I've read a few books about world war one, mostly about the air war, but this book ties the air battles in with the operations on the ground to give you a comprehensive over-view of what is happening in that part of the front during that time frame. I liked the book, for the first time I realized the air war was a result of what was happening on the ground. The pilots had to fly, in order to give information to the ground guns, and they had to fly to take photos of the front for the artillery. The pilots suffered great losses, and the book is about the RAF mostly.

AS THE SYNOPSIS HERE AND ON MANY BOOKSITES IS A BIT HOWDY-DOODY AND ISNT EVEN THE ONE ON BACK-COVER,HERE IS THE BETTER ONE WHICH IS ON THE COVER:

Bloody April
Peter Hart
The story of the decimation of the Royal Flying Corps over Arras in 1917

"When the British and Canadian infantry went over the top in april 1917, they faced some of the most impregnable defensive positions on the entire Western Front. Within just a few hours, they had actually smashed their way into most of the complex warren of German trenches facing Arras-their extraordinary achievement was made possible through the heroic efforts and sacrifices of the Royal Flying Corps . Peter Hart tells the story of the war in the air over Arras, using the voices of the men who actually there: tales survivors shot down by the Red Baron himself, descriptions of frenzied dogfights, and dramatic crash-landings in the wastes of No Man's Land . All this is put firmly into the context of the Battle of Arras as a whole, and the framework of the overall strategy of the Allies for 1917."

Mister Hart tells us of a hard time for Allied (read this as British) airmen of "The Great War".The strategic rationalizations are cogent and very detailed. Mister Hart explains how the war in the air had evolved from infancy, the Somme 1916, to an indispensible part of the arithmitic that is technological warfare. Herein is told what air power means to the war on the ground. Artillery was the queen of the Great War battle field but the men in archaic two seat aircraft made the great effect it projected possible. Men in speedy single seat aircraft caught the public fancy, but thankless,vulnrable reconnaisance missions were the all important factor. An unfamiliar reader may understand how real war is not a romantic adventure as portrayed in cinema but Mister Hart pounds home the point with stark, brutal clarity. The historical research is excellent with plenty of pertinate pithy quotes from particpants. A positive attitude concerning the men and boys who endured appalling conditions in April 1917 is exhibited throughout the book.

My only misgiving is the tone the author toward circumstances that lead to the deaths of many a patriotic youth. Praise for couage, pluck and preseverance is commendable, however in my estimation, Mister Hart is far too forgiving of the British Heirarchy that sent their boys to war in noncompetitive machines. It is not enough to say ...that is what we had, so we made a lot of them and sent them up.

That being said, I would say someone wanting "a view behind the curtain" of the romanticized "Knights of the Air" stories will find this book worth the time to read.