This book is supposed to be about the Americans who flew with the RAF in the Battle of Britain.

Why would an author allow an inaccurate dust jacket for his book?

The cover shows a Spitfire in pursuit of a German FW-190. Odd, really, because the FW-190 was not in Luftwaffe service during the Battle of Britain. The Germans flew BF-109Es.

Should one judge a book by its cover? I did. If the author cannot do better than this inaccurate dust jacket, the book does not seem worth additional time.

Great book. Easy and detailed read of a most exciting time in Britain's history that was the first effective block put up to stop Hitler. Excellent addition to my library on WWII.

Never in the field of human literature was so much written so poorly about so few.
I really looked forward to this book, and maybe the disappointment I felt after reading it is a reflection of this sense, but in general this book is a severe let down. Between its narrative, its portrayal of historical facts and its inconsistent logic this is something to avoid.

It is suppose to follow the true story of the eagle squadrons, those American who, for what ever reason, joined the Royal Air Force in 1940 to fight the Germans before the US entered the war. The problem is the coverage is spotty at best and when away from the Americans, the tone setting in the book, seems little more than the most basic history that anyone can get from any source.

Even the pacing, instead of making the book exciting, becomes a drag. Early on Kershaw jumps back and forth between pilots trying to get into the fight, and Winston Churchill watching the collapse of France and directing the British response. I think this is to put the pilots' actions into the wider world view. What it achieves however is a sense that the author is padding his thin work.

Kershaw focuses on a handful of the Americans and one has to wonder "why these guys?" for example when France started to fall, the man who had organized Americans coming to France to fight, sets in motion a network to smuggle them out to Britain. The men Kershaw focuses on missed this and so we are treated to the adventures of the exceptions to the rule rather than what happened to most of the men, who successfully used the net work. While great "boys own" type stuff it is hardly a history of the eagle squadron. Indeed it seems to rather follow the sad sacks who couldn't get with the program than covering the Americans who fought.

There are some real slip ups in the historical details as well, that anyone doing a modicum of research should have caught. Such as saying the Americans wished to emulate the famous Escadrille squadron of WW1. "Escadrille" is the French word for `squadron.' According to Kershaw these men wanted to be in the `Squadron squadron.' The Americans who flew for France in WW1 were in the Lafayette Escadrille, named for the French nobleman who fought for the US in its revolution. This may seem like a small point, but when you realize the author has gaffed on something easily checked, you start to wonder about the fact checking on other, far more important details.

Indeed, after a while one starts to suspect his research was limited to having access to a few diaries and a weekend at the local Blockbuster store. Early on we are told the Americans feared being arrested by the FBI as the violated US law to leave the country. Although the laws were on the books they were not enforced with more than a wink and a nod. American mercenaries were gaining fame serving in overseas military, such as the "Flying Tigers" in China. Indeed with gaff this bad so early on one starts to wonder about any facts given.

It is not even consistent with its own internal logic. For example the lead character, in leaving the US leaves word that he's off to fly the sweetest plane there is, the Super-Marine spitfire. The problem is this man is leaving the US to enlist in the French Air Force, which did not use Spitfires.

In short this book, while approaching a topic that could have been fascinating and inspiring is such a poor turn out that I'm hard pressed to find anything worthwhile from cover to cover, beyond telling Americans about what their countrymen did in WW2 that they might not know about. Facts? Pacing? Heck it's so padded in areas that it doesn't even make good fiction, never mind an historical work.

I enjoyed the book immensely. It is well written, and the author makes you feel you get to know the characters personally, both the Americans and the Germans. It is a quick read, and well worth the time. These guys were truly heroes.
I passed it on to my father-in-law who rarely reads books. But he loved it. I am now about to buy another copy for an old vet who is recovering from an operation. He is an Air Force veteran and will love it.

Yes. It is a good book. Well researched and informative. But I can't believe that nobody mentioned the FACT that the Nazis invaded Poland on September 1st, 1939, NOT September 1st, 1940 as Mr. Kershaw states on page 59 of his book. If Mr. Kershaw is English, as one reviewer states, shame on him. Further shame on DaCapo's editors. Any high school graduate should know this. Cheers.

I just did not think there was much here in this book. It felt like a puffed up magazine article. The book focuses very tightly on the Americans who fought with the RAF before America entered the war, and I think that was too tight a focus. The book stays tightly on the scene in England, but it would have been better if we had learned more about the other foreign pilots who fought for a country other than their own. If it had to focus on just the Americans, than maybe taking the scene back to the home front would have been a good idea. I am sure each dogfight is a little different but reading about one aerial combat after another got to be too much for me.

For a WWII history buff, this book gives the reader an insight to what lengths Americans went to in order to help allies prior to the US entry into WWII. Also gives an idea of the dangers and short life span of a fighter pilot during the "Blitz".

To date, this is the best book I have read about The Battle of Britain. As an American, it holds special interest as we had 'dogs in the hunt'. It is a story of exceptional courage told by an excellent author, Alex Kershaw. "The Few" may be the only history book you just can't put down.

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.

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!