Although it was written in the 1970's, Murray Peden's masterwork succeeds and survives to this day by giving us youngsters an insider's look at life as a front line WW2 bomber pilot.

Peden's book is so personal that you will shed many tears while reading it. When friends are lost, they are your own friends, from school or work or social circles. And when Peden's wry sense of humour shines through, you will laugh out loud at the crazy antics.

Books written this well are rare. Books written this well about war, even less so. Congratulations and thanks, Mr. Peden! ( )

One of the best memiors I've read about the European bombing campaign. And one of the few I've read from the RAF night bombing perspective. Peaden walks you through the whole training program he went through in Canada with his classmates. How he worked hard to get into fighters and how some of his classmates worked hard but didn't make the cut as pilots or due to mistakes by themselves or others did not survive training.

He talks about the personal side of his life, who he dated, learning to enjoy adult company of his fellow fliers, having to deal with losing friends who did not succeeed to stay in training or who died. You felt like it was an adventure of a bunch of college kids. And that is exactly what it was.

It was really interesting to hear his experience in England and the social adjustment. How he ended up being assigned to train in bombers, he picked people for a crew, got to know them, and then decided to give up on flying fighters to stay with his crew. He walks you through their missions. He doesn't just tell you what happened but takes you with him through their missions.

A bit longer than many similar books but worth it.

A story from the book (true I beleive as a picture of Lady MacRoberts is included in my edition): One day Mackie told me a story I would never forget. It was a poignant tale, at once sad and uplifting, concerning a Scottish woman I had not heard of, Lady MacRobert.
Lady MacRobert's husband died in 1922, leaving her with three sons to raise. When they grew up all three lads were drawn to flying.
One son, Sir Alasdair MacRobert, was killed in a flying accident in 1938. When the war broke out L...ady MacRobert had two sons anxious to fly on operations.
On the 22nd of May, 1941, she suffered a second blow, receiving notification that Flight Lieutenant Rodrick A. MacRobert had been shot down while flying his Hurricane on an operation in Iraq.
As Mackie told the story it was easy to imagine the strain Lady MacRobert must have been under, with her only remaining son still flying on operations. I pictured her attempting to carry on at home - a home incidentally, which she had thrown open to servicemen - praying fervently he be spared to her, starting apprehensively at every glimpse of a telegraph boy, or at the knock of any casual caller.
Her mother's prayers went unanswered. Sir Ian MacRobert was killed flying on operations less than six weeks after his brother, Roderick, on June 30th, 1941.
Lady MacRobert's response to this culminating tragedy, after she had weathered it's cruelest hours, came like a flashing ray of light from a magnificent spirit. She donated twenty-five thousand pounds towards a new Sterling bomber, which upon delivery, she presented formally to No. 15 Squadron, RAF, to carry on the battle. Proudly emblazoned on each side of the cockpit, just below the canopy was a message to fire a warrior's heart:

"MACROBERT'S REPLY".

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