I can't say I've ever seen a landscape format book from Grub Street before, especially an aviation title. It's a surprising package from cover to cover (almost as surprising as ABR showcasing a book with a 'Brick' on the cover!). As a sucker for anything to do with wartime naval aviation, and therefore absorbing anything to do with the subject either side of 1939–45, I expected to see some familiar images, but none were. The photos are the 'cast offs'; those not used in the author's Fleet Air Arm Boys series. That says a lot for the quality of the images in that series as this book is ..read more

  The Far East. That’s how you get my attention. Right, the book is off the shelf. Read the back cover description and/or blurbs: ‘Intruder’, ‘night fighters’, ‘strain’, ‘twitch’, ‘Oscar’. Okay, good. Inside flap: ‘lied about his age’, ‘Boston’, belly landings’, ‘engine failures’. Somewhat standard, but what’s this about his age? He turned 21 in February 1945; he flew his first op in the fourth quarter of 1942. I’ll leave that for you to figure out. Mosquito Intruder Pilot makes all the right moves in selling itself as the complete package – the ideal aircrew biography – and, bar a scat ..read more

  To give you an idea of how busy I've been and how absolutely neglected ABR has been in 2023, besides the obvious sole review to date appearing on 1 January, this review, written by regular contributor (to both ABR and Flight Line Book Review) Adrian Roberts, was sent to me at the end of January. It's taken me this long to remember I had it at the same time as having some time to publish it. I do hope to have more reviews up before the year is out; we'll see how we go. It is interesting to note Adrian's comment about the author's positive views on the Barracuda, certainly in the minori ..read more

  Like this simple 192-page paperback from Woodfield Publishing, I’m getting straight into this review. Dennis Spencer was a No 211 Squadron Beaufighter navigator, flying a tour of operations over Burma, hence the title, with the same pilot he flew the ferry flight from the UK with. As expected, their bond was strong and the book is simply dedicated ‘for Geoff’ (Vardigans).   It took them 20 days to reach India (Allahabad), slowed by two spare parts delays, and then almost the same again for the author to reach Calcutta, his pilot having been admitted to hospital. The account of th ..read more

  This Helion & Company discount, is exclusive to Aircrew Book Review followers. Until 31 December, using the code RAFDEC25, you can get 25% off Eagles over Husky by Alexander Gilbert David Fitzgerald-Black and Commanding Far Eastern Skies by Peter Preston-Hough. The titles are self-explanatory and both books look at how the Allied air forces contributed to particular campaigns. The notes in both titles are worth the read alone, with Preston-Hough in particular using this literary device to its full extent. His book, being based on his thesis, might appear the drier of the two (it is ..read more

  Usual story, everyone, but I'm fortunate to be able to feature another guest reviewer. Colin Ford will be known to many of you as the 'Historian by Appointment' of the No. 268 Squadron Association. He is, therefore, an authority on the world of tactical reconnaissance, especially the use of the North American Mustang in the role. I first worked with Colin a few years ago when I had the honour, albeit with a good dose of dismay, of whittling down (to magazine feature length) his extensive account of two Australians who flew the Tac/R variant of the Hawker Typhoon. To say the ..read more

  In the first of this year's Aircrew Book Review Christmas Countdown discounts, Steve Darlow of Fighting High Publishing, one of ABR's earliest supporters, has generously offered a 20% discount off all books purchased from the FH website between Friday 2 December and Sunday 4 December. Who said following and supporting ABR was just putting up with reading long reviews?! As many of you know, Fighting High is an industry leader in the aircrew book genre; from subject matter to the final product, everything this publisher does exudes quality. Its continued support of the Bomber Comman ..read more

  I am definitely starting to sound like a broken record now: the editing work has not allowed me to get any review writing done recently. Anyway, as ever, I have had a guest review (or three) sitting around waiting to be published. Robert Brokenmouth, a regular ABR guest reviewer, sent this in over a year ago and it has taken me this long to remember to find a half-decent image to use as the cover. I have the later edition of Mosquito Intruder, retitled Terror in the Starboard Seat, and it is one of those books that I have always felt warm and fuzzy about at the prospect of eventually ..read more

  More than three months into 2022 and all I've done is add several covers of new books as they've crossed my desk. As before, the manuscript editing work is keeping me busy (follow Wright Stuff Editing & Proofreading if you want to get an idea of what I'm up to) and away from review writing, even reading. For the lack of content on here, I apologise. I must also proffer humblest apologies to Robert Brokenmouth, guest reviewer, for holding on to this and two other reviews since July. It doesn't feel like that long, but the emails say otherwise. Here, then, from a writ ..read more

As I continue to try to save ABR's 2021 from being the 'year of lowest number of posts since inception', I've again turned to a guest reviewer. Guest reviewers have contributed half of the content this year and I am eternally grateful to them. This time around, it's Adrian Roberts, a First World War aviation specialist who maintains a solid interest in all things maritime and in the Second World War. A retired nurse practitioner who has spent a fair bit of time at the controls of a glider, Adrian is an honest and constructive reviewer. Andy Wright. Group Captain Adolph ‘Sailor’ Ma ..read more