The Battle of Britain: The Jubilee History by Richard Hough
The victory of the Battle of Britain ranks with Marathon and the Marne as a decisive point in history. At the end of June 1940, with Europe overrun by the Germans, the Nazi war leaders knew that RAF fighter command had to be scheduled before the invasion of Britain could take place. This is the story of "the few" - the young men who fought with unsurpassed courage to defeat the Luftwaffe. They came from all walks of life, including a priceless element of pilots from the commonwealth as well as vengeful young men from the occupied nations of Europe. They endured fearful losses, but their gallantry, together with that of almost superhuman efforts of the ground crews and the ordinary citizens united the British people and caused the world to marvel.