In 1931 a brilliant 21-year-old Royal Air Force pilot crashed his Bristol Bulldog fighter near Reading. The pilot officer was Douglas Bader and the result of the accident was the loss of both of his legs. In this intimate and lively biography, authorized by Bader himself and complemented by his private papers, flying log-books and personal notes, Laddie Lucas documents the extraordinary life - in war and in peace - of the man he knew intimately for more than 50 years. One of Churchill's Few in the Battle of Britain, a prisoner-of-war in Colditz Castle, a successful businessman, an inspiration to the disabled, a writer, and friend to many of the world's leading statesmen, Bader became an international figure, and one of Britain's most colourful wartime heroes. The book not only contains a new and controversial assessment of the Battle of Britain, exposing, for the first time, Bader's tactical concept of the battle, but also an unrivalled fund of personal stories about one of Britain's greatest flying heroes.