Reach for the Sky: The Story of Douglas Bader, Legless Ace of the Battle of Britain
by Paul Brickhill
Category: History

Douglas Bader was a legend in his lifetime. After losing both legs in a 1931 air crash and being dismissed by the Royal Air Force, he fought his way back into the cock-pit of a Spitfire and became one of the great heroes of the Battle of Britain. Bader's story is so extraordinary that no one would dare invent it, and his accomplishments have been an inspiration to many. Told he would never walk without a cane, Bader became not only one of the RAF's top combat pilots but a squadron leader and innovator of fighter tactics. Among the thrilling incidents chronicled in this book are his first successful encounter with an enemy plane, the shoot down of his own plane, and his succession of escapes from the Germans.