Helena P. Schrader tells the story from both the German and the British perspectives. Her writing of combat is so real and vivid it made me feel as though I was actually there in combat with the pilots of Britain's Royal Air Force and Germany's Luftwaffe.

Chasing The Wind is a book of fiction, although, for the most part, it focuses on actual historical events. Through her use of fictional characters, Helena P. Schrader takes us into the emotional lives of the British and German pilots of that time.

Klaudia, who had grown up in a tiny Silesian village, was a member of the Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD). In their blue shirtwaist dresses, white bibbed aprons, and red headscarves, it seemed, at first, RAD was only about saluting, marching, sport and drill. Klaudia longed for her "real" duty to begin -The National Labour Service - helping new settlers and over-burdened farm-wives. She was soon chosen to help her Fatherland, her nation and the Fuhrer by becoming Luftwafehelferinnen.

Robert "Robin" Priestman became one of the many to fly during the battle to keep the Germans from invading Great Britain. They lived in constant uncertainty, wondering where the next bomb would hit. Chasing the Wind gives us a look into the day to day operations of this aerial battle in the early days of WWII.

Chasing the Wind is a well-balanced portrayal of the men and women both in the air and on the ground. A fantastic war novel!