Whilst addressing the political controversy surrounding the bombing offensive against Germany, Leo McKinstry also weaves individual tales into this compelling narrative. Rich characters are brought to life, such as Roy Chadwick the designer, who taught himself engineering at night school and Sir Arthur Harris, the austere head of the Bomber Command. This is a rich saga, a story of triumph over disaster and the history of an iconic plane.
Leo McKinstry has been a successful, high-profile writer for almost three decades, winning praise for his fluent style, his range of subjects and his diligent research. He is the author of twelve non-fiction books, including a trilogy on the RAF during the Second World War, several football and cricket biographies, two of which won the WHSmith Sports Book of the Year awards, and a study of the 19th century Liberal Prime Minister Lord Rosebery, which was named as the Channel Four Political Book of the Year in 2006. He is also a national newspaper journalist. Since 2005 he has been a twice-weekly columnist on the Daily Express, while he has been a feature writer on the Daily Mail for 27 years. His articles have also appeared in the Daily Telegraph, Independent, The Spectator, The Oldie, New Statesman and The Cricketer.