Defiant by Robert Verkaik, Hardcover, 9781472143556 | Buy online at The Nile
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Defiant

The Untold Story of the Battle of Britain

Author: Robert Verkaik  

A new history of the Battle of Britain written from the unique perspective of the pilots who flew Britain's forgotten fighter plane. While history has exhaustively recorded the crucial role played by the Spitfire and the Hurricane, next to nothing exists about the third British fighter which took part in the battle: the Boulton Paul Defiant.

In this startling new perspective on the Battle of Britain, Robert Verkaik reveals the surprising truth about the battle's forgotten fighter, the Boulton Paul Defiant.

Read more
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Summary

A new history of the Battle of Britain written from the unique perspective of the pilots who flew Britain's forgotten fighter plane. While history has exhaustively recorded the crucial role played by the Spitfire and the Hurricane, next to nothing exists about the third British fighter which took part in the battle: the Boulton Paul Defiant.

In this startling new perspective on the Battle of Britain, Robert Verkaik reveals the surprising truth about the battle's forgotten fighter, the Boulton Paul Defiant.

Read more

Description

'Firmly establishes the aircraft's role in those crucial aerial battles of 1940 and elevates the brave aircrews who fought and died in their forgotten Defiants, to rank alongside their comrades in the better remembered Hurricanes and Spitfires.'

David Fairhead, director of Spitfire

Praise for Jihadi John:

'An exemplary account . . . The book's most important contribution is to highlight the difficulties faced by the intelligence services . . . a first-class primer on Muslim extremism in Britain.'

Max Hastings, Sunday Times

'A riveting and compelling portrait of Mohammed Emwazi on his journey to the heart of darkness.'

Andrew Hosken, author of Empire of Fear: Inside the Islamic State

Praise for Posh Boys:

'The latest in the series of powerful books on the divisions in modern Britain, and will take its place on many bookshelves beside Reni Eddo-Lodge's Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race and Owen Jones's Chavs.'

Andrew Marr, Sunday Times

'A trenchant j'accuse against the old-boy chumocracy . . . Posh Boys is, for a book about public schools, decidedly comprehensive.'

Guardian

'Inspired, committed, careful and kind.'

Danny Dorling, author of Inequality and the 1%

In this startling new perspective on the Battle of Britain, Robert Verkaik reveals the surprising truth about the battle's forgotten fighter, the Boulton Paul Defiant.

The crucial role played by the Spitfire and the Hurricane has been exhaustively recorded, but, to date, next to nothing has been written about the third British fighter which took part in the battle. By writing from the unique perspective of the pilots who flew the Defiant and their air-gunners, Verkaik helps to set the record straight.

The Air Staff regarded the Defiant as a state-of-the-art bomber destroyer and wanted to equip a third of all Fighter Command squadrons with this new plane. But the head of Fighter Command, Hugh Dowding, had other ideas and went to war with Whitehall over its plan to saddle him with hundreds of 'obsolete' turret fighters. Then at Dunkirk, a Defiant squadron scored a huge success against the Luftwaffe by shooting down more German planes in one day than any other RAF unit before or since. Fighter Command, enthusiastically urged on by the Air Ministry, now committed its third fighter to the coming air battle over southern England. In the desperate dogfights of the battle, Defiants shot down both German bombers and fighters but suffered heavy losses too - one squadron was almost wiped out when it was ambushed by a superior force of Me

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Critic Reviews

“Praise for Posh Boys :Verkaik comprehensively demolishes [public school] claims. - New StatesmanPraise for Posh Boys :The latest in the series of powerful books on the divisions in modern Britain, and will take its place on many bookshelves beside Reni Eddo-Lodge's Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race and Owen Jones's Chavs . - Sunday TimesPraise for Posh Boys : Does a fine job of reminding us how powerful a hold the elite schools have over public life. - TimesPraise for Posh Boys :An illuminating and hugely enjoyable read, packed full of eye-opening facts . . . At a time when the gap between rich and poor is widening, we need to talk seriously about the role of public schools in our society. Posh Boys is a welcome catalyst for that debate. - Sunday HeraldPraise for Posh Boys :In his fascinating, enraging polemic, Verkaik touches on one of the strangest aspects of the elite schools and their product's domination of public life for two-and-a-half centuries: the acquiescence of everyone else. - ObserverA trenchant j'accuse against the old-boy chumocracy . . . Posh Boys is, for a book about public schools, decidedly comprehensive. - GuardianYou cannot understand Britain without understanding this - the story of how we became a nation obsessed with elite education that continues to stack the odds against fairness and progress, and the cultural forces it has unleashed upon us all. Robert Verkaik tells it with clarity, and makes a powerful call for change.'Inspired, committed, careful and kind.”

