culture instead of the myth of American Exceptionalism. It is always better to know the truth; see your nation and culture as it IS; and then work to improve it than simply accept the past as proving our perfection and blithely progressing through life as a fool.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A Travesty in Time; Clearly Explained; Slightly MistitledBy Carol M. CummingsThis book picks out one of the travesties of the post-Civil War; Jim Crow era horrors.Note that these were not SLAVES; but primarily grandchildren of slaves; although they were held in a slave-like existence. I selected this book because (a) I have read Slavery By Any Other Name; which included elements of this in one chapter; (b) my father's family is from Jasper County; Georgia; and I dreaded finding any of their names; and (c) I write historical fiction; which I try to base on actual events.It is so hard to understand the mindset of the people in this book...yet you know it was true. It did happen. And it was horrible. The author has well portrayed the incidents and well as the impact this had on the people of Jasper; Walton and Rockdale Counties; as well as all of Georgia. Its a tough read because of the content; but worth it for those who believe we must study the past to prevent it from recurring in the future.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A Souther Slave Owner's Final SolutionBy Michael S.Not much need to be said other than this is a book that had trouble putting down. I would go to sleep thinking about what I had read and wake up ready to learn more. It was a disturbing portrait of a period in the South that kept me wondering what the final outcome would be. John S. Williiams could have been the prototype for Adolph Hitler. And the racist southern system he thrived in could have been the blueprint for Nazi Germany.
