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'The Dam Busters, The Great Escape and Reach for the Sky were all written by Paul Brickhill, an Australian hero of WWII. 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of his birth and the 25th anniversary of his death.'
'It was 1956 and the writer from Sydney's lower North Shore had every reason to feel blessed. Former journalist Paul Brickhill was the highest-earning author in the UK and two of his bestselling books – The Dam Busters and Reach for the Sky – had recently been made into blockbuster films. Another of his books – inspired by his experiences as a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft 3 in Germany during the Second World War – was attracting Hollywood interest. That book was The Great Escape.'
'Yet, life for the enigmatic Brickhill was never simple. He was beset with mental-health issues and his marriage to model Margot Slater was tempestuous. He struggled with alcohol and writer's block too, as his success – and all that accompanied it – threatened to overwhelm him. ' (Source: Random House Books website)
Notes
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Dedication: Dedicated to my dynamic co-pilot in life, my wife, Louise, who had been with me on every sortie into uncharted territory.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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No Escape from Myths of War
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 6-7 August 2016; (p. 23)
— Review of The Hero Maker : A Biography of Paul Brickhill : The Australian behind the Legendary Stories The Dam Busters, The Great Escape and Reach for the Sky 2016 single work biography -
Review : The Hero Maker by Stephen Dando-Collins
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 16 September 2016;
— Review of The Hero Maker : A Biography of Paul Brickhill : The Australian behind the Legendary Stories The Dam Busters, The Great Escape and Reach for the Sky 2016 single work biography 'Paul Brickhill not only wrote the best-selling war dramas The Dam Busters, The Great Escape and Reach for the Sky, he lived those dramas, as this engagingly written biography reveals. Brickhill, a Spitfire pilot in World War II, was shot down and spent the war in the Stalag, where his escape novel, based on actual events, is set. ...'
-
No Escape from Myths of War
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 6-7 August 2016; (p. 23)
— Review of The Hero Maker : A Biography of Paul Brickhill : The Australian behind the Legendary Stories The Dam Busters, The Great Escape and Reach for the Sky 2016 single work biography -
Review : The Hero Maker by Stephen Dando-Collins
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 16 September 2016;
— Review of The Hero Maker : A Biography of Paul Brickhill : The Australian behind the Legendary Stories The Dam Busters, The Great Escape and Reach for the Sky 2016 single work biography 'Paul Brickhill not only wrote the best-selling war dramas The Dam Busters, The Great Escape and Reach for the Sky, he lived those dramas, as this engagingly written biography reveals. Brickhill, a Spitfire pilot in World War II, was shot down and spent the war in the Stalag, where his escape novel, based on actual events, is set. ...'
- The Dam Busters 1951 single work biography
- The Great Escape 1951 single work biography
- Reach for the Sky : The Story of Douglas Bader, D.S.O., D.F.C. 1954 single work biography
