The Hero Maker: A Biography of Paul Brickhill, Penguin Random House, Melbourne & Sydney, 2016
In The Hero Maker, award-winning historical author and biographer Stephen Dando-Collins exposes the contradictions of one of Australia’s most successful, but troubled, writers. Brickhill’s extraordinary story – from the youth with a debilitating stutter to Sydney Sun journalist to Spitfire pilot and POW to feted author – explodes vividly to life on the centenary of his birth. (blurb)
Brickhill was the writer of post-World War II non-fiction, The Great Escape, The Dam Busters and Reach for the Sky, all of which were turned into successful movies and were a staple read of baby-boom boys (and even girls). The book covers Brickhill’s life and work.
The book is reviewed for Honest History by John Myrtle. Dando-Collins talks to Richard Fidler (no transcript). Tom Gilling’s review in The Australian. A brief review by Doug Dingwall in The Examiner (Launceston). Further work is under way on Brickhill.