Finest Hour

Sixty years ago, Europe lay at the feet of Adolf Hitler. Standing between Hitler and world domination was the just-appointed Prime Minister Winston Churchill...and a few hundred pilots in the Royal Air Force's Fighter Command. Defeat seemed inevitable. Instead, a legend was born.

Taking its readers on a breathtaking journey from open lifeboats in North Atlantic gales to the cockpits of burning fighter planes, Finest Hour re-creates the tensions and uncertainties of the events of 1940 -- months when the fate of the world truly hung in the balance. It is a powerful account, told through the voices, diaries, letters, and memoirs of the men and women who lived and loved, fought and died, during that terrible yet ultimately triumphant year. The personal stories of these soldiers and airmen, diplomats and politicians, journalists and spies, are combined with a fresh and often controversial account of the swirling political intrigues and betrayals of the period.

A testament to a year when a nation's darkest hour became its finest, Finest Hour is a singular achievement and an indispensable contribution to the literature of World War II.

Contents

Prologue

In Northern France, May 1940

Entries from the Diary of Denis Wissler, May 1940

1 May 10-14, 1940

2 May 14-20

3 May 20-22

4 May 22-26

5 May 26-27

6 May 28-June 1

7 June 1-10

8 June 10-16

9 June 16-20

10 June 20-July 11

11 July 16-August 15

12 August 16-20

13 August 20-September 4

14 September 4-11

15 September 11-17

16 September 17-30

17 October

18 November and After

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Bibliography

Notes on Sources