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This book actually covers a wider period than the classic Battle of Britain, starting with a good introduction looking at the collapse of France and the early German probing raids, and going on into the Blitz. The combat aspects of the switch from the daylight attacks and attempts to defeat the RAF to the night time bombing raids is a key part of most books on the battle, but here we have more detail on how that bombing affected the civilians in its path, giving a good counterbalance to the sense of relief that comes across in most books.
Powley has good material on the most dangerous period of the battle, when the Germans concentrated on British airfields, when those bases on the Kent coast were almost knocked out of commission. He is also good on the randomness of German planning, not just at the higher level, with the constant changes of targets, but at the level of individual attacks, with many well planned and well executed raids hitting Coastal Command fields, largely irrelevant to the battle being fought.
The book is well illustrated, with a good choice of pictures (apart from one of an Italian battleship firing its main guns, which seems rather out of place). The text is well balanced and focuses on the main story without getting dragged into side issues such as the 'Big Wing' controversy. It is also nice to finish with a tribute to the 'few', looking at memorials to the Battle of Britain.
Overall this is a good introduction to this topic, covering a wide range of subjects than is often the case in books of this size, and giving a goof impression of the narrowness of the margin of victory.
Chapters
1 - The Path to Battle
2 - The Battle Begins
3 - The Fighting Intensifies
4 - Terror by Night
5 - The Heat of Battle
6 - Blitzkrieg
7 - The Fight to the Finish
8 - The Aftermath
9 - Tribute to 'The Few'
Author:
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 64
Publisher: Park Lane Books
Year: 2013