Rating: 
Summary: More facts with less bias, this book has more meat & potatos
Review: Better than the "Coffee table books" that sing adoring praises of the Spitfire and Hurricane pilots, this book better reflects the thoughts and minds of both sides on a moment-by-moment basis than any other so called "analysis" work. With interviews and photos from both sides, this book captures the daily life of a RAF or Luftwaffe pilot and gives a better story about the 'Big Picture' than anywhere else. The hand drawn cartoons by the luftwaffe pilots are worth the price of the book alone.
Rating:
Summary: More facts with less bias, this book has more meat & potatos
Review: Better than the "Coffee table books" that sing adoring praises of the Spitfire and Hurricane pilots, this book better reflects the thoughts and minds of both sides on a moment-by-moment basis than any other so called "analysis" work. With interviews and photos from both sides, this book captures the daily life of a RAF or Luftwaffe pilot and gives a better story about the 'Big Picture' than anywhere else. The hand drawn cartoons by the luftwaffe pilots are worth the price of the book alone.
Rating:
Summary: Technology
Review: Deighton presents the results of modern scholarship (refuting the Churchill/Coventry myth, etc) in a fascinating way. His greatest strength is his discussion of technology, which is slighted by too many historians (who consider technology and science beneath them). A pleasure to read.
Rating:
Summary: Tremendous research, fascinsating insight..
Review: Deighton's "Fighter" is a comprehensive non-fiction historical account of the Battle of Britain based on a tremendous amount of research and fascinating in insight.This is not my first book by Deighton. I've thoroughly enjoyed his fictional works including Bomber, and Goodbye Mickey Mouse because of their technical details overlayed on a stories of great dramatic tension. Fighter leaves the drama behind, and in doing so the end result in not diminished; for without the drama and story lines, facts and insights based on immense research are displayed with great clarity. Make no mistake, the book is comprehensive and contains: 1) short biographies of the major figures of both sides including Churchill, Parks, Dowding, Goring, Milch, and Udet, 2) insights into the aircraft designers Messeschmitt, Junkers, Camm, and Mitchell, 3) insights into aircraft performance, 4) radar development, 5) radar/operations infrastructure, 5) the 4 stages of the Battle of Britain (Kanalkampf, Aldertag, the "critical period", and the 'blitz'), 6) famous pilots such as Malan and Galland, 7) day-by-day account of the battle, 8) in depth stop-action analysis of particular battles... The research behind these details is amazing. Yet with all these details, Deighton makes it an easy read, not a laborious task. Deighton takes no sides in this battle, and seeks the truth, objectivity, and historical accuracy. And in this regard, the book is an unrivaled success. If you want to know what really happened in the Battle of Britain, and why, then this is THE book to read.
Rating:
Summary: Tremendous research, fascinsating insight..
Review: Deighton's "Fighter" is a comprehensive non-fiction historical account of the Battle of Britain based on a tremendous amount of research and fascinating in insight. This is not my first book by Deighton. I've thoroughly enjoyed his fictional works including Bomber, and Goodbye Mickey Mouse because of their technical details overlayed on a stories of great dramatic tension. Fighter leaves the drama behind, and in doing so the end result in not diminished; for without the drama and story lines, facts and insights based on immense research are displayed with great clarity. Make no mistake, the book is comprehensive and contains: 1) short biographies of the major figures of both sides including Churchill, Parks, Dowding, Goring, Milch, and Udet, 2) insights into the aircraft designers Messeschmitt, Junkers, Camm, and Mitchell, 3) insights into aircraft performance, 4) radar development, 5) radar/operations infrastructure, 5) the 4 stages of the Battle of Britain (Kanalkampf, Aldertag, the "critical period", and the 'blitz'), 6) famous pilots such as Malan and Galland, 7) day-by-day account of the battle, 8) in depth stop-action analysis of particular battles... The research behind these details is amazing. Yet with all these details, Deighton makes it an easy read, not a laborious task. Deighton takes no sides in this battle, and seeks the truth, objectivity, and historical accuracy. And in this regard, the book is an unrivaled success. If you want to know what really happened in the Battle of Britain, and why, then this is THE book to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Technical analysis
Review: Don?t expect great human dramar or neck-twisting fighter combats here. This is a technical analysis of the Battle of Britain, done with skill by Mr. Deighton.
Rating: 
Summary: A pleasure to read
Review: Len Deighton produces some of the most enjoyable non-fiction books on World War II that I have read. His experience as a fiction writer gives him the skill that so many historians lack, tha ability to tell a story. The Battle of Britain is a perfect combination of politics, men, technology and tactics.
