Reach for the Sky: The Life-Story of Douglas Bader

First published in 1954, this biography recounts the life of Douglas Bader, the RAF fighter pilot who lost both legs in a 1931 crash, learned to walk and fly again on artificial limbs, and returned to operations in the Second World War. Brickhill follows squadron command in the Battle of Britain, the 1941 sortie over France in which Bader was shot down, and the years as a prisoner of war, including time at Colditz. Prewar obstinacy and wartime tactics occupy as much space as the disability. The book is a single-life narrative of flying and captivity, not a general history of Fighter Command.

Bound in blue cloth, cover blocked with a black and white design by Richard Sweeney.