Fighter cover art

Fighter

Penguin Modern Classics

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Fighter

By: Len Deighton
Narrated by: John Sackville
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin

History is swamped by patriotic myths about the aerial combat fought between the RAF and the Luftwaffe over the summer of 1940. In his gripping history of the Battle of Britain, Len Deighton drew on a decade of research and his own wartime experiences to puncture these myths and point towards a more objective, and even more inspiring, truth.

©1977 Len Deighton (P)2021 Penguin Audio
Air Forces Europe Military War Luftwaffe US Air Force
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Mosquito Men cover art
Cinderella Boys cover art
Wings of War cover art
Oswald Boelcke cover art
Hurricane cover art
The Big Show cover art
Enemy Coast Ahead cover art
Winkle cover art
Forgotten Fifteenth cover art
Lancaster cover art
Clean Sweep cover art
Spitfire cover art
Churchill’s Few cover art
I Flew for the Führer cover art
Dowding’s Despatch cover art
Fighter Group cover art

Critic reviews

"The most honest attempt yet to tell how the Battle of Britain really was." (Andrew Wilson, Observer)

"Revolutionised thinking about the Battle of Britain in a way that has not been seriously challenged since." (The Times)

What listeners say about Fighter

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    60
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    52
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    53
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant.

Absolutely fantastic listen. Well written and I found the narration perfect.

Certainly challenges my previous understanding and knowledge of the BoB

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Must Read, Battle of Britain Account

Very well researched and, accordingly, etremely informative. The writing style keeps the reader alert and frewuently surprised. A clssic, it would greatly benefit of a major update, based on available, new information. Great effort overall!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Deighton is a master writer

I tried to read this book when Len Deighton worked in Ireland in the 1970s. Len gave my mother a copy but I was only 17 and found it too much. Revisiting Spitfire all these years later I discovered the level of detail extraordinary and thoroughly enjoyed this masterpiece.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really interesting

I enjoyed this slightly different "take" on the Battle of Britain, which gave an interesting change of perspective from the more conventional histories. I liked the way Len Deighton covered the pre-war developments which affected the battle - the key people, the organisation of the opposing forces, their strategies and tactics, and the equipment and technologies.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Fascinating & wryly observed

There is a lot of dry humour in this book which captures a lot of the British spirit behind the perpetration, eventual victory and the questionable behaviour and treatment of its architect Dowding.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Extraordinary Account

I recently read and enjoyed 'Bomber' by Len Deighton so I sought this out and I must say it makes a compelling companion piece. It is shorter but no less impressive in the detail and analysis. Deighton is scrupulously fair to both sides. I will now try to discover some of the personal stories of the pilots. They really were our greatest generation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating historical reference

An excellent historical record of the stories behind the air Battle for Britain.
Well researched written and read.
Stunned again how politics within the RAF ruined good mens legacies, although anyone who has studied the history know of the great roles played by Dowding and Park. Against the foolishness of leigh mallory and bader.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant!

Excellent research and content benefitting from a thriller writer's style. Sad when it was finished!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Easy to listen to & some new insights into the BOB

Well written and easy to listen to. Lots of new facts and insights I haven't heard before. Will definitely listen again soon and write some of them down.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic Detail

Love the level of facts and research that has been done. I have read a number of books on this topic and this is up with the best

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!