Lynne Olson, Stanley Cloud
A Question of Honor

from the publisher:
A Question of Honor is the gripping, little-known, and brilliantly told story of the scores of Polish fighter pilots who helped save England during the Battle of Britain and of their stunning betrayal by the United States and England at the end of World War II.

Centering on five pilots of the renowned Kosciuszko Squadron, the authors show how the fliers, driven by their passionate desire to liberate their homeland, came to be counted among the most heroic and successful fighter pilots of World War II. Drawing on the Kosciuszko Squadron’s unofficial diary-filled with the fliers' personal experiences in combat -- and on letters, interviews, memoirs, histories, and photographs, the authors bring the men and battles of the squadron vividly to life. We follow the principal characters from their training before the war, through their hair-raising escape from Poland to France and then, after the fall of France, to Britain. We see how, first treated with disdain by the RAF, the Polish pilots played a crucial role during the Battle of Britain, where their daredevil skill in engaging German Messerschmitts in close and deadly combat while protecting the planes in their own groups soon made them legendary. And we learn what happened to them after the war, when their country was abandoned and handed over to the Soviet Union.

A Question of Honor also gives us a revelatory history of Poland during World War II and of the many thousands in the Polish armed forces who fought with the Allies. It tells of the country's unending struggle against both Hitler and Stalin, its long battle for independence, and the tragic collapse of that dream in the "peace" that followed. Powerful, moving, deeply involving, A Question of Honor is an important addition to the literature of World War II.

"A Question of Honor is exciting and compelling, a fine story too rarely told, a tribute to the Polish fighting spirit, and a well-written war history about a distant but very good neighbor." --Alan Furst, author of Blood of Victory, Dark Star, and Night Soldiers

"The Polish airmen who escaped their savaged country in 1939 made a major contribution to the Royal Air Force's victory in the Battle of Britain in 1940. 303 Squadron, which they formed, was the most successful of all RAF units in shooting down German aircraft attempting to bomb Britain into surrender. Their subsequent treatment by the British government, including its refusal to let the survivors march in the Victory Parade of 1946 in craven deference to Stalin, was one of the most shameful episodes of the Cold War." --Sir John Keegan, author of The Face of Battle, A History of Warfare and The Second World War

"A gripping account of personal gallantry and of political treachery. On a par with the recent best-sellers about the fighting men of World War II." --Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to President Jimmy Carter

"This book presents us with one of the most disgraceful ethical horrors of World War II -- how, believing the need to support Stalin at all costs, we discredited, and later neglected, our oldest, bravest, and most trustworthy ally in order to conceal the truth of a revolting crime." --Robert Conquest, author of Stalin and The Great Terror

"Following up the acclaimed The Murrow Boys: Pioneers on the Frontlines of Broadcast Journalism, the authors offer a solid addition to WWII aviation history . . . the political balance they bring to telling the political story is noteworthy." --Publishers Weekly