Reach for the Sky - Paul Brickhill

The bestselling story of Britain's most courageous and most famous flyer, the Second World War hero Sir Douglas Bader.
In 1931, at the age of 21, Douglas Bader was the golden boy of the RAF.
Excelling in everything he did he represented the Royal Air Force in aerobatics displays, played rugby for Harlequins, and was tipped to be the next England fly half.
But one afternoon in December all his ambitions came to an abrupt end when he crashed his plane doing a particularly difficult and illegal aerobatic trick.
His injuries were so bad that surgeons were forced to amputate both his legs to save his life.
Douglas Bader did not fly again until the outbreak of the Second World War, when his undoubted skill in the air was enough to convince a desperate air force to give him his own squadron.
The rest of his story is the stuff of legend. Flying Hurricanes in the Battle of Britain he led his squadron to kill after kill, keeping them all going with his unstoppable banter.
Shot down in occupied France, his German captors had to confiscate his tin legs in order to stop him trying to escape.
Bader faced it all, disability, leadership and capture, with the same charm, charisma and determination that was an inspiration to all around him.

Ne esiste una versione Condensata e in Italiano, pubblicata nel 1974 da Selezione dal Reader’s Digest con il titolo :
Il cielo è la mia vita

Il 14 dicembre 1931, il giovane e brillante pilota e atleta Douglas Bader perse entrambe le gambe in un incidente aereo.
Un avvenire ricco di promesse sembrava in tal modo tragicamente e irrimediabilmente compromesso.
Invece, il giovane Bader, grazie al suo coraggio e alla sua forza d’animo, riuscì a superare la grave menomazione.
Non solo impaò a camminare di nuovo, ma fu anche riammesso nella R.A.F. e combattè coraggiosamente durante la seconda guerra mondiale.Fra l’altro, fu uno dei più valorosi piloti nella storica battaglia d’Inghilterra.
Questa appassionante biografia è un esaltante esempio di vita

Selezione dal Reader’s Digest