Long Flight Home

I was shocked by this book. It's compelling, honest and utterly endearing. The narrator Wally Shiers -- one of the mechanics in the Great Air Race of 1919 -- and his mates in the Vickers Vimy are so beautifully rendered that when I finished the book, I felt the loss for days! This is intelligent, hi......more

The First World War is over and air mechanic Wally Shiers has promised to return home to his fiancée,Helena Alford.But Wally never reckoned on charismatic fighter pilot Ross Smith,and an invitation to compete in the world's most audacious air race.A £10,000 prize has been offered for the first airme......more

I am not an aviation buff by any stretch, but this book captivated me with its combination of a fascinating (true) plot, plausible characters and vivid scenes. The protagonist and narrator Wally is especially well rendered as the self-effacing mechanic with a bit of a Napoleon complex, a foil to the......more