Rating:
Summary: Here's why the Battle of Britain was won
Review: This book is as an admirable example of the good old rule in journalism: "Comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable." It's fitting. Much of the victory credit belongs to a Canadian newspaper publisher in England, Lord Beaverbrook. As Minister of Aircraft Production, he provided so many aircraft that the Royal Air Force ended the Battle of Britain with more aircraft than when it started. For both sides, the crucial elements were production and tactics -- German aircraft production didn't peak until 1944. As for tactics, the entire German war effort was based on "lightning victories" such as the defeat of Poland and France. The British relied on their old standby of being able to outlast any enemy. Granted, everyone "knows" about the Battle of Britain. Deighton challenges the comfortable old myths about the war, and points out that a lot of "what we know" just isn't so. The Germans deny there ever was a "Battle of Britain;" later in the war, they'd lose more aircraft in a single day of combat than during the entire August-September 1940 campaign against England. The British victory is hailed as equal to the defeat of the Spanish Armada and Nelson's victory at Trafalgar, a myth Deighton neatly punctures. A major element is the incredible blunders and mistakes by Germans and British. War is truly a case of victory going to whoever makes the least mistakes. These range from strategic and production decisions made in the mid-1930s, to Adolph Hitler's fatal hubris in the summer of 1940 that "the British have lost the war, but they don't know it; one must give them time, and they will come around." Hitler only understood lightning victories; the British relied on being able to outlast their enemies. Without going into technical detail that would swamp the average reader, Deighton masterfully explains why choices such as a lighter breech-block on the Oerlikon MG FF was a handicap for German pilots, as was the British decision to use nitro-cordite ammunition after everyone else switched to nitro-cellulose. Such details, explained in clear and concise form, are the treasure of this book. Add them up, and it becomes clear why Germany could not win World War II. The British, for all their stupidity, had a democratic system in which errors could be corrected. Germany had a dynamic leader, and the military knew it was better to procrastinate than to suggest corrections to his decisions. In short, from the Battle of Britain to VE-Day, Churchill spent the war being sometimes wrong and often being corrected. Hitler spent the same time being sometimes right, without his errors ever being corrected. That may not seem like much, except this book ties it all together to clearly illustrate the inevitable outcome of democracy versus a closed society. Deighton has done a masterful job. He explains the "when, where, who, when and how" of the Battle of Britain as do most histories. Most important, he explains "why" it was won. Those six words are the "six honest serving men (They taught me all I knew)" of Rudyard Kipling and all journalism, which Deighton employs as a master.
Rating:
Summary: Here's why the Battle of Britain was won
Review: This book is as an admirable example of the good old rule in journalism: "Comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable." It's fitting. Much of the victory credit belongs to a Canadian newspaper publisher in England, Lord Beaverbrook. As Minister of Aircraft Production, he provided so many aircraft that the Royal Air Force ended the Battle of Britain with more aircraft than when it started. For both sides, the crucial elements were production and tactics -- German aircraft production didn't peak until 1944. As for tactics, the entire German war effort was based on "lightning victories" such as the defeat of Poland and France. The British relied on their old standby of being able to outlast any enemy. Granted, everyone "knows" about the Battle of Britain. Deighton challenges the comfortable old myths about the war, and points out that a lot of "what we know" just isn't so. The Germans deny there ever was a "Battle of Britain;" later in the war, they'd lose more aircraft in a single day of combat than during the entire August-September 1940 campaign against England. The British victory is hailed as equal to the defeat of the Spanish Armada and Nelson's victory at Trafalgar, a myth Deighton neatly punctures. A major element is the incredible blunders and mistakes by Germans and British. War is truly a case of victory going to whoever makes the least mistakes. These range from strategic and production decisions made in the mid-1930s, to Adolph Hitler's fatal hubris in the summer of 1940 that "the British have lost the war, but they don't know it; one must give them time, and they will come around." Hitler only understood lightning victories; the British relied on being able to outlast their enemies. Without going into technical detail that would swamp the average reader, Deighton masterfully explains why choices such as a lighter breech-block on the Oerlikon MG FF was a handicap for German pilots, as was the British decision to use nitro-cordite ammunition after everyone else switched to nitro-cellulose. Such details, explained in clear and concise form, are the treasure of this book. Add them up, and it becomes clear why Germany could not win World War II. The British, for all their stupidity, had a democratic system in which errors could be corrected. Germany had a dynamic leader, and the military knew it was better to procrastinate than to suggest corrections to his decisions. In short, from the Battle of Britain to VE-Day, Churchill spent the war being sometimes wrong and often being corrected. Hitler spent the same time being sometimes right, without his errors ever being corrected. That may not seem like much, except this book ties it all together to clearly illustrate the inevitable outcome of democracy versus a closed society. Deighton has done a masterful job. He explains the "when, where, who, when and how" of the Battle of Britain as do most histories. Most important, he explains "why" it was won. Those six words are the "six honest serving men (They taught me all I knew)" of Rudyard Kipling and all journalism, which Deighton employs as a master.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Have Book for Aerial History Buffs
Review: This book is probably one of the best air history books you will find. It covers a specific battle, the Battle of Britain, one of the greatest air battles of all time. And it covers all aspects of the battle extensively--the machines, the men who flew them, the other inventions that figured in the battle, such as radar, the tactics employed by both sides, and much more. Some reviewers have called it too technical. Not if what you want is a thorough study of a battle from every angle. I found it fascinating and exciting reading.
If you are interested in aerial warfare, this book will satisfy you completely.
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