AustLit
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Adaptations
-
form
y
Reach for the Sky
( dir. Lewis Gilbert
)
London
:
Angel Productions
,
1956
Z1686462
1956
single work
film/TV
The true story of airman Douglas Bader who overcame the loss of both legs in a 1931 flying accident to become a successful fighter pilot and wing leader during World War II.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Heroes and Villains
2023
single work
column
— Appears in: The Monthly , June 2023; (p. 14-16) 'IF, AS SOMEONE SAID, “No man is a hero to his valet”, it is also true that every man is a valet to his hero. Well, as we make them, we can break them. So, I have cancelled Sir Douglas Bader. Others may choose to follow my example, but for now it is a personal cancellation, not a global one'(Introduction)
-
y
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
North Sydney
:
Penguin
,
2016
9696350
2016
single work
biography
'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)
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Literary Non-fiction : Recording and Reconstructing the Air War of 1939-1945
1995
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Queensland Review , September vol. 2 no. 2 1995; (p. 14-25) Discusses the degree of literariness of memoirs and autobiographies by some ex-airmen, and traces common discursive and thematic elements.
-
Literary Non-fiction : Recording and Reconstructing the Air War of 1939-1945
1995
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Queensland Review , September vol. 2 no. 2 1995; (p. 14-25) Discusses the degree of literariness of memoirs and autobiographies by some ex-airmen, and traces common discursive and thematic elements. -
y
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
North Sydney
:
Penguin
,
2016
9696350
2016
single work
biography
'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)
-
Heroes and Villains
2023
single work
column
— Appears in: The Monthly , June 2023; (p. 14-16) 'IF, AS SOMEONE SAID, “No man is a hero to his valet”, it is also true that every man is a valet to his hero. Well, as we make them, we can break them. So, I have cancelled Sir Douglas Bader. Others may choose to follow my example, but for now it is a personal cancellation, not a global one'(Introduction)