LAST ENEMY, THE - Hardcover

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3.85

1,523 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0887511031 ISBN 13: 9780887511035

Publisher: PIPPIN PUBLISHING CORPORATION, 2003

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* The moving story of a WWII fighter-pilot's epic recovery after being shot down *A harrowing reflection on the ordeals of combat *Commemorative edition of a recognised classic Described by critics as 'not a book written by a pilot about the war, but a book written by a writer about a pilot', The Last Enemy tells the story of a young writer's experiences as a Spitfire pilot in training and during the Battle of Britain, and of the life he led after being shot down. From his carefree days at Trinity College, Oxford, through the youthful excitement of his training, to the horror of being shot down and his slow and painful recovery, Richard Hillary has created a masterpiece of reflection and a testament to youth cruelly forsaken. Hillary's ordeal left him temporarily blinded, his face and hands savagely burned and terribly disfigured, and he endured repeated operations and skin grafts. While undergoing this harrowing experience he questioned whether he might fly again, and if not what he could do to honour those that had died. His conclusion was to write, and this remarkable book is the fruits of his resolution. This commemorative edition of The Last Enemy, originally published in 2003 sixty years after his death, contains a Foreword by 'D.M.W.', to whom the book was originally dedicated.

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Review:

"The Last Enemy rapidly acquired the aura of a book that says something vital, whose importance goes beyond what it literally describes." (Sebastian Faulks)

"`This slim volume of Hillary's seems to have a weight which makes it sink into the depths of one's memory, while tons of printed bulk drift as flotsom on its surface. '" (Arthur Koestler)

"One of the classic books of World War Two." (Philip French London Review of Books)

"Rivetingly well told...It will still speak to anyone who cares for the romance and tragedy of a lost hero." (Godfrey Smith Sunday Times)

Book Description:

Richard Hillary is one of the three `fatal Englishmen' in Sebastian Faulks's recent Hutchinson bestseller. THE LAST ENEMY - long out of print - is the book he wrote about his experiences in the Second World War. now regarded as a classic, this edition has a new introduction by Sebastian Faulks.

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