What a wonderful, exciting and poignant account of of the Battle of Britain! My father was a bomber pilot of a B-17 flying missions
over Germany but never talked about his experiences. I think I now understand what he, his crew and those of the English men
who fought, went through during WWII. Helena Schrader brings to life the frightening, heartrending but realistic experiences of the
men who flew missions from Britain against Nazi Germany, the women who served and families who coped during the war.

I'd not read anything about the day-to-day experiences of the dependable ground crews who supported the fighter pilots and
bomber crews, keeping their planes up and running with relentless, constant repairs. Instead of being just a cursory topic it is
fully fleshed out as to just how important this support is to holding off the German bombing offensive over Britain. The huge impact
of the other ground staff is also shown in the descriptions of the roles and responsibilities of the Women's Auxiliary doing the jobs
of operations room plotter, radar operator, and canteen workers, cooks and other support personnel.

The realism in the book of the dogfights among the fighter pilots, the defensive maneuvers available to bomber pilots and the explanations of the advantages/disadvantages of air tactics of the English planes versus the German opened up a perspective
I'd not considered or thought much about before. It was a real chess match in the air and the author makes one feel right in
the cockpit beside the pilot, afraid, but steeling oneself to do what must be done to prevail or at least to survive.

The author touches on the class structure of England and features several characters from all walks-of-life. Despite these class differences, they are able to form up, work together, and become a formidable fighting force. The English characters' emotions,
lives, loves are fully-fleshed out and made this reader really care about them and what happens to them. Not neglected are the
Germans whose lives are also fully drawn and whose humanity is evident in the book's descriptions of their actions and feelings.

I was not only entertained but also educated by the author and learned a great deal about the events, men, women, air tactics of
both the English and German sides. The historical note, glossary of abbreviations, slang and other vocabulary greatly added to
my understanding as well as the superb photos. The poignant poem "High Flight" in the beginning pages is a perfect tribute to
the pilots-it made me feel their motivations.

I was so immersed in this book that it was impossible to put down. Highly, highly recommended and will definitely be re-read. ( )