Items related to First Light: The True Story of the Boy Who Became a...

First Light: The True Story of the Boy Who Became a Man in the War-Torn Skies above Britain - Hardcover

 
9780471426271: First Light: The True Story of the Boy Who Became a Man in the War-Torn Skies above Britain
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
"Wellum’s First Light deserves to be read for many years to come."
–The Times (of London)

High praise for England’s bestselling First Light . . .

"An extraordinarily gripping and powerful story."
–The Evening Standard (London)

"A work of exceptional quality . . . a passion and immediacy which make it compelling reading."
–Max Hastings, author of Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy

"A remarkable book, amazingly fresh, honest, and modest . . . utterly gripping; it is without question one of the best books I have read in the last few years."
–Professor Richard Holmes, author of Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket

"Startlingly vivid recollections . . . this is air war at its most intense . . . his readers get a strong sense of immediacy."
–The Spectator (London)

"Geoffrey Wellum’s book is a wonderfully evocative find . . . a book for all ages and generations, a treasure."
–Daily Express (London)

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap:
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
–Winston Churchill, 1940

Geoffrey Wellum was one of Churchill’s "few," the gallant pilots of the RAF who streaked through the skies to repel the massive, brutal Nazi bombing assaults that killed thousands and leveled entire cities throughout the endless months of the Battle of Britain. To a man, they were courageous, determined, and oh, so young. Geoffrey, known as Boy to his comrades, was a good deal younger than most.

In First Light, Geoffrey Wellum tells the inspiring, often terrifying true story of his coming of age amid the roaring, tumbling dogfights of the fiercest air war the world had ever seen. It is the story of an idealistic schoolboy who couldn’t believe his luck when the RAF agreed to take him on as a "pupil pilot" at the minimum age of seventeen and a half in 1939. In his fervor to fly, he gave little thought to the coming war.

Writing with wit, compassion, and a great deal of technical expertise, Wellum relives his grueling months of flight training, during which two of his classmates crashed and died. He describes a hilarious scene during his first day in the prestigious 92nd Squadron when his commander discovered that Wellum had not only never flown a Spitfire, he’d never even seen one.

Boy soon learned the golden rule of the dogfight: "Never fly straight and level for more than twenty seconds. If you do, you’ll die." Wellum’s vivid accounts of ferocious aerial combat contrast the mortal terror of an innocent teenager with the grim determination of a highly trained warrior intent on doing his job–blasting the enemy one moment, desperately trying to shake off a pursuer the next. Few writers have succeeded more completely in evoking the chaos and horror of war.

A battle-hardened ace by the winter of 1941, though still not out of his teens, Boy flew scores of missions as fighter escort on bombing missions over France. Yet the constant life-or-death stress of murderous combat and anguish over the loss of his closest friends sapped endurance. Tortured by fierce headaches, even in the midst of battle, he could not bear the thought of "not pulling your weight," of letting other pilots risk their lives in his place. Wellum’s frank account of his long, losing bout with battle fatigue is both moving and enlightening.

Filled with affectionate portraits of Boy’s fellow fliers–many of whom did not survive the war–First Light tells an unforgettable true story of patriotism and fear, pride and humility, self-sacrifice and triumph. Already a bestseller in England, this powerful and compelling memoir is destined to become a classic, not only of military history, but also of literature.

About the Author:
GEOFFREY WELLUM was born in Walthamstow, England, and educated at Forest School. At age seventeen, he joined the RAF on a short-service commission in August 1939 and served with the 92nd Squadron throughout the Battle of Britain. In March 1942 he joined the 65th Squadron as Flight Commander and, later that year, led a group of eight Spitfires in the relief of Malta during Operation Pedestal. He later served as a test pilot on Typhoon fighter planes and as a gunnery instructor until the end of the war. He remained with the RAF after the war, retiring in 1961 to take a position as a commodities broker in London. He now lives in Cornwall, England.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherWiley
  • Publication date2003
  • ISBN 10 047142627X
  • ISBN 13 9780471426271
  • BindingHardcover
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages368
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780141042756: First Light (Penguin World War II Collection)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780141042756
Publisher: Penguin UK, 2009
Softcover

  • 9780241987841: First Light

    Penguin, 2020
    Softcover

  • 9780241984345: First Light: The Centenary Collection

    Viking, 2018
    Softcover

  • 9780670912483: First light

    Viking..., 2002
    Hardcover

  • 9780141008141: First Light

    Pengui..., 2003
    Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Wellum, Geoffrey
Published by Wiley (2003)
ISBN 10: 047142627X ISBN 13: 9780471426271
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think047142627X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 58.42
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Wellum, Geoffrey
Published by Wiley (2003)
ISBN 10: 047142627X ISBN 13: 9780471426271
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
LibraryMercantile
(Humble, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # newMercantile_047142627X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 61.05
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Wellum, Geoffrey
Published by Wiley (2003)
ISBN 10: 047142627X ISBN 13: 9780471426271
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Grumpys Fine Books
(Tijeras, NM, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Prompt service guaranteed. Seller Inventory # Clean047142627X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 63.54
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Wellum, Geoffrey
Published by Wiley (2003)
ISBN 10: 047142627X ISBN 13: 9780471426271
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_047142627X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 63.88
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Wellum, Geoffrey
Published by Wiley (2003)
ISBN 10: 047142627X ISBN 13: 9780471426271
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover047142627X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 63.65
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.30
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Wellum, Geoffrey
Published by Wiley (2003)
ISBN 10: 047142627X ISBN 13: 9780471426271
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Wizard Books
(Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard047142627X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 64.55
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Wellum, Geoffrey
Published by Wiley (2003)
ISBN 10: 047142627X ISBN 13: 9780471426271
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Books Unplugged
(Amherst, NY, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk047142627Xxvz189zvxnew

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 96.32
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Wellum, Geoffrey
Published by Wiley (2003)
ISBN 10: 047142627X ISBN 13: 9780471426271
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
BennettBooksLtd
(LOS ANGELES, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 1.31. Seller Inventory # Q-047142627X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 91.23
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 5.10
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Wellum, Geoffrey
Published by Wiley (2003)
ISBN 10: 047142627X ISBN 13: 9780471426271
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Big Bill's Books
(Wimberley, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Brand New Copy. Seller Inventory # BBB_new047142627X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 101.83
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Wellum, Geoffrey
Published by Wiley (2003)
ISBN 10: 047142627X ISBN 13: 9780471426271
New Hardcover Quantity: 2
Seller:
Save With Sam
(North Miami, FL, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Brand New!. Seller Inventory # VIB047142627X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 107.37
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

There are more copies of this book

View all search results for this book