FINEST HOUR : The Battle of Britain

Rating:
Summary: Don't miss the point of this book!
Review: A number of the customer reviewers of this fine book have grumbled that the title is misleading, i.e. that it covers the Battle of Britain only superficially; the blame for this lies *entirely* with the US publishers, who have added a subtitle (and a cover photograph) which was not present on the UK edition.

This is *not* another book on the Battle, but one which seeks to place that epic air conflict in the context of what was happening to the British people (from the leaders down to the civilians) throughout the whole of that momentous year 1940. Hence the accounts of ordinary soldiers, sailors, airmen, wives, mothers, sweethearts and kids, alongside the inside stories of Churchill's cabinet.

As such, it is a resounding success - if accounts like Bess Walder's (of the sinking of the "City of Benares") don't move you to tears, you have no soul.

The lady who thought it was too boring to get past the first chapter would do well to go back for another go - the course of history was turned decisively during those twelve months, and this book brings it all to life.

Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Behind the scenes of the battle
Review: First of all, I wish to state that this book is good reading. But, it's not really about "The Finest Hour" as one would expect. Rather, it is the story of several people up to and including the Battle of Britain. It interweaves the experiences of Churchill and his secrataries, Roosevelt, newspaper columnists from New York, a sailor, a few fighter pilots and the women plotters who plotted the courses of the planes. The book describes their collective experiences during the invasion of France; the evacuation from Dunkirk; the child evacuations from England and so forth. Their stories are told as a series of vignettes. (If you were watching this on television, you could see each story fade to black and then a new story developing). It does make for good reading.

However, the book really does not cover the logistics, the aerial fighting during the Battle of Britain, or the tactics of battle. In that respect, I was disappointed. I think the book should have been called "Behind the Scenes of the Battle of Britain". Nevertheless, be prepared that you are not going to read about the history of the battle, but about a few peoples' experiences during the battle.

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Summary: Compelling History and Characters
Review: I am not a prolific reader, the books I read have to go at a pace for me to stay the course. The huge disadvantage of this lack of staying power is that I very rarely finish a book and feel any sense of achievement.

This book, and its sequel The End of The Beginning, have both proved to be rare examples where I have felt that I have learnt something while being thoroughly entertained.

For me, this comes from the characters around which the history is recounted. Both these books cover events that have been the subject of TV and film dramatisation but these used characters created around Hollywood stars or English character actors. The people who provided so much of the material for the books were involved in the war in the ranks, at home and in command. The stories they told to the authors during the years of research bring a powerful reality to the fighting and the hardships the endured.

There is a spitfire pilot who falls in love while struggling to match the victories of his fellow heroes. There is a soldier wounded while trying to hold back the German army in a French cemet factory, a family trapped by the blitz in the East-end of London and a naval rating dealing with the aftermath of surving the sinking of his ship at Dunkirk. The book brings their fears to life as well as their remarkable resolve to carry on their fight, to survive, to win.

This book has not changed my view of WW2 but it has made me painfully aware of how much it dominated the lives of civilians and the Forces. I was greatly moved by parts of the book.

This is a great book. I doubt anyone will start this book and not finish it - and they will be glad that they did.

Rating:
Summary: A superb example of history from below
Review: I think this will go down as one of the best books of history from the view of ordinary people. It is not a definitive version of the events or even close to it, but I think it does give a feeling of how people lived through a momentous time. I was touched and horrified by many of the stories. There was the story of the soldiers marching who were so tired they were asleep until they bumped into the person ahead or behind them. There are hundreds of these stories weaved into a superb narrative.

Not a comprehensive history, but a great introduction to the art of history from the viewpoint of ordinary people.

