During World War II, Roald Dahl served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and was seriously injured in a plane crash in the Libyan desert. Inspired by his experiences as a fighter pilot, Dahl wrote ten suspenseful stories: they describe high-flying dogfights, the nightmare of being shot down, the infectious madness of war, and the nervous mirth of the mess and ops room. Dahl brilliantly conveys the bizarre reality of a pilot's daily life during wartime, where death always lurks and every second counts.