The last enemy

the long version

Richard Hillary was a dashing and handsome young man 'with all the luck' who enjoyed a privileged life in the Oxbridge culture of the 1930s. He trained as an RAF Spitfire pilot in World War II and was shot down in the Battle of Britain, unable to quickly escape from his burning aircraft and suffering extensive burns. In THE LAST ENEMY, Hillary traces his extraordinary journey of recovery, which included undergoing pioneering plastic surgery to rebuild his face and hands. It was first published in 1942, just seven months before his untimely death in a second plane crash.