Spitfire: The Biography

(Paperback, Main)

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Description

It is difficult to overestimate the excitement that accompanied the birth of the Spitfire. An aircraft imbued with balletic grace and extraordinary versatility, it was powered by a piston engine and a propeller, yet came tantalisingly close to breaking the sound barrier. First flown in 1936, the Spitfire soon came to symbolise Britain's defiance of Nazi Germany in the summer of 1940.

Spitfire: The Biography is a celebration of a great British invention, of the men and women who flew it and supported its development, and of the industry that manufactured both the aircraft and the Rolls-Royce engines that powered it. It is also about a boy who wished he could have been a Second World War fighter pilot and who was later able to fly the aircraft that took his father into combat.

Reviews

Hugely entertaining -- James Holland
An authoritative and comprehensive tribute to a unique aircraft. -- Adrian Swire * Spectator *
A drama that cannot help take wing. The elements still excite the imagination and raise the heart. -- Tom Fort * Sunday Telegraph *
Eclectic and entertaining -- Patrick Bishop * Literary Review *
A wonderful book -- Rowland White

Author Bio

Jonathan Glancey is well known as the former architecture and design correspondent of the Guardian and Independent newspapers. He is also a steam locomotive enthusiast and pilot. A frequent broadcaster, his books include Concorde, Harrier, Giants of Steam, the bestselling Spitfire: The Biography, Nagaland: A Journey to India's Forgotten Frontier, Tornado: 21st Century Steam, The Story of Architecture, The Train: An Illustrated History and The Journey Matters.