Hitler vs. Me

The Bandy Papers #8

by Donald Jack

February 1940 and the war has yet to hit its stride. Bartholomew Bandy, the Canadian First World War air ace, is eager to enter the fray, but at 45 he is deemed too old for combat. Until, that is, in a dramatic moonlit encounter he makes a personal appeal to Prime Minister Mackenzie King, who is only too happy to send him very far away. Soon Bandy is battling the Boche in the Battle of Britain, and battling just as hard to keep his toupee a secret.

As his many admiring readers would expect, Bandy is soon carrying on shockingly with the nobly born Guinevere Plumley, she of the gorgeous body and the face of “an admiral in drag.” Through Guinevere’s mysterious connections, Bandy meets two Winston Churchills, ends up in the wrong bed in an English country house, and plays a vital security role at the Quebec Conference of 1943. There he preserves the Bandy name while dangling from the Chateau Frontenac, and is arrested as a Nazi spy. All too soon, however, he is back on duty, only to be shot down over France, where he is sought by the Allies, the Resistance, and the Gestapo alike because he knows the date of D-Day.

Whether in London, Ottawa, Quebec City, or Normandy, Bandy is in lock step with the war’s events – feeding immortal lines to the newsmakers, inconveniencing all and sundry (Lester B. Pearson and Evelyn Waugh, to mention but two) – and always seeing history made from his own unique perspective. As the book says “Waugh is Hell.”

Genres: Canada, Historical Fiction, Humor

360 pages, Hardcover

First published August 31, 1996

About the author

Novelist, playwright, and scriptwriter. Best known for his "Bandy Papers" novels about WWI ace Bartholomew Bandy, which won Jack the Leacock award three times for volumes of the series. Also penned the first modern play performed at the Stratford Festival of Canada, and wrote numerous scripts for television and radio.

Reviews

[Mark Edlund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humour series - Due to a lack of availability I was not able to read the two books in this series before this boo. The search continues. Bandy is trying to get a post overseas as a fighter pilot. Everyone says he is too old (he is). Lots of misadventures occur including finding out he has a son he is just as obtuse as he is. The author weaves many historical figures throughout though Hitler does not actually make an appearance. Funny and sad at the same time.
No pharmacy references.
Canadian references - Bandy is Canadian so too many references to recount.

[Chris Tschirhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is that if you want a great Laugh about the ups and downs of an incompetent and lovable bumbling hero of a flyer you have to read all of "The Bandy Papers Books. I have never laughed till I couldn't breath so much in my life.

[Scott G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just ok . Definitely not the best of the Bandy series. Have read them all over 40 years. Would it not be wonderful to see a Bandy movie?

[TheIron Paw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd read the first 3 volumes of the Bandy Papers years ago and didn't realize there were 5 more volumes. I thoroughly enjoyed the silliness of Bandy's military career touched with moments of serious character development, romance, and emotion. I did find this current (latest) volume somewhat slow and repetitive during the first half but the story and plot picked up in the second half to make this a worthwhile fun read.

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume reminded me more of the first 3 volumes of this series, which were my favourites so far. Entertaining and fun read.