Sprog: a rookie airman, forced to learn by doing.
Summer, 1941. They come from different places, and different lives, but they share a dream: to fly. Eager to join the war in the skies over Europe, thousands of young men flock to Canada from all over Britain and the Commonwealth, and the United States -- all hoping to earn their pilots' wings. Before taking to the air, they must endure the challenges of the British Air Commonwealth Training Plan, which quickly turns them from boys into men, and from civilians into soldiers. Sprog takes us from Bomber Command's war, to the retreat from France, and to the peaceful but dangerous skies of Canada where these young men will discover themselves, and their destinies.
Praise for Malcolm Kelly's Sprog:
"It is remarkable that someone who did not live in that time has been able to recreate our lives as airmen in the Second World War in such detail." --Flying Officer Robert J. Middleton, Navigator, 431 (Iroquois) Squadron, No. 6 Group, Bomber Command
"What a terrific book. I had goosebumps. For Fletcher and the guys, and for all of them. It is so human, so real, so thoughtful, so invigorating. The dialogue is terrific. This American Army brat gets it. It is so damn good." --Lynne Russell, Author; former lead anchor, CNN
"Amazing! Every section had me glued ... grabbed me right to the gut. Malcolm puts us right in the middle of the chaos and shows us what the fear of his main characters was like. His dialogue is exquisite. He has woven history into the story into a way that those who experienced it themselves would be proud of." Ted Barris, Bestselling author of Behind the Glory: Canada's Role in the Allied Air War, The Great Escape: A Canadian Story, and Dam Busters: Canadian Airmen and the Secret Raid against Nazi Germany
Malcolm G. Kelly was a professional journalist for 37 years. He is the founder and coordinator of a renowned post-graduate sports journalism program at Centennial College in Toronto. Malcolm is a former writer and/or editor at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's sports department, the National Post, Ottawa Citizen, Southam News, Thomson News, Town Crier Newspapers, and the Canadian Press. A bestselling author, he has written four non-fiction books. Malcolm was born in Bradford-on-Avon, England, and raised in Warminster, Wilts, before the family moved to Canada in 1966. He is the son of two Second World War veterans (his father was one of the famous 47 British escapees at Calais in 1940, and his mother was a Blitz survivor who joined the army's ATS). Kelly has been deeply involved in the study of the human face of that conflict and how those caught up in it handled the stress, day-to-day life, and constant fear of death and injury, since first reading Cornelius Ryan's The Longest Day at nine years old. He lives in Toronto, Canada, with his wife, Barbara, son Patrick, and Grace the dachshund.
