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Summary
Summary
By the summer of 1940 World War II had been under way for nearly a year. Hitler was triumphant and planning an invasion of England. But the United States was still a neutral country and, as Winston Churchill later observed, "the British people held the fort alone." A few Americans, however, did not remain neutral. They joined Britain's Royal Air Force to fight Hitler's air aces and help save Britain in its darkest hour. The Few is the never-before-told story of these thrill-seeking Americans who defied their country's neutrality laws to fly side-by-side with England's finest pilots. They flew the lethal and elegant Spitfire, and became "knights of the air." With minimal training and plenty of guts they dueled the skilled pilots of Germany's Luftwaffe in the blue skies over England. They shot down several of Germany's fearsome aces, and were feted as national heroes in Britain. By October 1940, they had helped England win the greatest air battle in the history of aviation. At war's end, just one of the "Few" would be alive. The others died flying, wearing the RAF's dark blue uniform-each with a shoulder patch depicting an American eagle. As Winston Churchill said, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
Author Notes
Alex Kershaw is the author of the widely acclaimed and bestselling books The Bedford Boys , The Longest Winter , and The Few , and two biographies: Jack London and Blood and Champagne: The Life and Times of Robert Capa . He lives in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
With his customary narrative drive, Kershaw (The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice) spotlights the handful of American pilots who joined the Royal Air Force and its fighter squadrons during the Battle of Britain. They have been overshadowed by or confused with the better-known Eagle Squadrons, which formed in the autumn of 1940 with the tacit consent of the U.S. government. Kershaw's "few" were a vanguard, enlisting individually to operate the British Spitfire planes as early as May 1940, when England stood alone and her odds of survival seemed long. Crusaders and adventurers, the pilots ignored U.S. neutrality acts to fight from a mixture of principled opposition to Nazism, vaguely defined Anglophilia and sheer love of air combat at a time when it still seemed glamorous. Scattered by ones and twos among different squadrons, each had his own story, which Kershaw admirably contextualizes within the climate of the Battle of Britain. Using personal vignettes to convey the extraordinary routines of life in the cockpits, in the squadrons and in England, Kershaw evokes the heroism of these pilots, only one of whom survived the war whose tide they helped turn. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Rousing story of idealistic Americans who fought against the Nazis with Britain's Royal Air Force long before the U.S. entered World War II. British-born historian Kershaw (The Bedford Boys, 2003, etc.) tells the story of young Americans who, after making their way to Canada and then by ship to Europe, where, in the summer of 1940, among 571 foreigners flying RAF Spitfires against the German Luftwaffe in brutal dogfights over the English Channel. Recruited by Colonel Charles Sweeny, a colorful mercenary and Hemingway pal twice expelled from West Point, these few Americans who fought in the Battle of Britain consisted of Olympic gold-medalist Billy Fiske, 27; Brooklyn skydiver Shorty Keough, 26; former MGM-employed pilot Eugene Tobin, 23; and five others, all civilian pilots intent on flying the powerful Spitfires (their Rolls-Royce engines could exceed 400 miles an hour) and determined to avoid the anticipated American draft. Risking loss of their citizenship in the still-neutral U.S., the fighter pilots were deemed "grand fellows" by grateful Brits, and in a decisive air battle on Sept. 15, 1940, they helped halt Hitler's plans to invade Britain. The author draws on diaries, letters and interviews to recreate harrowing midair sorties against the background of Germany's blitzkrieg advance across Europe and Churchill's relentless efforts to coax the U.S. into the war. After the Battle of Britain, more than 200 Americans continued to serve in the RAF's three "American Eagle" squadrons, which later became part of the U.S. Army Air Force. They were never prosecuted by the State Department; a dozen are still living. A delight for military buffs. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In the summer of 1940, World War II was in its second year and Adolf Hitler was planning to invade England. The U.S. had not yet entered the war, but a few Americans joined Britain's Royal Air Force. Flying Spitfire planes, they became known as the knights of the air. In doing so, they would break several neutrality laws and became what Kershaw terms outlaws in their own country. Kershaw, author of The Bedford Boys (2003) and The Longest Winter (2004), tells the story of these pilots; 244 U.S. citizens eventually flew with the RAF Eagle Squadrons. Only 1 survived the war. But according to the RAF's official roster in 1940, just 7 Americans belonged to the few. These were the Americans who fought during the greatest air battle in history, labeled the Battle of Britain. Like his other books, Kershaw has written a rousing tale of little-known heroes. With 32 pages of black-and-white photographs, The Few marks Kershaw as a master storyteller. --George Cohen Copyright 2006 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Of the 2,917 pilots who served in Britain's Royal Air Force, fighting the German airborne assault during the Battle of Britain, seven were Americans who violated the neutrality laws of their own country by volunteering for the RAF. Eventually, over 200 U.S. citizens flew with the RAF's Eagle Squadrons, following the creation of all-American units, but only those who fought during the Battle of Britain were recognized by their grateful hosts as "the Few." Kershaw's (The Bedford Boys) fine study of this titanic aerial struggle and the Americans who participated is certainly not the first (see, e.g., Philip D. Caine's American Pilots in the RAF). But it is an admirable addition to the historiography, following the hair-raising odysseys of these expatriates from hometown America to the besieged RAF squadrons, where they endured ten-to-one odds in the sky and deplorable living conditions on the ground while serving Churchill as a propaganda tool to counter U.S. isolationism. Aviation specialists will find Kershaw a master of such details as the flying characteristics of the British Spitfire and the German Me-109 and the contents of G?ring's obscenely lavish hunting lodge, Carinhall. His history hits the mark in Call respects; his annotated endnotes provide a virtual second volume. Recommended for all libraries, especially those with strong aviation and World War II collections. John Carver Edwards, Univ. of Georgia, Cleveland (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
