Reach for the Sky: The Story of Douglas Bader, Legless Ace of the Battle of Britain (Bluejacket Books) [Paperback]

Paul Brickhill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2001

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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul Brickhill, a RAF pilot himself, wrote The Great Escape, which was made into a popular movie, and The Dam Busters, among other books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557502226
• ISBN-13: 978-1557502223
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > British

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The man was guts and gumption personified., November 1, 1999

By 

Duncan C. McDougall (Campton, NH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Reach for the Sky (Library Binding)

I sent my dogeared copy of Reach for the Sky to a legless hero who spoke a few years back at convocation here at Plymouth State College. He said he'd heard of Douglas Bader, but hadn't read the book.

Brickhill's masterpiece tells a tale of heroism without stooping to hero worship. It also tells Bader's side of the "big wing" tactical controversy during the Battle of Britain (Len Deighton's book "Fighter", tells Air Chief Marshall Dowding's side).

We need Reach for the Sky to teach new generations what it taught us, the War Babies, about the courage and values of our fathers. I'd buy it for my four sons and two daughters, all now facing life as young adults.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the great WWII stories, December 9, 2001

By 

Daniel Ford (at danford dot net) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reach for the Sky: The Story of Douglas Bader, Legless Ace of the Battle of Britain (Bluejacket Books) (Paperback)

Douglas Bader was in the peacetime RAF but lost both legs in a crash. After a miserable few years on civvie street, the war came along and he volunteered. Not only was he accepted, with two prosthetic legs and several years older than most of "the Few", but the RAF returned him to fighter-plane duty. He became a leading ace until he was shot down, and then he became such a pain to the Germans that they had to take his legs away from him to stop him from escaping.

You may remember Brickhill as the author of The Great Escape. This is another spellbinding yarn. Note however that it is more of an inspirational story than a serious biography. In the days when youngsters were more literate than they are today, it would have been called a "boy's book."

My son-in-law (who is English) gave an earlier version of this book to me for a Christmas present. He had to search all the used-book websites to find it. I'm delighted (and so is he) that it's available again. Bluejacket Books are distributed in the U.S. by Naval Institute Press, so I'm sure that this is an excellent production and not a cheap reprint.

Give it to the "boy" on your list, whether he's eight or eighty.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some books never go out of style - this is one of them, November 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Reach for the Sky (Library Binding)

A must read book for any young person with a love for adventure. Doug Bader's story is one of the most inspirational and unusual of WWII. I read it first over 32 years ago and still remember details to this day. I need a copy to have forever.