{"product_id":"the-hero-maker","title":"The Hero Maker","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Dam Busters, The Great Escape and Reach for the Sky were all written by Paul Brickhill, an Australian hero of WWII. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was 1956 and the writer from Sydney's lower North Shore had every reason to feel blessed. Former journalist Paul Brickhill was the highest-earning author in the UK and two of his bestselling books - The Dam Busters and Reach for the Sky - had recently been made into blockbuster films. Another of his books - inspired by his experiences as a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft 3 in Germany during the Second World War - was attracting Hollywood interest. That book was The Great Escape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYet, life for the enigmatic Brickhill was never simple. He was beset with mental-health issues and his marriage to model Margot Slater was tempestuous. He struggled with alcohol and writer's block too, as his success - and all that accompanied it - threatened to overwhelm him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn The Hero Maker, award-winning historical author and biographer Stephen Dando-Collins exposes the contradictions of one of Australia's most successful, but troubled, writers. Brickhill's extraordinary story - from the youth with a debilitating stutter to Sydney Sun journalist to Spitfire pilot and POW to feted author - explodes vividly to life on the centenary of his birth.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stephen Dando-Collins","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48788658978985,"sku":"9780857988126","price":14.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0424\/9518\/0962\/files\/9780857988126.jpg?v=1789795335","url":"https:\/\/roseyravelstonbooks.com.au\/products\/the-hero-maker","provider":"RoseyRavelston Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}