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Written by a Spitfire pilot who served at readiness and in combat throughout the Battle of Britain this book contains his personal observations of the war during 1939-1940.This, combined with many years of research, has produced a penetrating review of the Battle with many old myths dispelled. The Battle of Britain was won in 1940 by the squadrons of Fighter Command under the leadership of Air Chief Marshal Dowding who was given no public honor or recognition for this great achievement in saving Britain from Nazi invasion and occupation - here now is a searching and advanced review which justifies Dowding's place of honor in British history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hugh Dowding, Integrity and the Battle of Britain
This book is flawed in many significant ways: the chapters are very brief and written in a largely self contained way that both disturbs the narrative flow and introduces excessive repetition; and the explanation is not always even handed and is, in some important instances, prone to exaggeration.But, for all these deficiencies, Peter Bown's "Honour Restored: The Battle of Britain, Dowding and the Fight for Freedom" is still a wonderful book because it provides new insights into two battles: the official one, which we honour and commemorate; and the behind the scenes one, which saddens many of us for the way that it culminated in the unceremonious replacement of Hugh Dowding (Commander-in-Chief, Fighter Command) and his `first lieutenant' Keith Park (Commander, 11 Group) in the moment of their triumph, with the consequent denial of timely recognition for their remarkable achievement.This is not an ideal book for those seeking an introductory text on the Battle of Britain.Nevertheless, it is highly recommended reading for readers who have enough background to critically evaluate material on this subject.

Peter Brown makes two significant contributions to our understanding of the official Battle: he reveals, in some depth, the importance of the sequence of weather, from July to October 1940, for the outcome and he provides a subtle and masterful analysis of `Big Wings' (of various sizes).In regard to the former point, he concludes that there were not enough days of sunshine, especially over consecutive days, for the Luftwaffe to `command victor'. In regard to the latter point, his assessment of Big Wings is clear, compelling and even handed.As we know, crude arguments in favour of Big Wings were an important factor in the undermining of Dowding's position.Subsequently, there has been a tendency by historians and commentators to present arguments either for or against Big Wings.But Peter Brown's analysis is not crude or one-sided - it is careful and subtle.This was probably made possible because he was a fighter pilot with 12 Group's 611 squadron in the early and middle stages of the Battle of Britain, during which time he was a participant within the `Duxford Wing'; and 11 Group's 41 Squadron in the latter part of the Battle.He points out that when large enemy formations fly directly to a specific and known target (London) on fine days, 12 Group had the time and certainty of location necessary for the Duxford Wing to effectively complement the fighting of 11 Group.This is what happened on 15 September 1940, the commemorated Battle of Britain Day.But he also emphasises that when the weather is overcast and the location and destination of raiders is uncertain, the Duxford wing will generally fail to either locate or intercept the incoming raiders.Governed by the convoy principle, where the movement of a Wing is governed by the slowest aircraft with the poorest rate of climb, the Big Wing was also slow to form, climb and intercept.This same problem was accentuated in October when German raiding tactics changed by making greater use of high-flying, bomb-carrying, Messerschmitt 109s.

In regard to the behind the scenes battle, the `meeting of shame' on 17 October 1940 is important as the forum for humiliating Dowding to pave the way for his dismissal, with the need for greater use of Big Wings the defining feature of almost all items on the meeting agenda.But in the month prior to that meeting, Peter Brown makes the important point that, due to a combination of weather and change in German tactics, the Duxford Wing was inefficient as only two of the Wing's sorties culminated in action: 5 squadrons were on call for 30 days to claim just 42 aircraft (now believed to be only 14 aircraft).He also stresses that the convenors of this `meeting' and those preparing the briefings would have been keenly aware of this fact, yet they completely ignored the recent inefficiency of Big Wings, basing their assessments on the successes from a hand full of occasions in the lead up to 15 September.From the evidence provided in this book, it is clear that this meeting was of Machiavellian design for the purpose of engineering the removal of Dowding.It could not be otherwise because the few occasions when 12 Group's Duxford Wing played a positive role held no serious lessons for either Dowding or Park concerning 11 Group tactics.In support of his conclusions, Peter Brown includes a fascinating letter from Keith Park to Flight Lieutenant J. L. Hunt, written on 23 October 1956.An extended extract is shown below:


