A Good War

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.

“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”

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

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

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

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

A real feel for the period - Telegraph

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

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.

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.

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