"First Light" is FIRST CLASS!
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The number of reviews for this book should be recommendation enough, gripping from start to finish and a fitting tribute to all Battle of Britain pilots and not least Geoffrey Wellum himself!
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From a deeply appreciative American
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My lifelong dream of flying a Spitfire has been realized; if not in fact, then certainly by reading this wonderful book.
What more can one ask from a story? While reading I am humbled, proud, heartsick, joyous, angry, philosophical, ambivalent, bored, excited.
I realize that we owe the continuance of Western Civilization to the incredible effort made by people such as Mr. Wellum. I know that the United States might well have been conquered by the Nazis, if not for the supreme effort by the Few. The Holocaust would have been completed, the Nazis would have probably developed the atomic bomb first, Russia would have likely fallen, and the Japanese and Germans would have shaken hands in Asia.
I have always been impressed by the simple, unyielding character of the British. Even in fiction, J.R.R. Tolkien (who apparently fought in WWI), summed it up when he had Gandalf say to the Balrog, "You cannot pass." ("You shall not pass" in the movie version). In his book, Wellum says the same thing to his Nazi adversaries: you were not invited here, you are not welcome here, and you shall go no further. Not a mere threat, it was a promise.
I was totally immersed, more than ever before, in the fights that Wellum described. I have read quite a few accounts of dogfights, and this book outdoes them all. Even the innocuous, seemingly random thoughts while Geoff is flying rings true, especially when he describes his wonderment at having such thoughts at strange times. He even describes his curiousity at what his squadron-mates would think if they knew what he was thinking. Seldom do we get such a detailed glimpse into a figther pilot's stream of consciousness, from wide-angle to extreme pin-point thinking.
Thank you, Geoff, for what you did, what you gave, what you endured, and the price that you paid. There are those of us who will make sure that you and your lads will not be forgotten.
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First Light - First Class
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An absolute endearing story to a time were we were fighting for our lives. Geoffrey Wellum's account of his early life and training to join the so called 'few' is very heart felt. Details of romances, lost friends and stresses of the battle. A terrific book and easy read for those who are interested but do not know all the details about the Battle of Britain. I was 19 when I read the book, around the same age as Wellum when he joined the RAF. (60 years previously) I have so much respect for these men, who stoicly fought for a war that they gave so much too.
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Brilliant
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The story of a 19 year old 'kid', and how he became a Spitfire pilot in the second world war ... he survived to tall the tale recounted from his personal memories and notes he took at the time. A fascinating read from start to finish, and an even better read if you've also got a pilot's licence [as I have] - he often says 'pilots will understand', and we do.
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Typically modest first-hand account
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A very engaging and modest view of the life of a Spitfire pilot during the Second World War and specifically of course during the Battle of Britain. With fine attention to detail Geoff Wellum recalls his part in both the Battle of Britain and the lifting of the siege of Malta, taking us right through his training to be able to play a part in such monumentous events. The problem I had with the book is that it is rather inward looking, displaying, as it is intended to do, life as it was in a fighter squadron and indeed a Spitfire but the book is weakened by concentrating solely on the life rather than the times. The context of the events described in the book is assumed on the part of the reader; this is fine for myself and anyone else who is old enough to be familiar with the immediate history but for younger readers this absence of context will detract from the achievement of Wellum and his comrades. The sheer magnitude of their achievement is lost in the routine mundanity of the work and this hides both the risk involved in their individual situations and that of the country at large. This is a real pity for we should be eternally grateful to Geoff Wellum and all those like him.
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