Battle of Britain

Duty Calls #2

by James Holland

Wednesday 24 July 1940.

Pilot Officer Archie Jackson, 19, is in control of the RAF’s newest fighter aircraft, a Supermarine Spitfire.

Now he has the Luftwaffe in his sights and only one thing matters: defending Britain.

Suddenly planes are falling from the sky, exploding and spiralling into the English Channel.

France has fallen and the swastika flies over occupied Europe. Only these young pilots—barely out of boyhood—stand between Britain and a German invasion in the summer of 1940.

Genres: Fiction, War

338 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2012

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

James Holland was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, and studied history at Durham University. He has worked for several London publishing houses and has also written for a number of national newspapers and magazines. Married with a son, he lives near Salisbury.

Reviews

[Robin Braysher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only when I started reading this did I realise it's a 'Puffin', so aimed at children or, in this case, 'young adults' - but that's never bothered me. Having just read James Holland's mighty book on the Battle of Britain I had no doubt that this would be factually accurate, but can he write fiction? I like historical fiction but there is some dreadful tosh out there and being a top-notch historian doesn't necessarily make for good fiction; however, I needn't have worried - he can write fiction. I'm not surprised, as he puts some cracking descriptions in his non-fiction books. This is a rattling good read and packs in a lot of information - which I guess is part of the intention - without being too heavy-handed about; having a character with a father who's a bigwig in the Air Ministry is a good wheeze. Yes, the trajectory of the story is fairly obvious, but a story about RAF fighter pilots in the Battle of Britain is never going to go off on any major tangents. James Holland has interviewed fighter pilots from both sides, so you can be sure that this book gives a good impression of the strain and chaos of air fighting in those crucial days in the country's history. A good introduction and a fine tribute to 'The Few' (many of whom weren't much older than the intended readers), whether you're a young adult ... or rather older, like me!

[KOMET · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel offers action, excitement (in terms of the aerial combat scenes so richly rendered here), romance, and a sobering view of the pain, loss, and gut-wrenching sorrow that war leaves in its wake.

James Holland is a fine writer and historian. (By chance, I discovered him a few years ago through an earlier work of his,Fortress Malta: An Island Under Siege 1940-1943, which was FANTASTIC). Here he brings to the reader the immediacy (through the 2 fighter pilots and best friends, Archie Jackson and Ted Tyler) and horror that underlay the Battle of Britain, during which Britain struggled to survive against heavy odds throughout the summer and early autumn of 1940.

For any reader who loves to read true-to-life tales of high octane adventure, stop here. You'll be glad that you did.

[Ajash_Xavier · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book Battle Of Britain, by James Holland, took place during WW2. In this time period, the U.S., Britain, and Russia (known as the Allied Power) were fighting Italy, Japan, and Nazi Germany (known as the Axis Power). At this point in time, the book explains how Germany slowly took over France and was coming for Britain. To stop this Britain sent their airforce to help keep France and protect Britain from the Axis Power. Since the English Channel was between France and Britain, they could mainly send their air force to protect France. Once France was taken Britain tried to defend themselves with mostly their airforce and naval forces. Hitler sent out bombing raids on major cities in Britain but because Britain was one of the few countries who had radar they were able to spot out where and when the enemy planes were. This caused Britain to know when to send their planes and when their civilians need to evacuate. Which resulted eventually led Britain to be successful in defending their land.
This book is mostly for kids who are fond of reading about wars since this book takes place World War ⅠⅠ. Battle Of Britain is also a good book for people who like airplanes especially bombers and fighter planes. The reason this book would be good for people who like planes is that it talks about young men in planes that were the last hope for Britain to not be invaded. Also, James Holland is very descriptive on showing what happens in this war. This book is recommended to teenagers and up because of some vulgar language. From this book, people will find out how hard it is for soldiers to experience their first day of the war. This is hard because the main character makes friends and it would be painful if they died. Plus, Archie, the main character has to face that he has killed many people and that his friends or even himself could die the next day. I thought this book was okay since I don’t really like historical fiction but the action, description, and intensity were amazing.

[Mark Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good read not as good as other one but still good

[Bert Bustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

my memory as a 7 years old boy

Fantastic depiction of such a brave group of hero’s. I myself watched dogfights over London from Hampstead heath aged 7

[Glenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was okay, but would have liked a bit more drama... the ending was sudden and felt rushed...

[Paddy Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good drawing together of events during Dunkirk May - June 1941 the evacuation of the allied forces following the blitzkrieg of German forces across Belgium, Denmark and France from the perspective of British fighter pilots learning to fly spitfires against the Hun. A good well crafted story mixing the Briskish stoicism vs reality and rising threat of the Nazi domination. A good read for those of you who don't want a history lesson rammed down your throat but enough realism so you get an idea of the politics, air war, social norms of 'Blighty' of the early 2ww.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

an excellent read!

Holland has a flair for accurate aviation fiction. He has portrayed the urgency and everyday life
Of Pilots and civilians alike during the Battle of Britain

[Ben Peyton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly enjoyable WW2 story about the Battle Of Britain.
James Holland's passion for this period of history shines through as we follow young Archie's exploits in the sky and on the land.
Plenty of action, little bit of romance and overall a compelling and intriguing read.