Summer of No Surrender

by Richard Townshend Bickers

THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN ... the testing time for the pilots of the R.A.F. --- and the Luftwaffe. In the skies over the Channel, young men were proving their courage to the enemy, to their comrades, and to themselves ...

Flying Officer Peter Knight and Leutnant Erich Hafner had begun to recognize the markings of each other's aircraft. They had clashed in so many dogifhts that now both men waited to catch a glimpse of the other's plane. Each sought out and stalked his special enemy. And their final deadly dogfight, when it came, shattered the whole of 172 Squadron.

Genres: War

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Richard Leslie Townshend Bickers has written more books about the RAF and its predecessor, the RFC, than any other author past or present - some under a pseudonym. Being multilingual, he does his own research in foreign archives and by interviews and correspondence. His short stories and newspaper articles were first published and broadcast while he was a serving RAF officer. By the time he left the RAF his first four novels had appeared. His biography of his friend "Ginger" Lacey, the top-scoring pilot in the Battle of Britain, was published to acclaim in 1962.Bickers volunteered for the RAF on the outbreak of war and served, with a Permanent Commission, for eighteen years. In England he operated with Fighter and Coastal Commands; in North Africa and Italy with Desert Air Force and Mediterranean Allied Coastal Air Force. After the war he did a tour in Hong Kong and Malaya.

Reviews

[Helena Schrader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good -- but flawed

This book is well researched and at times brilliant -- then it gets bogged down in generalised narrative or paints silly stereotypical pictures of Germans. It has an excellent plotline and I was initially delighted to find it followed a German Staffel as well as an RAF squadron. Yet the book is overburdened with too many characters and extraneous incidents and superfluous plots. Furthermore, the bulk of the Germans are depicted with naive ignorance and juvenile prejudice. As a result, I can't recommend it for people interested in quality writing and character-driven fiction. However, for those who simply love reading about the Battle of Britain, it is better than many other books out there. At least it depicts the RAF accurately!

[Bart · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bad read to be short. Two stars because it’s unmistakably written in the English language. The cover and back suggest an exciting duel, instead the pages are filled with unnecessary blabbering about pilot pastimes filled with drinks and (wo)men. None of it amounts to the battles fought in the air.

*SPOILER ALERT* Ironically there is a story in here, to be precise: in the last 4 pages (killing a fellow pilot, keeping it a secret from the girl he loves, berating himself meanwhile). However it comes too late and is rushed. Had it been the starting conflict of the book, this might have been an interesting read, but alas.

[Steve Kidd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not brilliant, written in a different time I suppose. Read it and judge for yourself

[John Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Battle of Britain from two opposing viewpoints

A good story. Interesting to view the Battle of Britain conflict from opposing sides. Slightly spoiled by too many typos.

[Alan Carlson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two fighter squadrons face off during the 1940 Battle of Britain. Meh.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the first 'grown up' books I ever read was Richard Bickers' biography of Battle of Britain ace Ginger Lacey, so when Summer of no Surrender came up for free on the Kindle store I downloaded it in a flash.

The novel is an account of the air war of 1940. Bickers was an RAF officer himself and he paints a convincing portrait of the physical and mental strains placed on young men who go to work each day not knowing if they're going to return. Told from both sides of the conflict, the story highlights that, although enemies, British and German aircrews had a lot in common.

The ending felt rather unresolved and some of the text feels rather dated, partly because it reflects the values of its time. Also this book is another victim of a Kindle edition being created from an inadequately proof read OCR scan.

[Hal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really can't think of anything good to say about this book. It belongs to one of my favorite genres, but it certainly isn't representative of other good fiction about WW2 military aviation. There was the usual hero Brit and antihero German and a over-used plot. The author appeared to believe that he had to find a way to get every character into the sack with the usual descriptive language. Nothing in the story was pulled together and the book had one of the most anticlimactic endings I have ever read.

This book isn't really worth two stars. I only gave it that because I finished it.

[L. R. Hintonl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Good Story!

Mr. Bickers has done it again!. He has created another believable story without reparation with good character development; real combat action and mental responses; and twist to keep the reader involved!

[Snakeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable Battle Of Britain story told from both sides.