The Last Enemy
The Centenary Collection
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
In 1918, the RAF was established as the world's first independent air force. To mark the 100th anniversary of its creation, Penguin are publishing the Centenary Collection, a series of six classic books highlighting the skill, heroism and esprit de corps that have characterised the Royal Air Force throughout its first century.
The Last Enemy is Richard Hillary's extraordinary account of his experience as a Spitfire pilot in the Second World War. Hillary was shot down during the Battle of Britain, leading to months in hospital as part of Archibald McIndoe's 'Guinea Pig Club', undergoing pioneering plastic surgery to rebuild his face and hands.
The Last Enemy was first published in 1942, just seven months before Hilary's untimely death in a second crash and has gone on to be hailed as one of the classic texts of World War II.
Customer Reviews
The Last Enemy
Is Richard Hillary’s paradoxical two year survival a tragic loss to English literature or not? I have an idea that this book was all he needed to write, that the length of his survival gave him enough time to complete it, and that the power of the material and his gift of it is sufficient for all the questions he asked or ultimately answered. Does anyone have more to say? Is this the true story of the Second World War for those who fought Hitler? As he said to David Rutter, it is up to you to decide.