Product Description

Adam Tomaszewski is a Polish airman, flying Hurricanes alongside British pilots as the Battle of Britain rages in the summer skies over Kent and Sussex. Facing death daily and far from his friends and family, Adam finds himself drawn to a maverick Irish soldier called Gerry Cunningham.

'You're out of luck, brother,' are the first words Gerry says when they meet in the crush of men competing for the few women at a dance in a seaside hotel, but when Gerry betrays his lover Moira, Adam's fortunes seem to have changed. For the next four years, Adam's life and Gerry's are intertwined like good luck and bad, love and loss, life and death, their paths crossing at various points on Adam's perilous journey from the ruins of Poland to the rolling English countryside, from Egypt to Occupied France.

A hauntingly evocative picture of wartime Britain, a twisting drama of fighting behind enemy lines, a compelling, suspenseful love story, A GOOD WAR proves Patrick Bishop - already acclaimed as a great historian of the war in the air - to be a superbly gifted novelist. (20080725)

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #144253 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

Review
'Bishop writes an exciting aerial dogfight, rich in the telling detail that makes for authenticity. Yet this is a good deal more than a bloke's yarn, with well-drawn, convincing characters and plenty of what the movie-makers used to call love interest, too.' (Daily Mail 20080629)

'Gripping...powerful descriptions of the air battles and life on a RAF station...equally good at capturing the mood in a rural pub, or a smoky, sweaty ballroom...The final, most thrilling, part of the book takes place in the aftermath of the D-Day landings in 1944...a poignant end to an enthralling tale, and I hope not the last of Bishop’s wartime novels' (Spectator 20080629)

'Best known for his fine histories of the RAF in the Second World War, Bishop proves equally adept at historical fiction with this well-crafted and beautifully written debut novel...A compelling read.' (Saul David, Independent on Sunday 20080629)

'A measured, lyrical novel of remarkable scope and poise, A GOOD WAR is also replete with the realism and authenticity that are the author's hallmark...wonderfully evocative...A GOOD WAR confirms Patrick Bishop as a writer of fiction who has come of age'

(Damien Lewis, author of Apache Dawn 20080629)

'A real feel for the period' (Telegraph 20090306)

'Patrick Bishop turns novelist in this beautifully crafted love story. In its evocation of time and place it rings true at every turn.' (Mail on Sunday )

'A superb account of the spirit and character of Fighter Command' (Independent on Fighter Boys )

'One of the most profoundly moving books about the war to have emerged in recent memory' (Sunday Telegraph on Bomber Boys )

'Superbly written and authoritative' (Observer on Bomber Boys )

'One of the bravest and best war correspondents alive, Bishop has an instinctive sympathy for his subject' (Standard on Bomber Boys )

'A terrific book, so riveting, exciting and moving - a true memorial' (Spectator on Bomber Boys )

'As fine a book as you'll ever read on modern warfare' (Telegraph on 3 Para )

'The combat and the emotional dramas are charged with tension . . . the writing is strong and assertive and powerfully conveys the atmosphere of living on the edge . . . a fine debut' (Historical Novels Review )

About the Author
Patrick Bishop spent twenty-five years as a foreign correspondent covering conflicts around the world. He is the author of two hugely acclaimed books about the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, Fighter Boys and Bomber Boys. His most recent bestseller is 3 Para, an epic account of the British deployment to Afghanistan in the summer of 2006. A GOOD WAR is his first novel. (20080725)

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Customer Reviews

Disappointed
I was looking forward to reading this book from all the reviews I'd read, but was sadly disappointed. I thought the last 50 pages were probably the best and most exciting, whilst the rest were merely vignettes without depth. I also found the SOS missions totally implausible. Having created havoc from two missions and killed 3 people, there were no local reprisals or even a search for what were obviously at the very least, local resistance fighter strikes if not worse. I would receommend Tamar by Mal Peet, a teenage novel about Dutch resistance workers or Robert Harris's Enigma for having more depth and storyline, intrigue and suspense.

A Good Read
A unique and memorable read, Patrick Bishop's A Good War is a beautifully crafted and at times epic tale that recreates the sense and feel of those fighter pilots who strove and died and endured in the Second World War - from the Battle of Britain to North Africa and the conquest of Europe. Bishop's protagonist is a flawed and human - and heroic - individual, at times as unlucky in combat as he is in love. He is a rounded and compelling character who carries one through the tale and leaves one at the end of the book lamenting the loss of a good friend. True to Bishop's trademark writing, A Good War is impressively well researched and authentic to the spirit and facts of that time. Highly recommended.

Difficult to get in to
I have really enjoyed Mr Bishop's historical/current affair works and I really looked forward to this book but it was disappointing. Difficult to get in to, the pace was terrible and the action unbelievable. a really dull read.