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Marked for Death

Marked for Death

by JamesHamilton-Paterson (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2015

    $4.25
Synopsis

Little more than 10 years after the first powered flight, aircraft were pressed into service in World War I. Nearly forgotten in the war's massive overall death toll, some 50,000 aircrew would die in the combatant nations' fledgling air forces.

The romance of aviation had a remarkable grip on the public imagination, propaganda focusing on gallant air 'aces' who become national heroes. The reality was horribly different. MARKED FOR DEATH debunks popular myth to explore the brutal truths of wartime aviation: of flimsy planes and unprotected pilots; of burning 19-year-olds falling screaming to their deaths; of pilots blinded by the entrails of their observers.

James Hamilton-Paterson also reveals how four years of war produced profound changes both in the aircraft themselves and in military attitudes and strategy. By 1918 it was widely accepted that domination of the air above the battlefield was crucial to military success, a realization that would change the nature of warfare for ever.

$4.25

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Quantity

3 in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 416
 Edition: First Edition
 Publisher: Head of Zeus
Published: 21 May 2015
ISBN 10: 1784970395
ISBN 13: 9781784970390

Media Reviews
'A terrific story, which Hamilton-Paterson tells with tremendous relish, elegance and attention to detail. An acclaimed poet and novelist, he is excellent at capturing the sheer courage of the pilots who ran risks that almost defy credibility' The Sunday Times.
'Hamilton-Paterson's superb book, not only meticulously researched but also supremely readable, tells the tales of many heroes ... he unearths fascinating information, but the book is just as good on the nuts and bolts of flying, and what it was like to engage in a dog fight' Daily Mail.
'An exhilarating book ... by turns, thrilling, joyful, wistful and provocative' Rowland White.
'Hamilton-Paterson's thorough research reveals much - his book is a wide-ranging education of WWI aviation and is written by someone who really knows flying. Highly recommended!' Pilot Magazine.
'Hamilton-Paterson unsparingly exposes the truth of early wartime aviation: of flimsy aircraft and unprotected pilots who had no parachutes' Catholic Herald.
'For its mix of clear-eyed history, myth-busting and gobsmacking derring-do it's hard to beat James Hamilton Patterson's Marked for Death' Nick Curtis, Book of the Year in the Evening Standard.
'Hamilton-Paterson's book soars far above most First World War histories ... Written with beautiful clarity, this book brings alive both the exhilaration of flight and the experience of killing' Sunday Times.
'A well-researched history of the air operations of WW1 from an unusual perspective ... a high quality historical work which is at the same time highly readable' Aerospace Magazine.
Author Bio

James Hamilton-Paterson is the author of the bestselling EMPIRE OF THE CLOUDS, a classic account of the golden age of British aviation. He won a Whitbread Prize for his first novel, GERONTIUS. He lives in Austria.