Sent to France with the Royal Flying Corps at just 17, and later a member of the famous 56 Squadron, Cecil Lewis was an illustrious and passionate fighter pilot of the First World War, described by Bernard Shaw in 1935 as 'a thinker, a master of words, and a bit of a poet'. In this vivid and spirited account the author evocatively sets his love of the skies and flying against his bitter experience of the horrors of war, as we follow his progress from France and the battlefields of the Somme, to his pioneering defence of ...
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Sent to France with the Royal Flying Corps at just 17, and later a member of the famous 56 Squadron, Cecil Lewis was an illustrious and passionate fighter pilot of the First World War, described by Bernard Shaw in 1935 as 'a thinker, a master of words, and a bit of a poet'. In this vivid and spirited account the author evocatively sets his love of the skies and flying against his bitter experience of the horrors of war, as we follow his progress from France and the battlefields of the Somme, to his pioneering defence of London against deadly night time raids.
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Add this copy of New Epicurean: Adventures of a Schoolboy to cart. $36.66, like new condition, Sold by Wide World Maps & More rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Phoenix, AZ, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Oakhill Publishing.
This book is written so beautifully, it took my breath away. The description of flying at night for the first time for example, describes the thoughts of danger only after starting down the runway - can they return? How will they see the runway in the dark? The author gives you the feeling of being young, determined to learn, and so observant of his surroundings that you feel as if you are witnessing the same events right along with him. Very hard to find this book - and if you love flying or aviation, or even history - this book is a jewel to your collection.
dreameagle
Sep 15, 2008
thrice upon a dawn so clear;
this is a scintillating, priceless first person account of what we are only now hearing some truth about--The War To End All Wars that very nearly did end Europe and began the ascendency to the world stage for Amerika;
the only possible flaws that could be found are that the author wrote it perhaps ten summers removed from it (which only tells how painful it was even then) and the obvious gaps in the timeframe of the narrative which can only be attributed to the Official Secrets Act, which had to consider a great deal of what was left out Most Secret;
the only narrative to match it is that of the French commander of the Lafayette Escadrille;
this is the kind of book you would want the first edition of, the kind of book that makes the internet obsolete, the kind you would only hear at the knee of your grandfather if you were smart enough to sit there as a child;
