In the summer of 1940 the defence of Britain rested in the hands of the pilots of Fighter Command. The future of the country and arguably that of the free world depended on the skill and morale of a small group of mostly very young men. Their victory became celebrated as a classic feat of arms. But it was also a triumph of the spirit, in which the attitudes and outlook of the pilots played a crucial role. Despite the importance of this select band, remarkably little is understood about its real character. Drawing on contemporary diaries and letters, memoirs and interviews with many of the survivors, Patrick Bishop's Fighter Boys reaches beyond the myths. He anatomises the character and motivations of an elite whose members came from a remarkable variety of backgrounds, yet fused together to create a new ethos that combined traditional values with the technical ability demanded by aerial warfare. The result is a unique study of the spirit of these men, carried along on a surging narrative that conveys with unprecedented force a sense of what it was to be a fighter pilot, in war, peace and love. - Jacket flap.