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| The Few | 
 enlarge | Author: Alex Kershaw
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
Buy New: $5.65
You Save: $19.35 (77%)
Buy New/Used from $3.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  (28 reviews)
Sales Rank: 13252
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 344
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 1.3
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5449410922
ASIN: B000PHWDMQ
Publication Date: November 30, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The Few tells the dramatic and unforgettable story of eight young Americans who joined Britain's Royal Air Force, defying their country's neutrality laws and risking their U.S. citizenship to fight side-by-side with England's finest pilots in the summer of 1940-over a year before America entered the war. Flying the lethal and elegant Spitfire, they became "knights of the air" and with minimal training but plenty of guts, they dueled the skilled and fearsome pilots of Germany's Luftwaffe. By October 1940, they had helped England win the greatest air battle in the history of aviation. Winston Churchill once said of all those who fought in the Battle of Britain, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." These daring Americans were the few among the "few." Now, with the narrative drive and human drama that made The Bedford Boys and The Longest Winter national bestsellers, Alex Kershaw tells their story for the first time.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 Comprehensive but still a good read August 9, 2008
I thought that I knew quite a lot about the Eagle Squadrons and Battle of Britian before I read this book. The author does a very good job of providing a comprehensive account of the very first (pre eagle Squadron) Americans who flew for the RAF during this epic battle. He covers their motivations and aspirations in a very interesting fashion which keeps the book at a good pace. Considering the subject matter this book could have very easily come off like a text book. Thankfully that's not the case here, the author makes vital facts and details flow in such a way that even non WW2 enthusiasts would likely enjoy this book. My only criticism is that the author seemed to end the book too soon (time period wise), but I guess he had to end it somewhere.
 Not Exactly America's Finest Hour... July 10, 2008
This outstanding narrative reads as more like a novel than a piece of researched non-fiction. I mean that as a complement as this is anything but a dry historical essay on the Battle of Britain. Although the story of the individual Americans is placed well into the wider context of the battle, some knowledge of this period is very useful. The title "The Few" has a double meaning...it not only refers to the handful of initial American volunteers that joined the RAF, but also relatively few pilots of RAF's Fighter Command who fought off the Luftwaffe during those critical weeks and months.
Why the "America-bashing" title? Well, in this case, it's the truth. While Hitler overran Western Europe in the Spring and very nearly defeated Great Britain in the Summer / Fall of 1940, America sat on its hands. The US Ambassador to Great Britain, Joseph Kennedy (JFK's father), was very much against providing ANY assistance and repeatedly warned of Britain's impending defeat. The American people themselves were very much against involvement in another European war. Joseph Kennedy, along with the American people, were very, very wrong. Further, the Neutrality Laws passed by Congress and signed into law by FDR actually criminalized any US citizen who traveled to a warring nation and joined its armed forces. These eight undertook an incredibly perilous journey that eventually cost all but one of them their lives. They, along with the rest of the RAF were the ONLY ones fighting NAZI Germany during this very dark period. Only through the chance mistake of a lone German bomber crew did the dynamics of the battle shift in the favor of the RAF. Only through the RAF's valiant defense of Great Britain did the mood of the American public begin to change, see the reality of the threat, and start providing much needed assistance. Still, it would take Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, combined with a declaration of war by Germany on the US, to finally get the US fully into the fight.
As I finished, I thought this book would be a great subject for a movie. After searching IMDB.com, it looks like one is now in production. Finally...a movie I can actually look forward to seeing!
Lest we forget those that gave us everything June 25, 2008
I purchased "The Few" after reading several other reader reviews. I must admit, I wasn't sure if I would enjoy another Battle of Brittan book. I feared it would be a story of how a couple of Yanks saved England. I was wrong! It is a book of how a group of Americans from all walks of life risked their citizenship, wealth, and lives (many gave) to fight for freedom against Nazi Germany. These flyers flew and fought during the darkest hours of World War II, against better trained German pilots and against superior numbers until the United States entered the war a year later in December 1941.
Anybody interested in adventure tales, flying stories, or accounts of risking everything to help the underdog will enjoy "The Few". Alex Kershaw tells the stories of these famous and not so famous Americans that join the RAF and defend England before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The reader will experience many of the emotions these pilots would have experienced through the powerful telling of their stories. I couldn't put the book down. I almost looked forward to my two hour bus commute so I could read more. My only disappointment was finishing the book.
 A Very Slim History June 1, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
The other reviews and comments on here suggest that this is a remarkable book containing a wealth of insight and information about the handful of American pilots who flew with the RAF in the Summer of 1940 and afterwards. Besides a few tantalizing snippets of primary documents and descriptions of specific aerial battles, Kershaw really doesn't do much to provide his chosen subjects with a lot of depth.
The book starts off strong with an account of how three American civilian pilots secretly signed up with the French air force, first traveling to Canada and from there to Brittany and eventually Paris, all while the Germans were busy invading and the British army was evacuating at Dunkirk. To liven things up, Kershaw frequently tells events from the perspective of Churchill or a number of German pilots. This was the most interesting part of the book to me, because it was the part I hadn't known of before -- that American pilots risked losing their citizenship by breaking the neutrality laws.
After the three pilots reach England and are quickly accepted into the RAF, things get a bit simpler. Kershaw retells the familiar story of the Battle of Britain with plenty of action, dialogue, and other devices of creative nonfiction. But his original premise wears a bit thin. The five American pilots he focuses on didn't seem to be very involved in things, and if they were Kershaw doesn't really make this clear. By making his book such a quick and easy read, he's left out many details of setting and background that would have fleshed out the story he's telling. It reads largely like a rough draft or outline. Additionally, he intercuts his main narrative with a "Top Gun" story about two competing German aces - Adolf Galland and Werner Molders - which, rather than presenting the other side for reasons of even-handedness, merely distracts from the less famous people in the book.
It's the kind of book that makes you want to go out and read more, because it only scratches the surface. Billy Fiske, Eugene Tobin, Art Donahue, and the others surely deserve a book twice the length of this one.
A great piece of history - a must read for any WWII buff May 6, 2008
A great piece of little known WWII history about "the few" American fliers who flew for the British in the Battle of Britain. A solid book in every way. Alex Kershaw brings it all together by doing excellent research of the events as they unfolded. From the varied backgrounds of the individual fliers, the politics of the war, and the battle strategy of the Germans and British including quotes from Winston Churchill and Hermann Goering. Kershaw even throws in some vignettes of the German aces into the mix. The actual Battle of Britain is compelling and moving. As an aside, after I finished the book I watched the classic 1969 movie, "Battle of Britain". Even though some of the special effects are dated it is STILL a great movie and the facts and events of the book underpin the movie perfectly. There is nothing quite like the sight and sound of a Spitfire even on celluloid. A definite read for any WWII history buff!
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