Taking London by Martin Dugard offers a fast-paced, action-packed recounting of the Battle of Britain, centered around key figures like Winston Churchill, Air Marshal Hugh Dowding, and RAF fighter pilots. While I was eager to dive into this book, especially given its focus on Churchill, I found it somewhat lacking in depth when it came to exploring the prime minister's role. Despite Churchill being in the title, the book doesn’t do as much to showcase his leadership or personal impact as I had expected.

One of the strengths of Taking London is Dugard's vivid descriptions of the Battle of Britain itself. He does an excellent job of immersing readers in the heat of the action, particularly when detailing the bravery of the RAF pilots. These sequences are exciting and give the book a cinematic feel, making it accessible for readers new to World War II history. The short, snappy chapters keep the pace moving quickly, which can be both a positive and a negative depending on the depth you're looking for.

However, for those well-versed in this era, the book might not offer much in terms of new information. It feels more like an introduction to the events than a detailed exploration, and readers hoping for an in-depth analysis or fresh insights into Churchill’s strategies may be left wanting. In fact, the narrative often shifts focus to other figures, making Churchill feel like more of a background character at times.

In summary, while Taking London is an engaging read for those seeking a thrilling account of the Battle of Britain, it may disappoint readers looking for a comprehensive study of Winston Churchill’s leadership. It's best suited for readers new to the subject or those who enjoy a more casual historical narrative.
This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The third book in this series, following Taking Paris and Taking Berlin, this book is a great read for anyone interested in learning more about WWII. He focuses on specific airmen from the beginning of their enlistments through their ultimate sacrifices and the surviving airmen and their eventual future at the end of the war. Including Edward R. Murrow helped explain the connection & degree of involvement from the U.S. from the beginning of the war. His books are written in such a way that it’s easy to forget it’s a historical account and not a fictional novel. I highly recommend reading this book.

I found this to be an enjoyable and educational read. It moved fast and kept my attention. I knew nothing about the Royal Air Force going in and found the information fascinating. Great historical read.

I agree with other NetGalley reviewers that the title of this book is somewhat misleading. It’s really a book about fighter pilots and the lead-up to the Battle of Britain. There is not that much about Chirchill. However, it’s written in an exciting, tense style which takes you right into the heart of a harrowing London Blitz. You can almost see the bombs falling as the brave Londoners go about their daily business!

Martin Dugard tells the stories of several of the pilots, including wealthy American Billy Fiske, Peter Townsend and Richard Hillary. Many are extremely tragic. I liked this book and Martin Dugard’s writing style.

I received this ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Nonfiction | Adult
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It has been two and a half years since we watched in horror as Russia mercilessly began a methodical attack on Ukraine, and still the Ukrainians are fighting back, desperate and determined, asking for help as they try to hold back a terrible foe. I’m not the first one to draw a comparison to Britain’s resistance to Nazi Germany, more than 80 years before. So it was with that in mind that I opted to read this relatively short history book whose title promised to examine the British prime minister’s strategies and defensive decisions that ultimately proved successful. But the title is rather misleading – the book is, in my view, a written version of the 1969 film Battle of Britain, which author Dugard reveals was an childhood fascination. Honestly, it’s practically a script! It’s also reflective of that decade’s sensibilities – this is the history of white men. Instead of on Churchill as promised by the subtitle, the focus is on the Royal Air Force, its chief Hugh Dowding, and four pilots in particular – “the boy, the veteran, Handsome Richard and the American.” We learn how each man took control of Spitfires and Hurricanes to engage in the Blitz, that months-long air campaign of bombing and dogfighting between German pilots and the RAF. Churchill makes occasional appearances, but there is little here we don’t already know about his leadership – the book’s focus truly is on Dowding and the lives of these four pilots. I quite enjoyed excerpts of journalist William R. Murrow’s radio broadcasts to Americans from his London base – imagine, smoking while on the air! For some reason I can’t figure out, the American ambassador to London Joe Kennedy, father of Robert and JFK, gets some space, as does Roosevelt, but these additions do little more than explain to the uninformed why the United States sat by. And that’s who this book is aimed at – the uninformed who might honestly know very little about this key aspect of world history. It was disappointing for me, as I wanted to know more about the strategic leadership, but it is certainly a fascinating look at four known pilots and their experiences in the cockpit. The writing style is choppy, with short sentences intended to create tension and a sense of being right there – it certainly is exciting, but it results in a distracting and disappointing reading experience as it never really gets into anything meaty. There are informative endnotes, but no references, so this isn’t useful as a research resource beyond high school. My advance edition did not include any bibliography or index. My thanks to Dutton Books for the digital reading copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
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In 1934, fifty-nine-year-old Winston Churchill, who had been relegated to the political wilderness because of the debacle at Gallipoli, warned in a radio address that if the British government did not prepare for war against Germany, England would be vulnerable to air raids and perhaps even invasion. After Neville Chamberlain's failed attempt to appease Hitler, Nazi troops stormed into Poland, and the German army would later occupy France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In 1940, sixty-five-year-old Winston Churchill replaced Chamberlain as Prime Minister and, with the help of such strategists as Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding, led England in her ferocious resistance to the Nazi juggernaut. The new PM boosted his country's morale with his soaring rhetoric and fierce determination never to surrender.

