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david_reads_books's review against another edition
5.0
Spoiler - Britain wins the Battle of Britain. You do not know this until page 177 of the 187 pages of text. (Unless you paid attention in history class). This was not a short battle. Officially, July 10, 1940 to Oct 31, 1940. On page 177, Germany's operation Sea Lion was canceled on Sept 17. The key to the cancellation was anther convincing air victory on Sept 15 by the RAF (Royal Air Force). Even if you did pay attention in history class, you have an uneasy feeling with only 10 pages remaining, that either side could win!
The Dunkirk evacuation concluded on June 4. Soon afterward, Winston Churchill gave is famous battle-naming speech on June 18, and foretold of what truly became 'their finest hour'.
What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation. Upon it depends our own British life and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of a perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour"
The Blitz on London actually continued into May of 1941, so the Battle of Britain can not truly be constrained to a window of time. But September 15 is the "Battle of Britain Day" to commemorate the air battle where David beat Goliath well enough for Hitler to scrap his invasion plans. On this Sunday in 1941, over 1500 combined aircraft fought in the sky, with Britain the acknowledged victor.
The US was not yet in the war. If Britain had fallen, would Hitler have prevailed? Hitler turned east (after canceling operation Sea Lion invasion of Britain) against a staunch Russia and found another brick wall. But the free world today needs to give many thanks to the brave teens and 20-year-olds that went into the sky for months, maybe five times per day, to do individual battles to save their collective nation (and more).
This is a very well put-together oversize book. Lots of applicable pictures that perfectly match the text in which they are inserted. Constant use of first-person narrative accounts. Occasional pages with a detailed focus on a specific pilot or military leader personality. Definitely a book I'd like to own.
The Dunkirk evacuation concluded on June 4. Soon afterward, Winston Churchill gave is famous battle-naming speech on June 18, and foretold of what truly became 'their finest hour'.
What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation. Upon it depends our own British life and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of a perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour"
The Blitz on London actually continued into May of 1941, so the Battle of Britain can not truly be constrained to a window of time. But September 15 is the "Battle of Britain Day" to commemorate the air battle where David beat Goliath well enough for Hitler to scrap his invasion plans. On this Sunday in 1941, over 1500 combined aircraft fought in the sky, with Britain the acknowledged victor.
The US was not yet in the war. If Britain had fallen, would Hitler have prevailed? Hitler turned east (after canceling operation Sea Lion invasion of Britain) against a staunch Russia and found another brick wall. But the free world today needs to give many thanks to the brave teens and 20-year-olds that went into the sky for months, maybe five times per day, to do individual battles to save their collective nation (and more).
This is a very well put-together oversize book. Lots of applicable pictures that perfectly match the text in which they are inserted. Constant use of first-person narrative accounts. Occasional pages with a detailed focus on a specific pilot or military leader personality. Definitely a book I'd like to own.
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