Praise for Posh Boys:

Verkaik comprehensively demolishes [public school] claims. - New Statesman

Praise for Posh Boys:

The latest in the series of powerful books on the divisions in modern Britain, and will take its place on many bookshelves beside Reni Eddo-Lodge's Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race and Owen Jones's Chavs. - Sunday Times

Praise for Posh Boys:

Does a fine job of reminding us how powerful a hold the elite schools have over public life. - Times

Praise for Posh Boys:

An illuminating and hugely enjoyable read, packed full of eye-opening facts . . . At a time when the gap between rich and poor is widening, we need to talk seriously about the role of public schools in our society. Posh Boys is a welcome catalyst for that debate. - Sunday Herald

Praise for Posh Boys:

In his fascinating, enraging polemic, Verkaik touches on one of the strangest aspects of the elite schools and their product's domination of public life for two-and-a-half centuries: the acquiescence of everyone else. - Observer

A trenchant j'accuse against the old-boy chumocracy . . . Posh Boys is, for a book about public schools, decidedly comprehensive. - Guardian

You cannot understand Britain without understanding this - the story of how we became a nation obsessed with elite education that continues to stack the odds against fairness and progress, and the cultural forces it has unleashed upon us all. Robert Verkaik tells it with clarity, and makes a powerful call for change.'

Inspired, committed, careful and kind.

Read more

About the Author

ROBERT VERKAIK is the former security editor of the Mail on Sunday who now writes for the Guardian, Independent, i, Tortoise, Observer, Times, Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Times. He is the author of Jihadi John: The Making of a Terrorist and Posh Boys: How English Public Schools Ruin Britain, published by Oneworld in 2016 and 2018. His reporting has been long-listed for both the Orwell Prize and the Paul Foot Awards. He was a runner-up in the specialist journalist category at the 2013 National Press Awards. Robert lives in Surrey.

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More on this Book

'From the corridors of the Air Ministry to the skies over Dunkirk, Robert Verkaik tells the story of the Battle of Britain's unlikeliest hero with verve and phenomenal grasp of detail. He brings the Defiant fighter back into focus as an important part of the victorious RAF in the hour of its greatest trial' Mark Urban 'Meticulously researched and rich in human and social as well as military interest, Defiant fills a crucial gap in our understanding of that most perilous time'David Kynaston, author of Austerity Britain 'Firmly establishes the aircraft's role in those crucial aerial battles of 1940 and elevates the brave aircrews who fought and died in their forgotten Defiants, to rank alongside their comrades in the better remembered Hurricanes and Spitfires.' David Fairhead, director of Spitfire Praise for Jihadi John : 'An exemplary account . . . The book's most important contribution is to highlight the difficulties faced by the intelligence services . . . a first-class primer on Muslim extremism in Britain.' Max Hastings, Sunday Times 'A riveting and compelling portrait of Mohammed Emwazi on his journey to the heart of darkness.' Andrew Hosken, author of Empire of Fear: Inside the Islamic State Praise for Posh Boys : 'The latest in the series of powerful books on the divisions in modern Britain, and will take its place on many bookshelves beside Reni Eddo-Lodge's Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race and Owen Jones's Chavs .' Andrew Marr, Sunday Times 'A trenchant j'accuse against the old-boy chumocracy . . . Posh Boys is, for a book about public schools, decidedly comprehensive.' Guardian 'Inspired, committed, careful and kind.' Danny Dorling, author of Inequality and the 1% In this startling new perspective on the Battle of Britain, Robert Verkaik reveals the surprising truth about the battle's forgotten fighter, the Boulton Paul Defiant. The crucial role played by the Spitfire and the Hurricane has been exhaustively recorded, but, to date, next to nothing has been written about the third British fighter which took part in the battle. By writing from the unique perspective of the pilots who flew the Defiant and their air-gunners, Verkaik helps to set the record straight. The Air Staff regarded the Defiant as a state-of-the-art bomber destroyer and wanted to equip a third of all Fighter Command squadrons with this new plane. But the head of Fighter Command, Hugh Dowding, had other ideas and went to war with Whitehall over its plan to saddle

Read more

Product Details

Publisher
Little, Brown Book Group | Robinson
Published
4th June 2020
Pages
384
ISBN
9781472143556

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