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The pilot never shows up

Revisado: 10-18-19

I bought this book based on the description Audible provided. As a matter of fact it kept being picked up in searches for the term 'pilot', though now I realize that "Nazi pilot" is probably a typo and should read "Nazi plot".
Furthermore you will learn less about the actual Venlo incident here then you would by simply reading the Wikipedia page.

This book is actually a fascinating memoire of the writer's internment in Germany during the war, and his brave and earless struggle with the constant uncertainty as to the actual availability of tobacco.

Having said that, it is actually quite fascinating as it shows a side of WWII that you rarely hear about, the internment of VIP prisoners and their treatment. Best was obviously quite a character, making this an enjoyable listen.... Just don't wait for the pilot to show up.

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Sky Girls it isn't

Revisado: 08-22-18

I was really excited to read this book, especially since its Audible release date came just weeks after "Fly Girls", which is truly excellent. In Fly Girls the narrative follows 5 femaile aviation pioneers during a 10 yer period from 1927 to 1937. And in that book the 1929 Powder Puff derby is one of the key points. Judging by the description of Sky Girls it seemed like it would be focusing in on this race in particular and offer a great companion book to Fly Girls.But thats not exactly the case.

First of all even though this title clocks in at a little more then 10 hours, the actual narrative ends a few minutes short of 7 hours and the last 3 hours are dedicated to an epilogue and an afterword. These 'added bonuses' first wrap up the personal stories of the women involved and then offers a historical survey of women involved in aviation. This is the weakest part of this book because all of the women aviators mentioned are presented in a very one dimensional 'story headline' type of way. We never get much sense for them as people, and those with greater knowledge of aviation history know that many of these individuals have incredible human stories and depths of character. Their triumps are quickly mentioned and their tragedies generally avoided. Had those parts of the book been packaged as a "Beginner's Guide to Women in Aviation" this would have made sense, but instead we are rushed thru this incredible story of the derby and then served up 3 hours of very thin history.

And then there is the matter of performance. The narrator is generally OK, though her attempts at doing German and Australian accents are completely laughable. What makes the performance so hard to listen to are very unnatural pauses between phrases. This was no doubt done in editing and is possibly done as a noise gate to eliminate unwnted sounds, but for the first few hours (until one gets used to it) it can be painful to listen to. Its a constant stop and go. The recording was done in 2018, haven't we figured out the technical side of audiobooks by now?
Finally there is one small thing about the performance that truly blew my mind. For a significant part of the story itself, the narrative is set against the backdrop of other aviation events taking place at the same time. One of them is the 1929 around the world flight of the airship Graf Zeppelin. Thus this 'Z' word is mentioned a few dozen times. It seems that the narrator is under the impression this is meant to be pronounced as Zeppeleen, with a strong accent on 'leen'. Huh? How is this possible? Has she lived her life under the impression that Stairway to Heaven was recorded by those 4 English guys from Led ZeppeLEEN? I know that pronouncing foreign words can be a challenge, but this one shouldn't be. And just when I was completely boggled by there is a moment when she reads something like "The Graf ZeppeLEEN and its successor the zeppelin Hindenburg". A-HA.. so she has heard the word before! I don't mean to go off on this tangent but its one of the strangest things I've come accross after reading hundreds and hundreds of audiobooks.

Still I had to give it 4 Stars after all, because any title that is dedicated to the often ignored role of pioneering female aviators should be respected in its own right. part from the above comments its a fine book and I'm glad it exists.

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Absolutely Thrilling

Revisado: 08-19-18

This was such a thrilling read that I found myself unable to stop at times.
I am under the impression that this author is not a professional writer, but is rather an individual with an interesting story who decided to write a memoir. If this is indeed the case, I am extremely impressed. Not only is this book well written but it seamlessly weaves the narrative of his year ong tour of duty in Vietnam with stories of personal background and training. He pulls this off with the skill of a seasoned storyteller. The characters come alive, as do the action sequences. He even does a great job of giving us some necessary background about what it took to fly these choppers. Highly recommended.

