GOODRUM, ALASTAIR — No Place for Chivalry

UK, Grub Street. 2005. Hardcover with dust jacket, 24 Cm. Book, Inscription & author signature on the title page. 192 crisp pp, photos amidships, just a feather under 500g for posting. No Place for Chivalry encapsulates the story of the air defense of England against attack by night. By taking the area covered by RAF Wittering and Digby sectors, looking at the action of night fighter squadrons operating from those stations and their satellite airfields, the way the battle developed, its timeline of events, the events themselves and the organization of those involved, a coherent picture of how the night air defense of Britain evolved is formed. The narrative is pitched at a level of detail and with such human interest content that it enables readers not only to grasp what is happening and why but also to feel the tensions, frustrations and euphoria of success that the aircrews felt at the time. The reader gets a view from the cockpit or gun turret, to 'meet' and 'fly' with the men of both sides who fought in the air at night - men whose moral standards on the ground were above reproach but, when fighting in the night sky, gave no quarter. Faults? trivial bump to upper right rear corner. Excellent/very Good/Excellent. Inscription and Signature of Author.