KITTYHAWK PILOT: WING COMMANDER JF EDWARDS.

by Michel Lavigne, James F. Edwards

Jimmy Edwards, as the old-timers around Battleford call him, grew up in the historic town of Battleford, Saskatchewan; went to school in a building that housed the first government of the Northwest Territories and experienced all the things that went with the Great Depression of the 1930's. From the beginning he demonstrated the ability of an achiever--a quality he took with him into the Royal Canadian Air Force and on into the Western Desert of North Africa where he went to become a pilot in the 260 Squadron of the RAF. Artwork on the jacket, by Jeff Pritchard of Delta, BC, sets the mood for Kittyhawk Pilot, the true story of J. F. (Stocky) Edwards, Canada's top living fighter pilot. Black and white photographs.

Genres: Biography, World War II, Nonfiction

308 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Cypress Ledlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, it is well written and tells an amazing true story of a young man who went to war to become a fighter pilot. It was especially neat for me because Stocky Edwards still lives in Comox and comes to the parade the cadets do on base. Stocky is a truely inspirational man with an amazing life story.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed as the author merely copies entire chapters from other books (which he acknowledged) and rehashed old post battle debriefings, pilots logs, squadron records etc.

He spent too much time on boring technical details of the aircraft involved, as well as battle reports having nothing to do with the subject at hand.

[Dan Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a very interesting book about World War 2 and about the technical challenges faced by both air forces in the desert in 1942/43. If you are a world war 2 buff then you will find this interesting. Sometimes the book gets a bit wordy but for a rainy day this is a great read!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting history of the air war over North Africa during World War 2. Particularly enthusiastic about the views of an experienced combat veteran on the various aircraft he flew (including his prime opposition, the ME109F).

[Cyndi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last chapter or two were the only ones that felt like someone was telling a story. The rest of the book read like a report being filed.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was interesting but because it virtually recaps every day it got really repetitive and so I got bored with it about half way through. I hope to pass it along to our local airplane museum.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a generally interesting read but was more a historical record of people and locations. A few specific stories of his experience, but mainly names and dates.

[Chris Howells · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eye opener.

A fascinating look into the life and flying career of a young Canadian. Shame that there are no pictures but full of facts and personal 'colour'.

[Willy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing pilot!