Scott D Wenger

Tony Blackman describes in layman's terms and with statistical back-up what it was like to tame the first prototypes and to master the unusual characteristics necessitated by the Vulcan's shape. Tony puts the developments, demonstrations at Farnborough, incidents, and accidents in their political and historical context, but as his story is a highly personal one, we also get a true sense of the way he felt while he was flying the aircraft. His words and descriptions will make people feel, as he did, the excitement of handling such an incredibly powerful monster.

Richard Henry Dana called this book a "a voice from the sea". It had an influence on both Joseph Conrad and Herman Melville, both of whom sang its praises. Dana was a law student at Harvard College who decided, in 1834, to take a break from his studies in order to experience the "real world" by signing on as a common sailor for a two year voyage from Boston around Cape Horn to California. He kept a journal which he turned into a book after the voyage.