Martin Dugard's "Taking London" is a fast-paced and engrossing work of popular history in which the author makes liberal use of sentence fragments and keeps his chapters short and punchy. We get to know such courageous fighter pilots as Peter Townsend, Geoffrey Wellum, Richard Hillary, and Billy Fiske. In addition, we learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the Spitfires, Hurricanes, and other airplanes that would take to the skies against the mighty Luftwaffe. Furthermore, Dugard provides insight into the pro-Nazi views of Joseph P. Kennedy (the U. S. Ambassador to Great Britain), and describes the reporting of the legendary Edward R. Murrow, whose live broadcasts from London enthralled his listeners.

This book is thrilling, suspenseful, and heartbreaking. Readers will admire the grit, not only of the RAF, but also of ordinary citizens who lived through the Blitz, a devastating German bombardment that lasted for nine months and killed more than 43,000 civilians. Dugard vividly recreates scenes of aerial dogfights during the Battle of Britain that tested the skill and mettle of the RAF pilots, some of whom were in their late teens and early twenties. Sadly, quite a few were killed, severely injured, and/or emotionally traumatized by their experiences. However, their tremendous sacrifice helped insure England's survival as a democracy.

Taking London by Martin Dugard is a bit misleading in both the title and the cover. The author does spend some time on Churchill and Chamberlain and their opposing views of Germany's intentions in the decade or so before the war. Churchill spent years trying to persuade the country to prepare for another war with Germany, but the majority of England still resisted the idea.
With Germany's move on Poland, however, public opinion began a slow change and Churchill began climbing back to influence and power, continuing to warn of the need to be prepared. Then France falls.

I found the first section disjointed, although there was interesting information about the "Spitfire" and "Hurricane" fighter aircraft, Air Vice-Marshall Hugh Dowding, the RAF/Luftwaffe differences, and the efforts to prepare for invasion before the Battle of Britain.

The majority of the book deals with four legendary fighter pilots and their personal experiences. The sections on the pilots (Peter Townsend, Richard Hillary, Geoffrey Wellum, and the lone American, Billy Fiske, long before America entered the war) were much better written and flowed more easily, even though the author went back and forth between them and their individual missions to hold back the Luftwaffe. The Battle of Britain has been described as a "David vs Goliath" situation as England was badly outnumbered in both planes and pilots.

The book would certainly have benefitted with a thorough proofreading to give a more coherent presentation. The information on the individual pilots and their accounts made it worth persevering.

"RAF pilots were at the heart of the Battle of Britain. Just 3,000 men stood between Britain and a German invasion – those who Winston Churchill famously called 'The Few'."

WWII nonfiction, Print length: 349 pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group

As history, this is a superficial effort, with not much more than a Wikipedia level of actual events. Its main purpose seems to be to provide some kind of thrilling Boys Own action tale about brave pilots, with character-driven sketches of the political scene serving as background. Chapters alternate between various pilots (including Peter Townsend, famous after the war for being thwarted in his wish to marry Princess Margaret), Winston Churchill, American news broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, and US Ambassador to the UK, Joseph P. Kennedy. Then-Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II, makes a single-chapter appearance. The pilot chapters predominate.

The author often sets scenes and conveys thrills and tension by writing in short. sentences. and. paragraphs. in. the. present. tense. It gets irritating fast. The subtitle is also a bit deceptive, given that Churchill is not the lead player in the drama. .

At first, I thought this was just a quickly cranked-out moneymaking effort. You can find loads of better books on the subject without even looking hard, and I would definitely not recommend it to anyone who has some familiarity with World War II. But, thinking it over, there does seem to be a market for this kind of thing. It has its exciting and moving moments, and it wouldn’t be a terrible choice for a reader who doesn’t know anything about the history and is looking for a fast-moving introductory story about the early days of the war from the British standpoint—especially if that reader is a fan of fighter planes.

2.5 stars rounded to 3.

Well, Martin Dugard made me want to be a pilot for a few hundred pages so I would call his new book, Taking London, quite successful. Generally, I like my feet on the ground so this is no small feat.

Taking London is about the Battle of Britain told mostly through the actions of Winston Churchill, Air Vice-Marshall Hugh Dowding, and four fighter pilots. Dugard is going for action and excitement rather than analysis in the narrative. He uses short, evocative sentences to put the reader in the pilot's shoes. If you are well-read on the Battle of Britain, then you may not learn anything new, but you will enjoy the fighter sequences at the very least. Dugard is shooting for the casual reader who craves excitement as opposed to extensive diatribes on air tactics. Neither is better than the other. They are just different approaches and depends on what you are looking for.

The most effective sequences by far are with the fighter pilots. Their stories jump off the page and I would have read a book purely based on their stories. Dugard also adds context by giving short sequences to Churchill and Dowding which are vital to understanding what the pilots are facing and why. Not all choices are effective, though. Sections devoted to Joe Kennedy and Edward Morrow could be eliminated without damaging the narrative at all. That said, the chapters are short and these sections are not all that distracting.

If you like Dugard's previous works then you will enjoy this one for sure.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Dutton Books.)

The title is misleading. The book focuses on a few RAF pilots before the Battle of Britain. There needs to be more about Churchill (or a subtitle change), and the writing sadly leaves much to be desired. The information in the book could be a great start to a well-written book. If this book were a house, we would say it has good bones.

Thank you, NetGalley and Dutton, for a copy.

I am an avid reader of WWII accounts, both literal and fictional. I found this book to be fascinating in the approach to the build up and completion of the Battle of Britain. Although there is quite a lot of technical description of planes and procedures, you never lose the key concepts or strategists. I found the author's assessments to be true to what history these multiple generations away from the events has proven. The author telling us how we arrived at an event, as well as at times telling us what would happen in the future because of an even, was skillfully and masterfully done. History came alive in a way that many literary attempts do not. Thank you for these insights.

Martin Dugard's "Taking London" is an attempt at telling the story of the lead up to the Battle of Britain and the necessary build up of fighter pilots and improved planes in 1939-1940.

I had a lot of problems with this book and if it hadn't been a NetGalley book I had promised to review I would have stopped reading it very early on. My main issue was the writing style. Short choppy sentences. Repetitive. The book is in the present tense- which is just a bizarre choice for a history book. But if you make the decision to write "this is happening, he is doing this" etc. then I think you have given up the option to also provide foreshadowing about "what Churchill doesn't know is that this will be happening in a few months" or including what Hitler and his army is doing over in Poland when you've made it clear that isn't the focus of your book and the characters you've chosen to follow to tell your story.

Despite the subtitle, "Taking London" isn't really about Churchill (who you mostly see through blocks of his speeches) but about the RAF. It follows several young men as they join, train, and become successful pilots. There was no attempt at depth or historical or political analysis to anything. Just a constant bombardment of "this is happening. Now this is happening."

"Taking London" adds nothing new to anyone's knowledge of World War II or Churchill. If you're looking for an excellent book on the Battle of Britain and the pilots, I recommend Lynne Olson's "Last Hope Island", which goes into depth on a lot of the refugees from places like Poland and how they contributed to the efforts as well. It wasn't just British pilots in the air against the Nazis.

This is a book I recommend skipping.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

An intriguing history of the Battle for Britain. Dugard’s book contains ample research and first person accounts of Churchill’s rise and the decisions of his War Council. The stories of the courageous pilots make this history worth reading as Britain staved off the air forces of Germany as the Germans had more power and were intent on destroying England. The brave and sometimes heartbreaking accounts of men who sacrificed their lives to save their country is inspiring and humbling.
A must read for history fans, especially WW II and the role of the RAF in saving England.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It doesn't just focus on Churchill but other pilots and those involved with Britain's war against Hitler. It's very interesting even for those that generally don't read books that are so defined. There is plenty of details on air strategies but written in a way to keep you engaged. Always a bonus for me is that it contains pictures! Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Tense, as the topic should be, intriguing, mesmerizing, engaging, and well thought out, are just a few of the descriptors that I would apply to Taking London, the account of Great Britain’s entrance into World War II and the story of the RAF and it’s courageous pilots. I learned much and gained a great respect for Winston Churchill, the citizens of England, and for the young men, often very young, that flew into battle for their country. I would recommend this nonfiction book to anyone who values history. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read copy, I am sure to tell others about this great book.

For readers who are fond of intense looks at WWII in Europe particularly the actions of Sir William Churchill and the role that air power would play. in the war saving England from invasion. The writing style is perfect for those who prefer brief sentences and fact based storytelling. I would have enjoyed deeper development of the handful of RAF pilots used to illustrate key parts of the air power and more anecdotes about the Churchills. A quick read with a lot of technical information about the planes. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy. I would rate this 3 1/2 stars

I found this book to be a fascinating account of Winston Churchill and The Battle of Britain at the beginning of WWII. Although I’ve read many books about the war, I wasn’t familiar with the details of the Air Force and the Battle of Britain. Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

I still don't care for the Dugard writing as O'Reilly writing approach. I find it irritating. For today's one line social media readers, I would believe this writing style works best. If this style educates in history, I'm for it.

This is, as the other Dugard/O'Reilly books, a spanning overview of the time of Churchill and flyers during the time of World War II. There are hundreds of books that cover all of the aspects to dive in and learn more.

The writing, as it is, tells of Churchill and the mechinations of going into the war and what results with his actions. This is well done.
There are interspersed chapters of RAF flyers and their actions during the war. These are also well done, but I think the combination could have worked better if there was more of a crossing of Churchill and the flyers. Swiveling from one scene to the other had me feeling in need of a scarf around my neck. As Dugard writes of the flyer having to wear a scarf to prevent chafing turning the head from side to side while flying.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 7 out of ten points.
I'm providing an honest review of this book via NetGalley.com.
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The intended audience for this book must be the person who has heard of the Battle of Britain and Winston Churchill but knows absolutely nothing about them. This is history lite at its most superficial, barely scratching the surface of the momentous events of 1940 and offering no new insights or information. Churchill is a caricature clutching a cigar and is mostly portrayed through quotes from his most famous speeches. Despite the subtitle, the main focus of the book is on four fighter pilots, three of whom wrote their own war memoirs making the background research very easy for the author. The narrative jumps from the cockpit of a Spitfire to the House of Commons to an Edward Murrow broadcast and back again with an occasional brief stop at Hugh Dowding's fighter command, offering the reader no context or background to help understand some of the most pivotal events of the 20th century.

The writing style with brief, choppy sentences and short paragraphs contributes to the lack of depth. There are hundreds of better books on Churchill and the Battle of Britain and the reader would be better served by choosing any of them.

Martin Dugard offers up a book ostensibly about "Winston Churchill and the Fight to Save Civilization" but in fact, it's just as much about various fighter pilots that were part of the RAF during World War II, with surprisingly little about Churchill the man and his challenges during the early part of the War. Dugard also offers up nothing that's new or enlightening about the era and its major events. His writeup of the various flying tactics and overall air defense strategies was very interesting: He's at his best when offering up imagined first-person experiences in the cockpit of Spitfires and Hurricanes, the two planes that helped Britain hold off a numerically superior Luftwaffe, armed with its feared Messerschmidt Me 109s.

The real weak point of "Taking London", however, is Dugard's writing style.
It's annoying.
And disruptive.
After a while alert readers will realize that it's a formula he's overusing, with a paragraph or two of generally short sentences. Some very short. Followed by a paragraph of just a few words, typically a counterpoint to the previous paragraph.
It's tedious.
What I found most ironic is that when he moved into the detailed Epilogue, he abandoned this breathless style and wrote far more compelling and interesting content; can we have a version of the book written in that manner instead, please?

Overall, if you're not knowledgeable about Britain's experience in World War II, its gruff but inspirational wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and how the island nation survived the Blitz and the Battle of Britain, this might be a good choice. Otherwise, there are better WWII histories of England, of Churchill, and of the RAF.