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Great material overcomes less then stellarnarrator

Revisado: 08-16-18

Gandt is an excellent aviation writer. His works are always entertaining, and this one is no exception. It captures an interesting snapshot in time, immediately following the tail hook scandal era.
The material is so fascinating and well written that it overcomes a truly comical production and performance. Take a listen to the short audio clip to get a taste for the narrator's voice and delivery. You'll get a fair idea of what I'm talking about. But there is something else here that truly puzzles me, which are the little musical moments thrown into some of the exciting passages in the book. These appear to be pretty random, since you never quite see them coming... but sometimes during a tense passage, such as a crash or a moment of triumph, the narrator will pause and a musical selection will start. The music is as generic as humanly possible, as if the producer had one CD of public domain material to select from and they did the best they could. It is the most unnecessary thing I've ever come across in an audiobook. Truly comical actually, since the narrator sort of tries to go with it. It is funny to the point of distraction, but should not deter anyone from getting this very worthwhile title.

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Gotta love this guy

Revisado: 08-16-18

I didn't buy this book because I'm a huge John Lydon or PIL fan, I bought it because I have a genuine interest in this period of punk / post-punk or whatever one wants to call it. I also knew that John was a colorful character, so I figured this would be a fun listen.
I'm happy to say that the book exceeded all my expectations. John is very witty and extremely intelligent. Yes, he has a John-centric world view and shouldn't be counted on for an objective perspective, but he is Johnny F-in' Rotten!!! What else would you expect?

The main thing is that this book really makes me appreciate John Lydon a whole lot more. If you are at all familiar with him, and have any expectations prior to reading this, you're probably right. However be aware that you're in for the very best possible version of what you might already expect.

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Greater then the sum of its parts

Revisado: 08-16-18

This was an interesting book.

It is almost entirely composed of quotes, assembled together into narrative form like a huge jigsaw puzzle. At first it felt tedious, especially since the name of the person quoted is stated before each quote. This literallly happens thousands of times in this 19 hour audiobook. When I started I thought that I reallu wouldn't be able to stand it, but after a while you start getting used to it. In retrospect I am really amazed at the amount of work it must of taken in order to turn an infinite amount of jigsaw pieces into a very cohesive narrative. This alone makes it an impressive achievement.

However the very nature of this book makes it void of objectivity. Its put together by interviewing hundreds of people who were very impressed with their own glory days, and as such it seems to attribute a lot more significance to this scene then it really deserved. If an alien was to land on Earth and pick up this book to learn about modern music, they would get the impression that The Strokes were the most significant cultural entity in the universe.

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A newspaper column in long form

Revisado: 08-15-18

This isn't a bad book. In many ways its pretty entertaining, and I don't regret getting it. However I wish I knew what I was getting before I purchased it.

After reading the description on Audible I got the impression that this was a Bowie biography written by someone who interviewed many of the 'insiders' in his life. And in some ways that isn't far from the truth. But the way its put together it really comes off like this; imagine that you work in an office and there is someone in a different department on a different floor whom you vaguely know. Perhaps you know each other's names and nod politely when you end up in the same elevator. Maybe you even had lunch together during a company picnic 15 years ago. Now one day that person decides to write your biography and fill it with personal opinions and long tangents which are hardly related to your life.
Just listen to the 5 minute sample on Audible and realize that you're getting 12 hours of that.

There is certainly some charm to this book and a unique perspective. It feels a little like you when a group of friends talks about someone they knew back in high school who has now made it big. It adds an interesting context to Bowie's story, since it ofers a unique perspective. Its essentially like having a newspaper's gossip / society columnist put their work in book form. And if you're in the mood for that, I'm sure you'll enjoy this title.

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A great aviation story

Revisado: 08-12-18

I've read most of the aviation titles on audible. I'm a sucker for aviation history, especially its Golden Age. naturally after some time you end up reading about the same material over and over again. So its refreshing to come across a title that presents something which isn't often writen about.
This is not just a great story about women in aviation and their struggle to be respected as equals, but is a rare view into the often forgotten era of the great air races and the Thompson and bendix Trophies. Its a great read.

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