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First Light
by: Geoffrey Wellum

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Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 355
EAN: 9780141008141
ISBN: 0141008148
Label: Penguin
Manufacturer: Penguin
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: May 01, 2003
Publisher: Penguin
Studio: Penguin
Sales Rank: 2512

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.co.uk Review:
Surviving Battle of Britain fighter aces were thin on the ground even in 1941, so any new book more than 60 years later from a previously unknown pilot is bound to get noticed. And First Light is not just any book. It might not turn out to be a lasting classic, like Richard Hillary's The Last Enemy or Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, but it is a cut well above the bog standard wartime reminiscences of many retired military bods. For a start Wellum can write, but more than this he has an instinctive feel for a good story. He begins First Light as a fresh-faced, rather obnoxious public schoolboy keen to blag his way into the RAF in March 1939; just three years, two full tours on Spitfires, the Battle of Britain, nearly 100 escorts and fighter sweeps over occupied France and a Malta convoy later, Wellum was physically and mentally burnt out before the age of 22. An old man in a boy's body. His descriptions of the excitement, freedom and, at times, sheer terror of operating in a three-dimensional airspace are vividly powerful, but perhaps his greatest gift is to get across the way the fatigue and the emotional shutting off creeps up unnoticed.

At the start, the death of a friend leaves Wellum devastated and wondering when his turn will come; within the space of a few hundred pages, the failure of a pilot to return is dropped in almost as an afterthought. This is not the response of a man who cares too little, but of one who cares too much. Without being aware of it, he has experienced and felt too much and his mind and body have involuntarily separated. This comes into even sharper relief at the end when Wellum is stood down from active service; he is the only one not to see--quite literally, as his vision has become impaired--that his ailments are rooted in his psyche rather than his body. The only one false note is his desire to see his role as part of a bigger picture; written many years after the events he describes, Wellum sometimes interjects thoughts and feelings about the war that simply do not ring true. That aside, one is left wondering what became of Wellum the man between the war ending and the book's publication. What sense did the prematurely aged fighter pilot make of the post-war age and did he learn to love again? But that, maybe, is the subject for another book. --John Crace

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- first light
Excellent, I thoroughly enjoyed the read. I,ve now flown a Spitfire, as a passenger of the author! My only criticism is the gaps that appear, it seems to jump missing what I would consider necessary to the storyline. However it is still a must read. My admiration for the author grew with every page, definately one of the "few".

Rating:

- Excellent. There is nothing like it
One of the best personal accounts of WWII have ever read.

Section where he is lost over Kent coast after a chase through heavy rain & low cloud & low on fuel had the hairs on my neck standing up.

A classic

Rating:

- Probably the finest personal account of any WW2 Serviceman
In many ways I wish I hadn't read this book. This must seem like an odd thing to say given that I've assigned this book 5 stars, but the problem is that this book is so good that I judge all autobiographies of this era by it, and nothing else (as yet) has come close. It really is one of the finest accounts of a serviceman's experiences in WW2. I have read many accounts of personal experiences in WW2 (I own around 60 books on this topic), and while many have been truly excellent, none have touched me in the same way as this book. Thoughtful, and thought provoking and with an honesty which makes the reader feel that they are inside that spitfire with him, this truly is a book that should be treasured. Geoffrey Wellum has written an account ... Read More:

Rating:

- Essential reading
Anybody with a passing interest in aviation or World War II that hasn't already done so should do themselves a favour and read this book.
It is truly touching, engaging and riveting, reading as intimately as if the author was sat across the table, relating the story first hand.
It bristles with detail and authenticity throughout and yet still manages to affect the reader emotionally with the intimate thoughts and reflections of the author in his darker and more fraught moments.
This book deserves to be read by the widest possible audience, especially given the complete omission of any Word War related lessons in schools these days. It truly is startling to consider the attitudes of the people back then: the sheer bravery and ... Read More:

Rating:

- "First Light" is FIRST CLASS!
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!

Books : First Light