Fighter cover art

Fighter

Penguin Modern Classics

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Fighter

By: Len Deighton
Narrated by: John Sackville
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin

History is swamped by patriotic myths about the aerial combat fought between the RAF and the Luftwaffe over the summer of 1940. In his gripping history of the Battle of Britain, Len Deighton drew on a decade of research and his own wartime experiences to puncture these myths and point towards a more objective, and even more inspiring, truth.

©1977 Len Deighton (P)2021 Penguin Audio Air Forces Armed Forces Europe Military War US Air Force

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Critic reviews

"The most honest attempt yet to tell how the Battle of Britain really was." (Andrew Wilson, Observer)

"Revolutionised thinking about the Battle of Britain in a way that has not been seriously challenged since." (The Times)
All stars
Most relevant
Absolutely fantastic listen. Well written and I found the narration perfect.

Certainly challenges my previous understanding and knowledge of the BoB

Brilliant.

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There is a lot of dry humour in this book which captures a lot of the British spirit behind the perpetration, eventual victory and the questionable behaviour and treatment of its architect Dowding.

Fascinating & wryly observed

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I enjoyed listening to ‘Fighter’, more of a straightforward historical account that these author’s great work, ‘Bomber’ which cleverly mixes fact with fiction. In spite of the author’s claim in the introduction I didn’t learn too much that was new, probably because there have been a number of accounts written since ‘Fighter’ was published, all benefitting from new information that has come to light. Don’t let that put you off. This is worth listening to

Enjoyable account, we’ll read and informative

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Excellent research and content benefitting from a thriller writer's style. Sad when it was finished!

Brilliant!

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I tried to read this book when Len Deighton worked in Ireland in the 1970s. Len gave my mother a copy but I was only 17 and found it too much. Revisiting Spitfire all these years later I discovered the level of detail extraordinary and thoroughly enjoyed this masterpiece.

Deighton is a master writer

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