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Winkle
- The Extraordinary Life of Britain’s Greatest Pilot
- Narrated by: Steve John Shepherd, Paul Beaver
- Length: 11 hrs
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Winkle
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
The daring life story and astonishing adventures of Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown - Britain's greatest-ever pilot.
Small in stature but immense in reputation and talent, there was more to Eric 'Winkle' Brown than met the eye.
The pilot who set the standard for Britain's golden age of aviation, Winkle cemented his worldwide fame with incredible skill, extraordinary daring - and nerves of steel when things went wrong. From shooting down Luftwaffe bombers from the deck of a carrier in the Battle of the Atlantic and narrowly escaping death when his ship was torpedoed, to accumulating a never-to-be repeated litany of world records and firsts as a test pilot, his unparalleled flying career saw him take the controls of over four hundred different kinds of aircraft - more than any other pilot in history.
A rival to Chuck Yeager and hero to Neil Armstrong, by the time of his appearance on Desert Island Disc's 1000th episode Winkle had become a legend in his own lifetime, and by his death, a national treasure.
But despite his enormous fame, there have always been mysteries at the heart of Winkle's story. To truly understand this fascinating but secretive man is to grapple with questions that have intrigued and confounded biographers throughout his extraordinary life.
Drawing on previously unseen documents and unfettered access to Winkle's own personal archive Paul Beaver records a life with more twists and turns than a Battle of Britain dogfight - which was, of course, something Winkle had taken part in himself - uncovering the complex and enigmatic man behind the legend - the real story of Britain's greatest pilot.
A story Winkle insisted could only be told after his death . . .
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What listeners say about Winkle
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- john
- 13-12-23
Excellent
No matter how much you think you know about the Second World War, there’s always something new to learn. Eric’s story is both fascinating and highly informative.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 29-03-24
A great pilot
I really like the honest appraisal of Eric Brown, both good and bad. The fact that Captain Brown was recognised as a flawed individual did not detract from his achievements but disappointed me in that he could have attained so much more. Still we are all flawed to some degree.
A great book and a really interesting subject. Thank you.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- welease-wodger
- 11-09-23
excellent
A truly inspirational man. His
will never be seen again. A must read .
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Brookfield
- 10-12-23
An extraordinary man
Fascinating story of someone who lived life to the full .. and made a difference to aviation at the same time.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Dave Burn
- 02-08-23
Real life adventure story
Excellent listen. At times reads like a boys own action story. Great book about great man.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- waterloo
- 29-10-23
Great Story of a “Interesting man “
A very honest and uncompromising account of a man we shall not see the likes of again.
A no holds barred story of a man who seems to have met EVERYONE , all but Hitler and Stalin of any note during WW2 and many more after the war.
It is interesting to note however that like Douglas Bader and Guy Gibson Brown had some personality issues and was not universally liked by all who encountered him during his career. Perhaps this is common in great flyers .
You get the feeling you might not have liked him as a man if you had ever met him but had to admire the pilot , again much like Bader and Gibson .
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Andrew Willis
- 13-07-23
Interesting Story Delivery Could Have Been Better
Don’t wish to include any spoilers. A good story providing new insight into Winkle; however marred by some factual inaccuracies and poor delivery at times as narrator mispronounced words and abbreviations.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- a mcmeekin
- 31-10-23
A great biography on the world's best test pilot.
This book should be read in conjunction with Winkle Brown's own memoirs.
In his own book he paints a picture that is almost unbelievable, yet many of his tales are indeed true. Many are exaggerations and this book sorts them out.
Eric Winkle Brown still comes out after both books as one of the world's foremost test pilots ever. And his sheer numbers of types flown will never be beaten for sure.
He was probably a fairly insufferable person to be with, but there was no one else you'd really want as a test pilot for that dangerous but important job.
great book!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- EUAN F.
- 14-11-23
Great, even after reading ‘wings on my sleeve’.
I was apprehensive about getting this audiobook, after reading ‘wings on my sleeve’ I thought it would just be a re-telling of a story I’d read. Wrong. I really enjoyed this book, it has so much more to add.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Alex Galpin
- 04-01-24
Great listen
Great and honest book of a remarkable man. Interesting new insights and great research. Well told by a decent narrator
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