Two teenagers form an unlikely friendship in pre-war Philadelphia. Al is preoccupied with lifting weights, looking good and chasing girls. Birdy is obsessed with flight.
A few years later, these young men find themselves emotionally and physically scarred by their experiences in Second World War. Birdy's passion has become all-encompassing, and Al is called to an army psychiatric hospital to help the doctors there treat his friend, who he finds squatting naked on the floor of his cell like a bird.
This haunting and brilliant novel has electrified readers the world over. In 1984, "Birdy" was turned into an award-winning movie directed by Alan Parker and starring Nicholas Cage and Matthew Modine. "Birdy" is truly a modern classic.