A Summer Bright and Terrible: Winston Churchill, Lord Dowding, Radar, and the Impossible Triumph of the Battle of Britain
Possibly few World War II battles are quite as myth-encrusted as the Battle of Britain. Accolades to the "few" extolled by Winston Churchill have prompted revisionist accounts such as Richard Overy'sBattle of Britain: The Myth and the Reality(2001). Fisher's contribution to the subgenre sets aside the understandable attraction to Spitfires--versus-Messerschmitts, and tells the story of the British commander of the battle, Hugh Dowding. Unceremoniously forced into retirement during the battle, Dowding does not have the historical renown a victor can expect. To Dowding's most obvious trait--obstinacy--Fisher credits the man's success (and by implication, Britain's salvation). For Dowding, initially as the Royal Air Force's chief of technical research, and subsequently as head of Fighter Command, resisted numerous dubious ideas from on high; chaperoned by Churchill's childish excitement, the bad ideas, like sending Britain's fighter squadrons to France, could have had dire consequences but for Dowding's stout opposition. Featuring a lively narrative peppered with summary judgments, Fisher's profile of the eccentric Dowding merits the allegiance of the WWII audience.Gilbert TaylorCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.