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Spitfire: The Biography [Illustrated] (Hardcover)

by Jonathan Glancey (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
RRP: £17.99
Price: £11.59 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Price For All Three: £29.75

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 260 pages
  • Publisher: Atlantic Books; illustrated edition edition (12 Oct 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1843545276
  • ISBN-13: 978-1843545279
  • Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 15.8 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 202,617 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Adrian Swire, Spectator

`Elegant and meticulously researched... an authoritative and
comprehensive tribute to a unique aircraft.'


Giles Whittell, The Times

`Superbly readable.'
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Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Spitfire: The Biography
54% buy the item featured on this page:
Spitfire: The Biography 3.9 out of 5 stars (8)
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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Not just about spitfires, 30 Sep 2006
By Seasideman (England) - See all my reviews
The main thing to be aware of when considering the purchase of this book is that a substantial section of this book is not about the spitfire aircraft as such. About 40% of the book is about other fighter aircraft contemporary with the spitfire or about the spitfire in comics and films. Had the title made this clearer, there would not have been much to gripe about. The content of the book appears detailed and well-researched with information I had not seen before. Not a bad buy but not what you might have expected.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Spitfire for the 21st century, 17 Oct 2006
By Mr. G. Norman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is a book that I read in a weekend and could not put it down. Yes it compares the Spitfire with other aircraft of its generation, but it is this comparison that brings out the genius that was R.J Mitchells masterpiece.

The book deals with all aspects of the Spitfire and where the auther thinks criticism is justified it is levelled. It does however look at the legacy not just of the aircraft itself but the whole aura that surrounds it.

If you have an interest in WW2 aircraft, in that period of our countries history or you are a bulge baby like me you will love this book.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Intersting for newbies, 9 Dec 2006
By R. Szweda "rszweda2" (mk uk) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I am not sure what this book is supposed to be. It is a 'fan book' in that the author is clearly a great fan of a great plane. So long as you go into it with that in mind you will have a great read. For Spitfire purists this might seem a lesser important contribution to the already extensive coverage of this plane.
That's the problem in a way - I thought everything that could possibly be written about this plane had already been covered. Publishers are guaranteed better sales if the book or magazine has a Spitfire on the cover. You could call it 'The Diana Syndrome' that endless seemingly inexhaustible fascination with a subject.
There is no doubt the author has put in the time with this book. I did find some interesting facts new to me. But as one other reviewer says there's a good deal of stuff in the middle which is not directly about the Spitfire rather it is about its opponents. This is fine but I found myself skimming through this as it was so slight in places. That's not surprising given the number of opponents that Spitfire crews faced. As he shows, this plane is special because it fought through the entire WW2 and even into later conflicts.
Perhaps instead he could have shortened this down and given us more about the survivors. There are lots of Spitfires still flying and some impressions of what they are like to fly and their history would be good. Plus there is little by way of setting the Spitfire as regards 'kills'. It was not the machine any of the top 'aces' used but maybe it was responsible for more kills than most Allied planes. Some analysis of this would be nice but perhaps this would be better tackled by someone like Mike Spick.
Personally, I would wait until this book comes out in paperback. Then you could take this with you on a long trip and enjoy the read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A living artifact?
If you took all the books ever written about the Spitfire and laid them end-to-end you'd only have to go and pick them all up again, but what you would appreciate is that there've... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Michael Howe

5.0 out of 5 stars It's better than that guys!!!!
When I bought this book on a whim it was for the purpose of gaining some trivial knowledge of an aircraft which I only had a vague interest in. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Keith McAllister

4.0 out of 5 stars The Long Goodbye
This is an enthusiastic little book that's hard to dislike. The author is clearly a fan of the subject, and the book is a short and entertaining read. It rattles along. Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2007 by Mr. A. Pomeroy

3.0 out of 5 stars Love can be a little blind ?
I enjoyed it - again a holiday read, perhaps the author is a little biased, but maybe that's why he wrote the book. Read more
Published on 15 Jul 2007 by R. Parry

3.0 out of 5 stars A great read, but not for the purists
Jonathan Glancey's enthusiastic and energetic account of perhaps the world's most famous aeroplane is full of boyish affection for its subject. Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2007 by Jon Latimer

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