Desert Hawk: The True Story of Stocky Edwards, World War II Flying Ace

by Barbara Hehner

The Desert Hawk is the story of James F. "Stocky" Edwards, one of Canada’s greatest WWII air aces, a fighter pilot who earned his nickname not because of his build, but because he would stand up to anything. A Saskatchewan farm boy whose bird-shooting skills would serve him well later in battle, he joined the RCAF and at 20 years old was leading the 260 Squadron over more senior officers. Edwards racked up victories in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany, and by war’s end he was a decorated wing commander, legendary for his victories and his irrepressible personality. In December 2004, he was made a member of the Order of Canada.Like Barbara Hehner’s bestselling The Tunnel King, which scored highly with kids and was nominated for several awards, including the Silver Birch, The Desert Hawk is another lively, action-adventure read of a great Canadian war hero.

Genres: World War II

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 26, 2005

About the author

BARBARA HEHNER is the author of many children’s books. She began writing over 20 years ago, entering into a partnership with David Suzuki. Together they wrote six children’s science and activity books, starting with Looking at Plants. Barbara Hehner lives in Toronto with her family.

Reviews

[Elinor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book because I know Stocky Edwards personally. He grew up in my home town of Battleford, Saskatchewan and was friends with my mother and her siblings. Because I'm not a military historian, I sometimes find it difficult to wade through the technical details of someone's military career. This book was written at just the right level -- it described Stocky's wartime exploits with enough detail to make them interesting, but did not lose sight of the young man himself.

[Nolan Novak · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a really good book and had good detail about the story of one of are great canadian aces

[D Nichols]

This book is fascinating (especially because I've met this man). His exploits as a flying ace