No Empty Chairs: The Short and Heroic Lives of the Young Aviators Who Fought and Died in the First World War - Hardcover

Mackersey, Ian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0297859943 ISBN 13: 9780297859949

Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2012

Synopsis

It was World War I, the time of the Red Baron, Eddie Rickenbacker, and other “knights of the air” whose high-flying exploits captured the imaginations of millions. But the reality was less romantic. In spring 1917, British squadrons lost 200 pilots a month, with pilot life expectancy a mere 11 days. No Empty Chairs tells the story of that first great air war, illustrating its devastating physical and emotional impact, as well as its extraordinary acts of heroism. Private correspondence, diaries, reports, and interviews enrich the narrative.

About this title

About the Author:

Ian Mackersey is a writer and documentary filmmaker specializing in aviation biography. He began his career as a writer for the Dominion and later the New Zealand Herald, and lived in Britain and Zambia before returning to New Zealand.

Review:

In the spring of 1917 the Royal Flying Corps was losing 200 pilots a month, with life expectancy for young flying officers standing at just 11 days. Constructed through surviving letters and diaries, this harrowing and detailed history, written by a former pilot, looks at the terrible toll that the war took on these young men embarking on a new age of warfare CATHOLIC HERALD No Empty Chairs describes in vivid detail the often short lives of the young pilots of World War One... This book is one that has a very human feel, in that it does not simply look at the combat or the planes, but at the people who flew them, who risked their lives in them and who died in them. An appealing work that is both moving and efficiently accurate in its details WARFARE MAGAZINE an interesting overview of the whole war... I enjoyed reading this well written and researched book... the photographs are good too CROSS & COCKADE INTERNATIONAL This is a splendid addition to the literature, re-analysing with fresh, sharp eyes, and adding much THE WESTERN FRONT ASSOCIATION STAND TO! 20130501

About this edition

• Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0297859943
• ISBN 13: 9780297859949
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288