"[With Wings Like Eagles is] bold and refreshing... Korda writes with great elegance and flair."--Wall Street Journal
From the New York Times bestselling author of Ike and Horse People, Michael Korda, comes With Wings Like Eagles, the harrowing story of The Battle of Britain, one of the most important battles of World War II. In the words of the Washington Post Book World, "With Wings Like Eagles is a skillful, absorbing, often moving contribution to the popular understanding of one of the few episodes in history ... to deserve the description 'heroic.'"
In the summer of 1940, the fate of the free world rested on the shoulders of fewer than 2,000 young fighter pilots--and the innovative, desperate strategy that kept them in the air.
- RAF vs. Luftwaffe: A gripping day-by-day account of how the Royal Air Force held off the might of the German air force against overwhelming odds.
- Air Warfare Strategy: The untold story of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, the architect of Britain's victory, and his revolutionary system combining radar intelligence with centralized fighter control.
- Spitfire and Hurricane: A deep dive into the legendary aircraft that became symbols of defiance, and the pilots who flew them into history against the formidable Bf 109.
- Winston Churchill's Leadership: Discover the crucial role of the prime minister in steeling Britain's resolve to fight on alone, chronicled through his powerful speeches and private struggles.
About the Author :
Michael Korda is the author of Ulysses S. Grant, Ike, Hero, and Charmed Lives. Educated at Le Rosey in Switzerland and at Magdalen College, Oxford, he served in the Royal Air Force. He took part in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and on its fiftieth anniversary was awarded the Order of Merit of the People's Republic of Hungary. He and his wife, Margaret, make their home in Dutchess County, New York.
Review :
Military historians face tough choices. Do they write about The Big Picture, with presidents and prime ministers making decisions with generals and admirals? Or do they write from the foxhole level, where The Big Picture extends only 300 meters to the front and flanks? . . . In looking back at World War II's Battle of Britain in With Wings Like Eagles, historian Michael Korda tells the tale from all of the angles cited above. Not only does he make it work, he also keeps it terse. . . . With Wings Like Eagles tells their story superbly. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"A skillful, absorbing, often moving contribution to the popular understanding of one of the few episodes in history to live on untarnished and undiminished in the collective memory and to deserve the description 'heroic.'" - Washington Post Book World
"Bold and refreshing. . . . Korda writes with great elegance and flair." - Wall Street Journal
"A worthy addition to the mounds of material on the battle that saved Britain and possibly much of the world." - San Antonio Express-News
"The book soars in those parts in which Korda describes how the British prepared for the war in the skies, or how the Germans failed time and again to deliver a knockout blow". - New York Times Book Review
"Books have been written about the Battle of Britain, but to me none is as interesting and informative as Michael Korda's new With Wings Like Eagles." - Tampa Tribune
"Regardless of whether you are one of the lucky few ever to have flown a Spitfire, or your parents not yet born in 1940, Michael Korda's reliving of all the exhilaration, heroism, fear, and epochal significance of the 'Battle of Britain' will enthrall you. He restores the name of its principal architect, 'Stuffy' Dowding, to its proper pinnacle, and even has unexpected, but just, praise for Neville Chamberlain. His mastery of aero-technics is phenomenal, and no one can make an exciting, and complex, tale more understandable; quite simply the best book I have read this year." - Sir Alistair Horne, C.B.E.
The Battle of Britain was one of the great transformative events of modern history, and Michael Korda's stirring account of the campaign is an absolute masterpiece, written with power, intensity and tremendous fidelity to the historical record. It is a tour de force of storytelling and analysis, and a highly pleasurable read, as well, history in the grand style of the masters of the art. - Donald L. Miller, author of Masters of the Air
"A wonderful story, splendidly, deftly and originally told." - Hugh Thomas, author of The Spanish Civil War
"A natural pick for the WWII collection." - Booklist
"An excellent book. The writing is most rewarding, and Korda's natural talent and experience as a storyteller have enabled him to bind all the disparate episodes into a gripping story. A formidable job, beautifully completed." - Len Deighton, author of The Ipcress File
