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First Light
 
 
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First Light (Paperback)

by Geoffrey Wellum (Author) "There are some days in the early spring when the weather is such that, no matter where you are, either in town or countryside, England..." (more)
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin; New Ed edition (1 May 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0141008148
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141008141
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 12,175 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #4 in  Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Countries > Britain
    #5 in  Books > Biography > War & Espionage > Air Force
    #17 in  Books > History > Military History > Armed Forces > Air Forces

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Surviving Battle of Britain fighter aces were thin on the ground even in 1941, so any new book more than 60 years later from a previously unknown pilot is bound to get noticed. And First Light is not just any book. It might not turn out to be a lasting classic, like Richard Hillary's The Last Enemy or Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, but it is a cut well above the bog standard wartime reminiscences of many retired military bods. For a start Wellum can write, but more than this he has an instinctive feel for a good story. He begins First Light as a fresh-faced, rather obnoxious public schoolboy keen to blag his way into the RAF in March 1939; just three years, two full tours on Spitfires, the Battle of Britain, nearly 100 escorts and fighter sweeps over occupied France and a Malta convoy later, Wellum was physically and mentally burnt out before the age of 22. An old man in a boy's body. His descriptions of the excitement, freedom and, at times, sheer terror of operating in a three-dimensional airspace are vividly powerful, but perhaps his greatest gift is to get across the way the fatigue and the emotional shutting off creeps up unnoticed.

At the start, the death of a friend leaves Wellum devastated and wondering when his turn will come; within the space of a few hundred pages, the failure of a pilot to return is dropped in almost as an afterthought. This is not the response of a man who cares too little, but of one who cares too much. Without being aware of it, he has experienced and felt too much and his mind and body have involuntarily separated. This comes into even sharper relief at the end when Wellum is stood down from active service; he is the only one not to see--quite literally, as his vision has become impaired--that his ailments are rooted in his psyche rather than his body. The only one false note is his desire to see his role as part of a bigger picture; written many years after the events he describes, Wellum sometimes interjects thoughts and feelings about the war that simply do not ring true. That aside, one is left wondering what became of Wellum the man between the war ending and the book's publication. What sense did the prematurely aged fighter pilot make of the post-war age and did he learn to love again? But that, maybe, is the subject for another book. --John Crace --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



Review

'An extraordinary, deeply moving and astonishingly evocative story. Reading it, you feel you are in the Spitfire with him, at 20,000 feet, chased by a German Heinkel, with your ammunition gone' Independent
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First Sentence
"There are some days in the early spring when the weather is such that, no matter where you are, either in town or countryside, England is at her best and it's good to be alive." Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

77 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (77 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars First Light = First Rate!, 4 Mar 2007
By David Pulman (Yateley, Hants. UK) - See all my reviews
I am a modern pilot (though only born 10 years after WW2) but like most pilots would give almost anything (within reason) to fly a Spitfire! Geoffrey has made me feel as though I have finally achieved that dream by 'taking me for a cockpit ride in his Spitfire!'

I read a review or two by other readers of 'First Light' and was surprised at the mention of 'class' or 'priviledge' in some reviews. Maybe as a fellow former 'public schoolboy' the language and style seemed quite normal, but from his writings, I think it highly unlikely that Geoffrey would have consciously written with the slightest thought of having been privileged, other than the most obvious one of being allowed to experience the ultimate flying experience.

I like most readers, I suspect, was humbled by reading such a modest account of bravery and incredible airmanship.

Despite the passage of time between Geoffrey's flying training and my own, there are so many similies to draw upon which hold true to the present day. All pilots (of all experience) will be immediately taken back to their own flying training days when reading the early accounts. The description of 'seat of the pants' flying is extremely modestly described in various accounts of flying at night, in very marginal weather conditions and in particular, of chasing a target over the North Sea in weather that under normal conditions, no pilot would normally consider even thinking about removing the chocks!

I loved the book, couldn't put it down, empathised completely with the author - a man whose hand I would very much like to shake!
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Claims a place in my heart for Best Autobiographical military history, 8 Dec 2006
By M. Boylan "michaelb" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I have read countless military history books by now and all the autobiographical ones follow a set pattern: young blood doesn't know he'll make the cut, eventually finds he's doing reasonably well, and reaches a certain proficiency, then becomes depressed with the hopelessness of war and loss. Wellum's book follows the same path but more than any other he puts the reader right there. It's hard for our generation to imagine being put in such a situation as a 17 year old school boy but Wellum makes you be that boy. What separates this from the others is the very human self-doubt that the author experiences along the way reminds us the fighter boys weren't just heroes, they were normal people with normal doubts and fears doing heroic things.

K Cowburn (above) feels the book has too much extraneous detail. Not so, the detail places the book firmly in reality and helps create pace. Take the eponymous chapter; it opens with banal descriptions of taking a cup of tea and builds and builds into a life or death crescendo. Better than a Mahler symphony.

This is one book I've turned to again and again. Buy it.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Boy Wonder, 5 Sep 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: First Light (Hardcover)
Having read countless personal accounts in all WW2 fighting arenas, I was resigned to the fact that I had read the best there was to offer and that further reading would only offer diminishing returns. And then out of nowhere comes the relatively unknown Geoffrey Wellum with a total classic.

First Light is crafted around notes that Wellum made during his basic training and two tours of duty flying Spitfires from 1939 to 1942. The book shines during Wellum's training and first tour of duty, coinciding with the Battle of Britain, but is slightly less rewarding when the battle weary pilot starts to neglect his diary.
The book has a very modern feel to it and I put this down to the fact that Wellum was a teenager when he compiled his notebook and the stiff upper lip is totally absent and a much more vulnerable figure is portrayed. Even his colleagues called him 'Boy'.

This book deserves to become a best seller, I just hope a few more people discover it.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Authentic
Really enjoyed this. Well written and constructed but also manages to retain the authenticity of original thoughts and jottings of a young man under great stress. Read more
Published 1 hour ago by J. W. Lewis

5.0 out of 5 stars Un véritable tour de force
I recently re-read this book, which I purchased 8 years ago when it was first published, and found it no less inspiring on the second reading. Read more
Published 11 days ago by AirFrance747

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Beautifully evocative narration. Not just an account of the Battle of Britain seen through the eyes of a young pilot; there is something more about this book which makes it a... Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic read
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5.0 out of 5 stars First Light
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5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read
A great book from start to finish, lots of action and escapades even during his training. Gives you a much more personal account of the Battle of Britain and life in the RAF than... Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, vivid and raw
I won't say much in this review, as suspect it's all been said already. This book is definitely a recommended read - one man's experience of something it is hard to imagine today,... Read more
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A great personal account of those dramatic summer days in the skies of England in 1940, during the BofB from one of the 'few'who flew as part of 92 Squadron. Read more
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