Customer Reviews

Last of the Flying Clippers: The Boeing B-314 Story (Schiffer Military/Aviation History)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Any 314 or Pan Am fanatic will undoubtedly enjoy this book for its terrific photo coverage of the aircraft. But the writing is so poor that it is hard to discern what the author is trying to say most of the time, and the editing was non-existant. It is sheer torture trying to sit down and read the text, which is a shame because the author unquestionably was in possession of a significant amount of good research material. And typical of most Schiffer books, there was not even an attempt at editing the manuscript for typos, misplaced punctuation, or other errors.

This well presented book is supported by exhaustive research, together with extensive illustrations, mainly from the manufacturer of the wonderful Boeing 314 flying boats. The book is let down however, by numerous spelling errors and typographical mistakes. One example of many is the use of the word 'howser', when the author means 'hawser' in reference to the waterborne handling of the flying boats. The description of crew training and procedures is quite unrealistic and overly emphasised. For example, in talking about radio operators, he persists in saying they gained 'degrees' after studying various technical subjects - these were technical courses for which certificates would have been issued. More concerning is the rather quirky writing style, the meaning of which at times is hard to follow. The author persists in using hypenated expressions which strain the imagination of the reader. One example in the caption to a photograph showing the ladies' rest rooms is 'Female early-to-rise amenities to primp one's self for the Horta arrival were elegantly provided and well thought out when planning for sky-havened powder rooms'. His quoting of statistics (which is extensive), while of interest to the technical reader, would have far better been reserved for a tabular presentation in an appendix. The author has spent a lifetime collecting data on the Boeing 314 flying boat and it is unfortuneate that errors and lack of style editing, which should have been carried out by the publisher, detracts from the overall product. Notwithstanding this however, the book is a definative work on the subject and is worth buying by the flying boat enthusiast.

This is the most comprehensive book on an aircraft I have ever seen. Unfortunatly the author kills himself with querky writing ( I agree with all the comments from the gentelman from Canberra) In the first half of the book there are many glaring technical errors. The author should have had a technical person edit this book!!!! Unfortunatly this book will remain in this form for many years. I would be happy to have a dicussion with the author on this magnificent but flawed book.

As a Flight Engineer on the B314 for three years I shudder at the thought that future aviation buffs will take this as the "bible". I think the author was drunk when he wrote about crew duties and procedures!

I ordered the book from you before it was issued. I was one of the first ones to get it. I am a technical person who correct all my books (in ink) for technical errors. I read it the first day and had at least two technical errors corrected on most every page. I went to this site and an a guy had already commented on his poor writing. I wrote (futhermore- there was a least one technical error on each page) I later checked with the publisher and found the they do not have an editor---
WHAT HAPPEND TO MY COMMENTS ???

This is a very well researched and written book. Lots of rare photos that detail the rise and fall of the mighty Empire. I also recommend "Adventurous Empires: The Story of the Short Empire Flying Boats" which is a book with (unfortunately) a similar sad ending.