by The Imperial War Museum (Author), Kate Moore (Author)
In 1940 Britain was an island under siege. The march of the Nazi war machine had been unrelenting: France and Belgium had quickly fallen and now the British Empire and the Commonwealth stood alone to counter the grave threat. However, their fate would not be decided by armies of millions but by a small band of fighter pilots. It was on their shoulders that Britain's best chance of survival rested. Above the villages and cities, playing fields and market towns, the skies of southern England were the scene of countless dogfights as the fledgling Fighter Command duelled daily against the might of the Luftwaffe. The Battle of Britain offers an in-depth assessment of the situation leading up to the summer of 1940, the strategies employed by the adversaries and the brutal aerial battle itself. Lavishly illustrated with photographs, contemporary art and posters, and accompanied by numerous first-hand accounts, this is a volume that captures the reality of a defining chapter in British history.
Format: Illustrated
Pages: 200
Edition: Illustrated
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Published: 20 Apr 2015
ISBN 10: 147280872X
ISBN 13: 9781472808721
Book Overview: A lavishly illustrated and highly designed history of one of the defining moments of both British history and World War II.
Photos, wartime posters and drawings, and even a pilot's handwritten diary -- mostly culled from the Imperial War Museum's vast archives -- makes this one of the most attractive illustrated treatments to appear. The brief, authoritative text is a match for the graphics. --Aviation History (November 2010)
Moore does a remarkable job of telling the story of not just the Battle itself -- understandably concentrating on the most intense days -- but also the events leading up to it ... Not only that, but she writes with style and some verve. --Brett Holman, www.airminded.org
Offer[s] a lavish display packed with modern art, photos, propaganda posters, and first-hand accounts. Any collection strong in British military history must have this! --The Midwest Book Review
Appropriately released in time for the 70th anniversary of the onslaught, the book provides not only the history of the BoB, but also an analysis of events from both sides of the conflict. In here you'll find the aircraft, the airmen, the commanders, and other personalities with the RAF and the Luftwaffe. It is a superbly written book that brings everything to life. It is a book that I can easily recommend to you as one that you'll be going to over and over again. --Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness
.. .this solid offering provides background and perspective (and pictures) from both sides of the battle, all laced with apposite first-person memories. --Gene Santoro, World War II Magazine (May/June 2011)