Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for With Wings Like Eagles by Michael Korda - Available

With Wings Like Eagles

by Michael Korda
John Lee
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
Michael Korda’s brilliant work of history takes the reader back to the summer of 1940, when fewer than three thousand young fighter pilots of the Royal Air Force–often no more than nine hundred on any given day–stood between Hitler and the victory that seemed almost within his grasp.

As Nazi Germany rearmed swiftly after 1933, building up its bomber force, only one man, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, the eccentric, infuriating, obstinate, difficult, and astonishingly foresighted creator and leader of RAF Fighter Command, did not believe that the bomber would always get through and was determined to provide Britain with a weapon few people wanted to believe was needed or even possible. Dowding persevered–despite opposition, shortage of funding, and bureaucratic infighting–to perfect the British fighter force just in time to meet and defeat the German onslaught.

Korda brings to life the extraordinary men and women on both sides of the conflict, from such major historical figures as Winston Churchill, Neville Chamberlain, and Reichsmarschall Herman Göring (and his disputatious and bitterly feuding generals) to the British and German pilots, the American airmen who joined the RAF just in time for the Battle of Britain, the young airwomen of the RAF, the ground crews who refueled and rearmed the fighters in the middle of heavy German raids, and such heroic figures as Douglas Bader, Josef František, and the Luftwaffe aces Adolf Galland and his archrival Werner Mölders.


From the Compact Disc edition.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 6, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781415961827
      • File size: 281975 KB
      • Duration: 09:47:26

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      The Battle of Britain in late summer of 1940 is one of modern history's great stories, one of a handful of times in history when the fate of nations and whole peoples rested on the actions and decisions of a few. Korda's background history of the politicians, military personnel, and technology that shaped and decided the battle takes up the first parts of this production; those interested only in the action alone can pick it up later. John Lee's steady, unforced, thoroughly British delivery (he can roll three syllables out of "Rudyard") keeps up the pace and holds one's interest throughout. All key players get their due in this excellent production, and Lee is especially persuasive in conveying (and keeping on track) Korda's detailed and personalized judgments of people, machinery, and events. D.A.W. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 13, 2008
      The Battle of Britain has become as much myth as history. Korda (Ulysses S. Grant
      ), former editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster, gives its story fresh life with the expertise of an established popular historian and the polish of a master narrator. In the summer of 1940, Britain stood alone against the Third Reich, which had quickly overrun Western Europe and seemed poised to finish the job. All that blocked the Nazis were a couple of thousand fighter pilots and their commander, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, the story's hero. Dowding fought to build Spitfires and Hurricanes, and trained men to fly them. He set up the radar system and the observer networks that kept watch for German raids. In the face of initial defeats, he husbanded his resources for a greater battle he knew would come. Korda is no triumphalist, demonstrating the mistakes, misunderstandings and simple cussedness that threatened the chances for a British victory. But Dowding's Brylcreem Boys, nicknamed for their favorite styling gel, succeeded against an enemy no less brave and skilled. 7 pages of color and 16 pages of b&w photos.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading