Ted Barris is an accomplished author, journalist and broadcaster. As well as hosting stints on CBC Radio and regular contributions to The Globe and Mail, the National Post, and various national magazines, he is a full-time professor of journalism at Centennial College in Toronto. Barris has authored 17 non-fiction books, including the national bestsellers Victory at Vimy and Juno. He currently lives in Toronto.
“As an RCAF Spitfire pilot conducting photo reconnaissance, I witnessed the final days of the air war over northwestern Europe in 1945. Ted Barris’s work fills an important gap in Air Force history, depicting the role of Canadian airmen during our earliest stand against the Luftwaffe over Britain. It’s an enlightening and comprehensive account of the battle.” —Flying Officer Ken Raven, (Ret’d) RCAF “Barris’s work is action-packed and fact-filled from the opening paragraph to the final sorties of the Battle of Britain. It is a must read.” —Major-General Richard Rohmer, OC CMM OOnt DFC CD KC, Royal Canadian Air Force “I marvel at the bravery and guts of the Canadian airmen—in the air and on the ground—who played a significant role in the Battle of Britain. Barris has traced their individual stories with verve and in well-researched detail, showing how decisions from the top brass shaped the lives and deaths of those on the frontline. This is both a triumphant and a poignant account: Canadian fortitude and skill helped keep the Nazis out of Britain in 1940- 1941, but the human cost was appalling. Thanks to Barris’s careful reporting and sense of drama, the casualties will not be forgotten.” —Charlotte Gray, CM, former chair of Canada’s National History Society