Customer Reviews

The Battle of Britain : The Greatest Air Battle of World War II

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I remember the events leading up to the Battle and the Battle itself as a boy. This book tells it as it really was, thrilling, terrifying, awesome; but something that we adjusted to on a daily basis. It presents many of the behind the scenes events that could not be revealed to the general population at the time for security reasons that now tells the "rest of the story". Also, it points out what might have happened if events had been different. Crucial to understanding the significance of the Battle of Britain. It was a priveledge to have witnessed the struggle and the sacrifice of a people who stood up when it counted. This book needed to tell the story.

Although, I would recommend viewing this text as a reference source, it is so enjoyably written that anyone interested in air warfare will find it a valuable addition to their library. "WWII Aviation Booklist" http://www.ampsc.com/~prophet/booklist.htm

In one of the darkest moments of modern history, the British people stood isolated and alone against the bulwark of the fabulously successfully forces of the Third Reich, who had just finished "blitkreiging" their way across Western Europe, forcing the desperate evacuation of the battered English army from the shores of Dunkirk to save them from certain slaughter at the hands of a rampaging Wehrmacht. In this absolutely riveting book, the authors describe the extraordinary effort of the Brits in fending off the vastly superior numbers of Luftwaffe aircraft soon invading the airspace over the English countryside. As Churchill said so memorably at the time, this attempt to beat back the Nazis in "The Battle Of Britain" might well become the country's "finest hour". This interesting book by Richard Hough and Denis Richards covers the waterfront of events in that momentous conflict.

It is a tale well told, one most Americans of a certain age are familiar with. But our mere familiarity should not deter us from enjoying this endlessly entertaining and well-narrated tale, which is both extremely approachable and understandable on the one hand for the first time student, and also immensely informative and detailed regarding Churchill's knack for popular leadership and the ways in which he bedeviled his countryman into rising to the their "finest hour". It may come as a surprise to some to discover that up to the moment of defeat in France, there were still efforts at appeasement of the Nazis being bandied about within the marbled halls of Parliament. Yet the British quickly rallied round the flagpole that Winston Churchill raised on high, and he urged them on provocatively and memorably time after time.

The book also excels at telling this story from the viewpoint of eye-witness participants, and the reader is whisked memorably along by machine-gun rapid-fire of personal eyewitness testimonies that succeed brilliantly in bringing the drama into bold relief and focus, breathing life into this otherwise `oft told tale'. It is hard for one to commit the most grievous crime of hyperbole when speaking of this particular event and time in history, when the Third Reich had quickly and massively crushed all opposition against it, and the Wehrmacht swept west all the way to the English Channel. In this moment of fear, terror and expectation, the world literally held its breath as the fateful and bloody contest began. The Brits stood alone, the only obstacle to Hitler's determination to end all opposition in the west so he could concentrate on his real objective, "living space" in the east in the breadbasket region of the Soviet Union, the Ukraine. And the British, having the undivided attention of the Luftwaffe, were indeed badly outnumbered.

The reader will soon find himself glued to his armchair, unable to resist continuing as the pages resound quickly past one with a myriad of colorful details and discussions about how the defense of the home island and all that involved. Whether it be a discussion of how the Americans participated, the German views and expectations, or the experiences of a British submariner telling his sobering story, this is a book one has to put to the top of his or her reading list. It is indeed an informative and entertaining book offering the reader an expansive, educational, ground level view of perhaps the most celebrated time of peril and derring-do in the history of the 20th century. Truly, this was their finest hour. Enjoy!

This book is very well written with immense detail given. This book will give you the history of Britain all the way back to WWI through the end of WWII. If you are looking for a book which is written through the eyes of just one man then this may not be the book for you. This book is more written as a narrative as you would see on a Discovery Channel program. But let me say that it is quite thorough in its representation of information.

A very readable, if not entirely objective, account of the Battle. An intriguing review of British inter-war preparations is followed by a so-so description of the action.

Richard Hough's The Battle of Britain is a fascinating, in-depth look at one of the most important battles of World War II. From July to October 1940, Nazi Germany's vaunted Luftwaffe attempted to achieve air supremacy over Britain and pave the way for Operation Sea Lion, a seaborne invasion by Hitler's powerful land forces. But a few thousand British and Commonwealth pilots, along with a few Americans and representatives of other Allied nations such as Poland and Czechoslovakia flew in their Hurricanes, Defiants, and Spitfires from their bases in the United Kingdom and inflicted enough damage on the German air fleets that Hitler and Goering had to call it a day and Operation Sea Lion never took place.

While it may not be unbiased nor the "definitive" work on the subject, The Battle of Britain is still very informative, particularly when dealing with the prewar preparations of Britain's air defenses and the birth of the German Luftwaffe. Maybe, as one reviewer says, someone will write the ultimate book on this incredibly fascinating battle. Until that happens, this work is a fine and fitting tribute to the "Few" who helped stave off a Nazi invasion of Great Britain in those dark days in 1940.

The "Battle of Britian" by Richard Hough and Dennis Richards, is a wonderful book of history. It is packed with pictures that correspond with the section that was just read. A instresting addition is the background of the authors, they were both involved in the whole process. Hough was a flew fighter planes in 1941. This is the best account of any battle I have ever read

Truly insightful and educational.

Yet another feeble attempt to write the story of a battle... all from one side's viewpoint. This book starts off reasonably well with the history of the air raids on England during World War One and the interwar history of the RAF. From there it takes a dramatic nosedive in credibility. The same old cliched stories of German pilots machinegunning British pilots in their parachutes is dragged out yet again. The story of the low level raid on Kenley is made ludicrous by the comment that the German bomber crews "amused themselves by machinegunning the streets". However, it does go to great lengths to rationalise the shooting down of unarmed German Red Cross airsea rescue aircraft (to the victors go the truth). Clearly this is yet another, rather belated, text extolling the virtues of the British Empire whilst simultaneously warning all of the "Dirty Hun". This book reads more like a 'Boys Own' adventure rather than an objective summation of a battle. If you would like a more objective text then read "Eagle Day" by Richard Collier, "Fighter" by Len Deighton, "The Hardest Day" by Alfred Price or "Battle of Britain Day" also by Alfred Price.

Comprehensive and factual. Well worth the read. Informative for us on this side of the pond. Great admiration for the Brits last ditch stand.