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Summary: One of the most powerful tales of courage
Review: In both world wars, millions of men faced off in combat, with millions dying at the hands of those on the other side. However, the second was unlike the first in two ways. During the first, the number of civilian casualties was low, being a very small percentage of those in the military. This was reversed in the second, with the mass killing of civilians being "accepted" practice. So much so that most of the violent deaths in the war were civilian rather than military.
The second difference was that in the first, the placement of an additional thousand combatants of any skill level on any front would have been irrelevant. That is not true in the second. There is one point in the second world war where the actions of literally a few hundred fighting men quite likely altered the outcome. This collection of brave, talented and amazing men were the fighter pilots of the British Royal Air Force. This book not only chronicles their achievements, but also that of the British, who looked long odds in the eye and said, "we will not yield."
The incredibly swift defeat of the allied armies made the German war machine seem invincible. After the British managed to extract the bulk of their army from Dunkirk, the only two things preventing the Germans from launching an invasion of Britain was the Royal Air Force and Navy. However, as subsequent events clearly demonstrated, surface ships were little more than helpless against air attack. Had the Royal Navy been forced to make a stand to prevent a cross-channel invasion, it would have been chewed to pieces by the German Luftwaffe. Therefore, it all came down to a few hundred pilots, who prevented the Germans from achieving domination of the air, which would have led to a British surrender. Of course, since the other role of airplanes was to slaughter civilians by aerial bombardment, German air domination would have led to thousands of additional civilian deaths in London and other British cities.
This defeat would have led to the capitulation of Ireland, the Axis powers gaining control of other British possessions such as Gibraltar, Malta, Cypress, Palestine and Egypt with the Suez canal. It is hard to envision a scenario where an alliance with no base in Britain could have launched a successful invasion of either Europe or northern Africa. The additional resources that the Axis could have then brought against the Soviet Union may have been enough to tip the balance to their side.
One main theme throughout this book is how close Britain really was to defeat. The army that was extracted at Dunkirk was largely weaponless and incapable of fighting and much of the coast of Britain was patrolled by men with hunting shotguns and pitchforks. Reading stories of how people planned on putting broken bottles on the end of sticks to make weapons comes across as surreal. How those people ever expected to stand up against the tanks and machine guns of an invasion army is very difficult to fathom.
A secondary theme was the incredible political caution of Franklin Roosevelt, who while he despised the Germans and knew the dangers of a British defeat, was unwilling to take the slightest political risks to aid them. When he finally did act and made the trade of destroyers for navy bases, there was no great opposition. Once again, proving a point about the American presidency. No president has ever been defeated by acting decisively, it is the appearance of weakness and indecision that will get you voted out.
The second world war was won on the plains of eastern Europe, where the armies of the Axis and their allies where simply chewed into nonexistence. However, it could have been lost in the air over Britain and we all owe those who triumphed there a debt of gratitude for their courage against what were perceived to be terrible odds. This is a book about courage and what it can mean, today, tomorrow and in the future.

Rating:
Summary: A reader from Australia writes:
Review: This book opens with snippets of pre-battle "experiences" of various men. It is so boring I can't force myself to get through the first chapter. A great disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Behind the scenes of the battle
Review: Very well written, very exciting. I could not put this book down. I did not know to much about World War II except what the US did. This tells me a whole new story that I never knew.

Rating:
Summary: The macro through the micro
Review: What is wonderful about this book is the way in which the larger part of the story is fully illustrated by the flowing anecdotes from those on the ground. A Ken Burn's style of history (be mindful if that turns you off), the book provides an interesting view of the conflict from a multitude of viewpoints: Churchill, figther pilots, plotters, soldiers and ordinary citizens all have their stories interwoven to complete a larger tapestry that shows the entire conflict.

The place where the book shines best is in dramatizing the steadily growing horror as Germany sweeps across France and traps the BEF at Dunkirk. The anecdotes make manifest in a visceral way that, as the evacuation from Dunkirk is taking place, sentiment everywhere (except perhaps within Churchill's inner circle) is that Germany is irresistable and that England will be next.

You are then able to understand why half of the Battle of Britain was won just by the simple fact of evacuating the BEF from Dunkirk because it re-instilled some confidence and fighting spirit among the British people and armed forces by the simple fact of not being a complete disaster.

After covering Dunkirk, the book makes clear how the sight of Spitfires and Hurricanes fighting over Dover, every day showing up to fight when many believed they would be swept aside quickly, grew that fighting spirit into a hardened resolve. Finally, the bombing of London added a desire for revenge into the mix (something Americans can identify with after September 11) and by the time the first raid on London ended, you understand that the Battle of Britain was already over because her people would never allow themselves to be conquered.

Rating:
Summary: Truly their finest hour....
Review: Without a doubt, this is an excellent book. Therein, the reader will receive a view into the lives British fliers, sailors, soldiers, and civilians as well as "detached" observers, such as American journalists from the Battle of France through the Blitz.

What made this book special to me, was that I had the opportunity to learn more about the fellows of 17 Sqn. Some years ago, I had the privilege to correspond with one of the characters - Harold Arthur Cooper Bird-Wilson (known in the book as "Birdy" Bird-Wilson), DFC DSO; this book gave me a better insight to not only to his experiences, but also to those across the spectrum of British society during that time.