"During the Battle of Britain there were two Air Marshals who very much wanted Lord Dowding's job at H.Q. Fighter Command.At the same time, Dowding was very unpopular with the C.A.S., Newall, who was very friendly with the aspiring Air Marshals at Air Ministry.Dowding was so highly thought of by the Cabinet that his position appeared unassailable, until the conspirators at Air Ministry discovered an Air Vice Marshall in 12 Group who badly wanted my job commanding 11 Group.Consequently, in October, when the Battle had been won, it was brought to the attention of the Air Secretary that Air Vice Marshall Leigh Mallory claimed that the tactical handling of 11 Group had been faulty, and that the mass formation tactics of his Group would have been more successful.The trouble was that neither Dowding nor I took seriously this criticism of my fighter tactics, because we sere so confident that we had been right in the method of winning the battle.

Imagine the surprise and anger of Dowding when, in October, 1940, he was summoned to attend an Air Council Meeting with me, to justify my fighter tactics in the face of criticisms from 12 Group.This meeting was arranged without the knowledge of or approval of Dowding, and I was asked to explain to the Meeting the reasons for my fighter tactics.As will be seen from the official history of the R.A.F., this criticism after the event was used by the retiring C.A.S., and his Air Marshals, as an excuse for getting rid of Dowding.Of course, being his first lieutenant and his tactical commander throughout the Battle of Britain, I was banished to a Training Command.The result was that Air Marshal Sholto Douglas, from Air Ministry, replaced Dowding in November, 1940, and, shortly after, I was replaced by his close friend, Leigh Mallory from 12 Group, whose malicious criticism had been used by the ambitious Air Marshals at the Air Ministry." (Extract from a letter by Keith Park - reproduced in full in Honour Restored, p.204)


While not a Briton, I nevertheless regard Peter Brown and his fellow airmen and airwomen as inspirational and courageous people whose thoughts and reflections on the Battle of Britain warrant respectful and careful consideration.That said, I still should warn readers that some on balance judgements expressed in parts of this book appear questionable.The speculations on AVM Douglas Evill are, to me at least, entirely unconvincing and the critical evaluation of Douglas Bader, while enthralling, is somewhat extreme.The substantive aspects of Brown's main criticisms of Bader appear to be sound, but the form in which they are expressed is, in my assessment, overly critical and unnecessarily so.Such rhetoric, which may be justifiably directed toward the more complicit of the anti-Dowding conspirators, appears misdirected when applied to a hero like Bader (even once the unintended consequences of some of his actions are acknowledged).Finally, some links between members of the anti-Dowding `Cabal' are rather tentative because of the speculative nature of some comments, which just services to underline the desirability of reading this book with a critical eye.

But these are quibbles - they become minor when set against the insights provided by the book and the pleasure one gets from reading the passionate words of an old airman justly proud of his actions, and those of his comrades in Fighter Command, and saddened by the unjust treatment of his Commander-in-Chief.But the book is made even more substantial by Peter Brown's refusal to surrender to pure sentimentalism.To that end, he comments critically on both Dowding, for his failure to appoint a deputy to coordinate activities across Groups, and Park, for directing squadrons to attack from too low an altitude.He also raises a sequence of excellent questions to provoke reflection on the various motivations for Dowding's removal.The net result is an interesting book that is of considerable value for readers interested in the Battle of Britain.

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Contributed by world renowned researchers, the book features a wide range of important topics in modern statistical theory and methodology, economics and finance, ecology, education, health and sports studies, and computer and IT-data mining. It is accessible to students and of interest to experts. Many of the contributions are concerned with theoretical innovations, but all have applications in view, and some contain illustrations of the applied methods or photos of historic mathematicians. A few of the notable contributors are Ejaz Ahmed (Windsor), Joe Gani (ANU), Roger Gay (Monash), Atsuhiro Hayashi (NCUEE, Tokyo), Markus Hegland (ANU), Chris Heyde (ANU/Columbia), Jeff Hunter (Massey), Phil Lewis (Canberra), Heinz Neudecker (Amsterdam), Graham Pollard (Canberra), Simo Puntanen (Tampere), George Styan (McGill), and Goetz Trenkler (Dortmund). ... Read more

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Since its publication this book has become the standard for both students studying for their examinations and practitioners needing a comprehensive textbook covering rating law, valuation and, importantly, practice. The second edition brings the reader up to date with the changes for the 2005 rating revaluation including:

. the new 2005 appeals regulations including the requirements for valid proposals
. the changes to the material day rules
. new valuation dates
. transitional relief changes
. small business relief

Many new and recent cases are added and additional material has been included covering new topics such as temporary disabilities.Sections such as disrepair have additionally been expanded.

