Hell Island: Canadian Pilots and the 1942 Air Battle for Malta [Hardcover]

Dan McCaffery (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1998

Acknowledgements
Introduction

1. Storm Clouds Gather
2. Malta Battens Down the Hatches
3. The March Blitz
4. The Most Bombed Place on Earth
5. Disease and Famine Hit Malta Hard
6. The Lost Convoy
7. The Bloodiest Month
8. The Santa Maria Convoy
9. Malta's Unsung Heroes
10. The October Blitz
Epilogue

Aircraft Glossary and Ace Lists

George Beurling's Victory Log
Chronology of Events
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Review

"McCaffery tells of those forgotten flyers and their deeds with gripping prose... Hell Island is a most readable and valuable contribution to air accounts of those frantic times. Not only does McCaffery, a fine writer of air history, score with the account, he achieves a bulls-eye." (Les Peate Esprit de Corps )

"McCaffery goes beyond the Canadian involvement to provide a general account of the siege. Hell Island is recommended for budding enthusiasts of aerial combat literature." (Cameron Pulsifer Canadian Book Review Annual )

"McCaffery has carved out a place for himself as one of Canada's most successful authors of aviation history." (Paul Morden Sarnia Observer )

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Lorimer; First Edition edition (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550286250
• ISBN-13: 978-1550286250
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,811,449 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hell Island, September 6, 2005

By 

Bernard (Detroit, MI USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hell Island: Canadian Pilots and the 1942 Air Battle for Malta (Hardcover)

I am very interested in WWII history in general, and Malta in particular, but this book was a bit disappointing. It is thoroughly researched, in terms of "Capt xxx of Squadron xx shot down Lt Werner Schmidt of JG87 at 4:45pm" etc, but as a pilot, I don't think the author knows much about aircraft, so the narrative has more of a "daily newspaper" tone than an aviation history tone. I would have liked to read more about actual aircraft operations, written by an expert.

Also, by the way, it's not really specifically only about Canadian pilots, which is OK with me, and the title 'Hell Island' is unfortunate: my Maltese friends were somewhat offended.