Generally speaking, the First World War was not one that lent itself to the romantic. For most of its participants, it was a war experienced in the tedium and mud of trench warfare, or in mighty warships sitting at anchor awaiting orders for the occasional sortie. Yet in the skies above the Western Front, groups of men fought a very different war, one often characterized by individual exploit and elements of chivalry that were lost in the battlefields below. In this book, Denis Winter examines the experiences of the pilots, the challenges they faced, and their efforts to cope with combat in a new medium.

Winter's book follows the same pattern as that of [b:Death's Men: Soldiers of the Great War|198298|Death's Men Soldiers of the Great War|Denis Winter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388188606s/198298.jpg|191816], his earlier work examining the lives of men who fought on the Western Front. Through memoirs, manuals, and contemporary documents, he presents the rhythms of the aviator's experience, following them from their initial recruitment in England to their deployment to France. His focus is predominantly on the men of the Royal Flying Corps; the experiences of French and German aviators are only discussed to contrast them with those of their British counterparts or to illustrate a general point. The comparison is useful in setting out the uniquely British aspects of the aviator's service, such as the often amateurish approach the British took towards training the men to fly. More often, however, Winter lets the men speak for themselves, drawing liberally from firsthand accounts to convey the daily patterns of the air war, from the dawn patrol to the work of mechanics to prepare for the next day's activities.

Winter's book makes for a nice complement to more traditional histories of air combat in the First World War. Its flaws are ones of omission, as its narrow focus on the pilots on the Western Front generally ignores the experiences of those who fought and flew in the many other theaters of the war. This is particularly regrettable given Winter's ability as a writer; the book is informative and easy to read, presenting the men's lives with a clarity and insight that would have been appreciated had it been applied to examining the challenges of air combat on other fronts. Nevertheless, Winter succeeds in providing a good study of what life was like for the pilots of the canvas biplanes that soared above the trenches of France and Belgium, one that is highly recommended for anyone seeking to learn more about them. ( )