The book is well illustrated with example valuations showing both methods of valuation and also the variety of property surveyors come across in practice.

The authors have extensive experience in the subject and regularly lecture on rating, valuation and taxation matters ... Read more

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From unpromising beginnings as a small fishing port with only one church, Liverpool grew to be a city of churches and chapels. By 1900, a Liverpool resident need walk no more than a couple of streets from home in order to go to church. While the Church of England built the most ambitious buildings on the most prominent sites, the Nonconformist denominations were all well-represented by the end of the 18th century. It was also in 18th century that this Christian predominance diversified, as Jewish merchants and traders settled in the town in significant numbers, becoming rapidly anglicised and assimilated. In the 20th century, some of the most exciting English churches of the period were built in Liverpool, reflecting the vitality of its School of Architecture, and some of Liverpool's 20th-century churches were among the first to be listed. However, the depopulation of the inner city, shrinking and aging congregations and the decline in clergy numbers have all taken their toll on Liverpool's aging places of worship. Many have been declared redundant, closed and even demolished. Those that remain face many challenges - crumbling fabric in need of expensive restoration, and fewer people to pay for it. With energy, imagination and the right kind of help, these obstacles can be overcome, and as Liverpool prepares to take on the role of European city of culture, its places of worship, celebrated in this profusely illustrated book, remain one of the most beautiful, exciting and diverse aspects of its historic environment. ... Read more

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An unbeatable collection of tutorials from the Photoshop World Dream Team of Experts!

The top Photoshop experts in the world, each showing how they do their best work.

Fun sidebars highlighting recent conferences make this a collector's item for those who attended the show and for those who wanted to but couldn't.

Each expert's tutorial is unique and the number of experts means the material is so varied.

It's a three-day Photoshop cramfest and party boiled down to 225 knock-out pages. Nearly two-dozen tutorials from the acclaimed Photoshop World conference Dream Team of experts and they're all original (even those who attend the conferences won't have 'em). Each stepped-through lesson reflects the special Photoshop talents of its author. Due to its special relationship with many of these authors and with Photoshop World's organizers, only Peachpit Publishing group could put together a group of Photoshop authors with this much appeal in the book-buying market: Scott Kelby, Jack Davis, Ben Willmore, Bert Monroy, Julieanne Kost, Russell Brown, Taz Tally, Felix Nelson, Dave Cross, Vincent Versace, Jim DiVitale, Kevin Ames, Mike Ninness, and more, together in one unbelievable book. A unique, value-packed tutorial and collector's item!

The individual members of the Photoshop World Dream Team (Scott Kelby, Jack Davis, Ben Willmore, Bert Monroy, Julieanne Kost, Russell Brown, Taz Tally, Felix Nelson, Dave Cross, Vincent Versace, Jim DiVitale, Kevin Ames, and Mike Ninness) have written dozens of books on Photoshop that have sold hundreds of thousands of copies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Read once and set aside.
I was disappointed in this book, set it aside after reading it and it just gathers dust.

Doesn't quite get there.
I was very disappointed. As a run of the mill photoshop book it's fine - but "dream team" it's not. For me, the images lack the "wow" factor, and it doesn't inspire me to pick it up for a second time. Instead I'd recommend Scott Kelby's "Classic Effects" which is a lot more fun and interesting. ... Read more

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Medieval and Renaissance poetry and drama are some of the best resources we have in determining the importance dreams had in pre-Freudian society. For the first time, leading scholars have collaborated to produce new essays on the representation and interpretation of medieval and Renaissance dreams. Their essays, which range from Chaucer to Shakespeare, are designed to develop innovative approaches possible only in a specially commissioned collection. ... Read more

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Publisher: Glasgow J. MaclehosePublication date: 1919Subjects: Scotland -- HistoryNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more