Cleared for Take-Off: A Memoir

Description

First published in 1997, Cleared for Take-Off is the final volume of Dirk Bogarde's acclaimed series of best-selling memoirs During his many reconnaissance missions in Europe and the Far East, the young Bogarde experienced the terror of enemy attack and the horror of its aftermath, together with the intense camaraderie and bitter humour of the battlefield. He also felt, like countless others, a feeling of utter hopelessness at the war's end, when these youthful, but hardened comrades-in-arms were dispersed to find their feet in a traumatised world. Less than a year after demob, Bogarde found himself starring in his third feature film with car, chauffeur and five-storey house in Chester Row. He had somehow 'arrived' in the movies.

Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death In Venice. As well as completing six novels, Bogarde wrote several volumes of autobiography. Between 1947 and 1991, Bogarde made more than sixty films. For over two decades he lived in Italy and France, where he began to write seriously. In 1985 he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of St Andrews and in 1990 was promoted to Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.

A charming and entertaining read by a born storyteller * Sunday Express *