Operation Sea Lion: The Failed Nazi Invasion That Turned the Tide of War - Hardcover

"Immaculately researched and compellingly written . . . McKinstry makes clear that when Britain faced a mortal threat, it defended itself wholeheartedly and with hardly a trace of defeatism." --"The New Criterion
"Operation Sea Lion: The Failed Nazi Invasion That Turned the Tide of War "is a fascinating insight into a definitive moment of World War II."" --
NPR"
"Mr. McKinstry...uses his familiarity with the terrain to extract new wine from old battles. He wisely limits his focus to the home front--a last line of defense in the dark days of 1940, when England, alone, stood at the brink...If the story of embattled England in the summer of 1940 is a tale oft-told, it is, in this case, a tale well-told. As those epic days fade from memory, a single volume that evokes the valiant struggle of the British people through the prism of the Home Front is a welcome addition. Mr. McKinstry brings some fresh material for the specialist, but, more important, his ability to capture the resilience, stoicism and courage of the British people through a deft balance of narrative and detail is what makes this book engaging for any reader."--"Wall Street Journal"
"This absorbing, detailed book by British journalist and historian Leo McKinstry shows that it might indeed have happened and explains the various reasons why it did not." "--Washington Times
"Operation Sea Lion "is an important addition to the literature on the Second World War. It is painstakingly researched and well-referenced, and still very readable. Both students and experts of the Second World War will find it of immense benefit. At the same time, those who are interested in great wars will equally enjoy and benefit from it." --"Washington Book Review"

Immaculately researched and compellingly written . . . McKinstry makes clear that when Britain faced a mortal threat, it defended itself wholeheartedly and with hardly a trace of defeatism. "The New Criterion
"Operation Sea Lion: The Failed Nazi Invasion That Turned the Tide of War "is a fascinating insight into a definitive moment of World War II.""
NPR"
"Mr. McKinstry...uses his familiarity with the terrain to extract new wine from old battles. He wisely limits his focus to the home front a last line of defense in the dark days of 1940, when England, alone, stood at the brink...If the story of embattled England in the summer of 1940 is a tale oft-told, it is, in this case, a tale well-told. As those epic days fade from memory, a single volume that evokes the valiant struggle of the British people through the prism of the Home Front is a welcome addition. Mr. McKinstry brings some fresh material for the specialist, but, more important, his ability to capture the resilience, stoicism and courage of the British people through a deft balance of narrative and detail is what makes this book engaging for any reader." "Wall Street Journal"
"This absorbing, detailed book by British journalist and historianLeo McKinstryshows that it might indeed have happened and explains the various reasons why it did not." " Washington Times
"Operation Sea Lion "is an important addition to the literature on the Second World War. It is painstakingly researched and well-referenced, and still very readable. Both students and experts of the Second World War will find it of immense benefit. At the same time, those who are interested in great wars will equally enjoy and benefit from it." "Washington Book Review""

Only Britain stood in the way of the complete triumph, and Hitler planned a two-pronged offensive—a blistering aerial bombardment followed by a land invasion—to subdue his final enemy. But for the first time in the war, Hitler did not prevail.As Leo McKinstry details in this fascinating new history, the British were far more ruthless and proficient than is usually recognized. The brilliance of the RAF in the Battle of Britain was not an exception but part of a pattern of magnificent organization that thwarted Hitler’s armies at every turn. Using a wealth of archival and primary source materials, Leo McKinstry provides a groundbreaking new assessment of the six fateful months in mid-1940 when Operation Sea Lion was all that stood between the Nazis and total victory.