Len Deighton, best known as the writer of celebrated spy-thrillers but now with a mounting reputation as a highly competent military historian, has applied much of the information he accumulated for his earlier book, Fighter …, in this new, fully illustrated version of much the same subject [Battle of Britain]. A wealth of diagrams and photographs, many of them in colour and from German sources, are used to illustrate the personalities, aircraft, equipment and tactics of both sides. For the battle itself he has adopted a basically day-by-day treatment. The incorporation of interesting extracts from airmen's reports, letters and diaries drawn from both sides is a particularly useful feature, recapturing much of the flavour of this particularly critical period. The treatment is not so full …, but it forms a worthy tribute to the 520 aircrew from fourteen nations who gave their lives from the 3,080-strong ranks of 'the Few' in the defence of the British Isles. (pp. 764-65)