Dave Dawson at Dunkirk

Robert Sidney Bowen, Jr.Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.2

Word count: 281K words
Chapters: 29

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Dave Dawson at Dunkirk by Robert Sidney BowenAuthor: Bowen, Robert Sidney, 1900-1977,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: May 19, 2010

Editor's review

This is a juvenile military adventure novel by Robert Sidney Bowen, set against the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II and told through the experiences of protagonist Dave Dawson. As an early example of young adult fiction, its value lies not in rigorous military history but in its fast-paced plotting and clear-cut moral oppositions, which let young readers feel the courage, friendship, and responsibility demanded by war. The narrative moves briskly and is driven by dialogue, making it a useful sample of mid-twentieth-century English-language adventure fiction for young readers. It is best read as a period piece rather than a historical source: its attitudes toward war and its characterizations bear clear marks of their time, and it can be read alongside real Dunkirk histories for critical comparison. This electronic edition comes from Project Gutenberg, making it freely available and searchable for classroom extension reading or family reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Young readers who enjoy World War II adventure stories
Parents and teachers who want to guide children in discussing war and courage
Readers studying the style of twentieth-century English-language juvenile literature
Learners who need free English e-books for extensive reading

Not a good fit for

Specialist readers seeking rigorous histories of Dunkirk
Adult readers who prefer complex characterization and literary depth
Readers with no interest in military adventure

Reading tips

Learn the basic facts of the Dunkirk evacuation before starting, so the novel is not mistaken for history.
Mark passages that reflect period attitudes and discuss them against real historical sources afterward.
Pair the English original with an audiobook or graded reader to lower the language barrier.
Read it aloud chapter by chapter, leaving a few minutes after each to discuss the characters' choices.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for readers with no knowledge of World War II?

It can be read, but first spend ten minutes learning when and how the Dunkirk evacuation unfolded. The novel focuses on adventure and does not explain history, so without background knowledge fictional events are easily mistaken for fact.

Why is the e-book edition labeled Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg is a long-running free e-book project, and this edition was released by it. The label identifies the source and release information of the electronic edition, not the original publisher; readers can simply rely on the text itself.

Are the values in the book outdated?

As an early juvenile adventure novel, it handles war and the relationship between sides in a clearly dated way. Read it as a period text, and when you encounter one-sided portrayals of friend and foe, discuss more complex perspectives on war with children or classmates.

Comments

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About the author

Robert Sidney Bowen, Jr. Author · American · 1900–1977

Robert Sidney Bowen (1900–1977) was an American pilot, journalist, and writer of popular fiction, born in Boston. He served in the British Royal Air Force during World War I and later edited an aviation magazine. From 1930 onward he turned to writing and became known for the fifteen-volume Dave Dawson series of wartime adventure novels for young readers, as well as the Red Randall series. His works often center on aviation, war, and coming-of-age themes, and he also wrote on sports and horses. The Dave Dawson books follow a young hero whose flying adventures are closely tied to the wartime setting; the plots are fast-paced and combine adventure with inspirational growth, giving them some influence among young readers of the period. Public information is limited, and systematic study of his life and style remains sparse.