Hurricanes Versus Zeros: Air Battles Over Singapore, Sumatra and Java

In this book the author not only tells his story of flying against the Japanese but he succeeds in painting a much wider canvas embracing the events leading up to and during the Japanese invasion of Singapore and the Dutch West Indies. The use of many individuals’ accounts is possible due to his tracking down and interviewing those who fought with him. He does not lose sight of the ‘big picture’ and his speculation that defeat was not inevitable raises many questions of the quality of the Allied leadership. He chronicles not just the bravery of the defenders but the atrocities perpetrated by the victorious Japanese against combatants and civilians.