AustLit logo
y separately published work icon Reach for the Sky : The Story of Douglas Bader, D.S.O., D.F.C. single work   biography   war literature  
Issue Details: First known date: 1954... 1954 Reach for the Sky : The Story of Douglas Bader, D.S.O., D.F.C.
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon Reach for the Sky Lewis Gilbert , ( 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

    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Collins ,
      1954 .
Alternative title: Zum Fliegen geboren : Das Leben Douglas Baders
Language: German
    • Zurich,
      c
      Switzerland,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Stuttgart,
      c
      Germany,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Vienna,
      c
      Austria,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Frederick Muller ,
      1973 .
      Note/s:
      • Reprint of 1955 edition.

Works about this Work

Heroes and Villains Don Watson , 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 separately published work icon 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 Stephen Dando-Collins , 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)

Literary Non-fiction : Recording and Reconstructing the Air War of 1939-1945 Philip Neilsen , 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 Philip Neilsen , 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 separately published work icon 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 Stephen Dando-Collins , 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 Don Watson , 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)

Last amended 14 Dec 2011 20:13:14
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X