The Battle of Britain: The Greatest Air Battle of World War II

``Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,'' said Churchill at the height of a three-month air battle in 1940 between the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe. It was a major turning point in World War II: unable to subdue the RAF, Hitler was forced to cancel his invasion of England. In their definitive account, British historians Hough and Richards explain how Fighter Command managed to send aloft (``in the right place and at the right time and with the right weapons'') the Spitfire and Hurricane pilots who won the defensive battle against great odds. The authors analyze the reasons for the Luftwaffe's failure, which include the presence of the British radar net and the German high command's error in shifting tactical attention to London instead of continuing their devastating attacks on airfields. This is a first-rate work of scholarship written for the general reader. Photos. History Book Club main selection. (Nov.)