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Eagle Days

Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain

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Eagle Days

By: Victoria Taylor
Narrated by: John Sackville
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Bloomsbury presents Eagle Days by Victoria Taylor, read by John Sackville.

By the summer of 1940, Great Britain watched as France succumbed to the might of Adolf Hitler’s forces. Her forces driven off the continent, many rescued from capture at Dunkirk, only the Royal Air Force, supported by the country’s newly established radar system, now stood in the way of the country being invaded. Herman Goering had promised his Fuhrer his air force would sweep the British skies of all opposition to allow Operation Sea Lion, the invasion of southern England, to commence. The intense aerial combat over the coming months across the English Channel and the countryside of southeast England would not reflect the optimism of Nazi propaganda.

Researching and blending a diverse range of primary sources together (Luftwaffe air crews’ personal letters and diaries), with official combat reports, and contemporary German newspapers, Victoria Taylor weaves a rich, multifaceted tapestry of the military, political, social and cultural influences that shaped the German air force’s mentality and morale during the Battle of Britain.

Eagle Days transforms the Luftwaffe’s historical role during the RAF’s ‘Finest Hour’ from a cartoonish antagonist to a multidimensional, flawed-yet-formidable opponent. The narrative contains not just the voices of the air crews who conducted the fighting, but uniquely never-before-translated primary source material of other contemporary eyewitnesses, (Luftwaffe’s paratroopers, anti-aircraft gunners and air signalmen). Eagle Days will offer all fans of this period a refreshing, comprehensive and exciting new account of the Luftwaffe’s real experiences during the Battle of Britain.©2025 Victoria Taylor (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC 20th Century Air Forces Armed Forces Europe Great Britain Military Modern
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Critic reviews

Diving in deeper than dogfights, this fantastic study gives us the 1940 Luftwaffe with its varnish stripped away.
By refocusing on the 'Luftschlacht um England’, the 'Battle of Britain’ through a German lens, Victoria Taylor transforms familiar history into a fascinating account of both courage and culpability. Deeply researched, this page-turning history enriches without glorifying. Important and overdue.
In this vivid, involving, account Dr Taylor confirms some popular assumptions about both the Luftwaffe and the RAF, and qualifies or demolishes many others. She thereby establishes herself as one of the most promising talents among the younger generation of military historians.
With Eagle Days, Victoria Taylor finds a fresh and compelling way of analysing the landmark battle, and proves herself a historian to watch (James Holland)
[A] fascinating debut... Eagle Days is essential reading
Comprehensive, multi-layered and filled with rich detail and eyewitness accounts... A riveting and timely read from one of our finest young historians
Taylor has done the historiography of the battle an enormous favour... [and has] skilfully demonstrated the deep-set ideological motivation of the Luftwaffe.
Truly unique... [Taylor] has a very distinct way of looking at the Luftwaffe and its men, which is quite different to earlier works on the Battle of Britain
All stars
Most relevant
A good well written history of the Luftwaffe personnel at the beginning of the 2nd WW.
Could recommend this along with Luftwaffe War Diaries which unfortunately is not an audiobook yet, to give an alternative view on the aerial campaign.

Individual stories of participants

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A really entertaining and fascinating look at a side of the battle and german air force that opened my eyes and made me understand, and reflect on the battle, before during and after it took place

enjoyable and fascinating

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After spending 40 years researching and reading the Battle Of Britain, this book proves there is also more to learn! A great read.

Fascinating & Insiteful

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Being educated by the "Battle of Britain" film and after reading a dozens of RAF-oriented books where detailed list of squadrons and their day by day actions are provided, I found this book really interesting and contributing to my knowledge of the iconic battle.

Interesting and a new look

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I found this to be an interesting and engaging book, telling the German side of the Battle of Britain. It provides an excellent source of information to balance the better-known accounts from the British point of view.

Fascinating alternative view of history

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