Winds of Destruction [Paperback]

PJH Petter-Bowyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 2003

The author was born in the highly successful self-governing British colony, Southern Rhodesia. His love of his country and its people is as clear in this book as his disbelief and anger over British and South African policies of political expendiency that forced Rhodesia out of the western camp into one clearly forseen to become a one-party Marxist dictatorship.

Winds of Destruction is the story of the author's life before and after joining the Royal Rhodesian Air Force. The book centres on the writer's involvement with air and ground operations in Rhodesia's thirteen-year war against the communist forces of Marxist Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo who sought to gain power by force.

Product Details

• Paperback: 600 pages
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing (November 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141201204X
• ISBN-13: 978-1412012041
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,612,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the stories on the Rhodesian Air Force, January 29, 2005

By 

Dr. J. R. T. Wood (South Africa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Winds of Destruction (Paperback)

Peter Petter-Bowyer offers the world a unique airman's story of the Rhodesian Bush War. PB not only established and led the highly successful aerial reconnaissance effort but was not safisfied with it. Blessed with an enquiring, inventive mind, and without any engineering background, he not only improved the aircraft he flew but also invented a new range of weapons for them. He was and is also a well-loved and admired leader of men. He has provided us with an enthralling story.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, Eyewitness Account of the Rhodesian Air Campaign, March 8, 2007

By 

S. Shea (Triangle, Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Winds of Destruction (Paperback)

Gp Capt Petter-Bowyer's book is a highly-detailed account by someone who served from the Federal period through the demise of Rhodesia in 1980. Largely written from memory, the book is both technically detailed in its content with regards to the employment of Royal Rhodesian Air Force (RRAF)/Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) assets against communist terrorists but is also a very personal book in its reflections on individuals. The RRAF was equipped for employment in the Commonwealth - hence the acquisition of Canberra bombers and Hunter fighters - and had an excellent relationship with the Royal Air Force. When Prime Minister Ian Smith was left with no option but to unilaterally declare independence, the British predicted the RRAF's planes would be grounded within weeks. Eighteen years later, they were still flying (and would continue to serve in the Air Force of Zimbabwe for several years past 1980). The inginuity of men like Petter-Bowyer led the RRAF/RhAF to modify their aircraft to suit new roles. They also acquired through convoluted means new aircraft to wage their own war against terrorism. Much of the work the men of the RhAF (and their Army counterparts) did, and the national determination of the Rhodesian people was no different to modern times and is a reminder to us of the dangers of wavering in the face of terror. Like many Rhodesians now living abroad, his heart is still in Africa, and his account of what has happened under Robert Mugabe is heart-wrenching.

Petter-Bowyer hurried through the production of this book because cancer was a serious threat to him then. He has since overcome those problems and is upgrading the book to include a full index and glossary - the two glaring faults of the book. Don't wait for a new edition; this is an excellent book that is a must-read for anyone interested in southern African history, in the Rhodesian War, or in the employment of small air forces in counter-insurgency warfare.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Honest Book; An Honest Man, October 24, 2007

By 

Dent - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winds of Destruction (Paperback)

This is an excellent book that despite it's grammatical flaws, and occasional superfluous details give the reader what so few books attempt to do these days: an honest personal account that does not bow to anyone else interpretation of events. Say what you will about Grp. Cpt. Petter-Bowyer, but the man has brains and guts and is doing his darn'dest to present the reader with the view of things as he honestly, truly honestly, saw them! So few people have that kind of integrity these days and one should feel very lucky to have had the chance to read this mans words. It's a rare thing for someone to "say what they mean, and mean what they say." This book does just that.

In addition to being a very through account of operations that the Rhodesian Air Force participated in, Grp. Cpt. Petter-Bowyer clues the reader into many other aspects of the Rhodesian Bush War that may have previously puzzled readers of other books on subject.

The author has a gift for anticipating small, yet critical, pieces of information that a reader might think in his or her mind as they are reading this book; low-and-behold, he will answer these very questions just a few sentences after they pop into your mind. I can not say enough about how thoughtful this mans writing style is; I've never seen it's like in print before.

I have read many books on Rhodesia, however, after reading this one; I feel that it should have been my first on the subject. The attention to detail and logical progression displayed within these pages is "THAT" crucial to a well-rounded understanding of what was happening in Rhodesia and to some extent, why. I enjoyed this book immensely (although by standard printing and publishing formats it's really over 1,000 pages in length [rather than the 560 that this unusual format delivers it in], and a bit hard to finish in anything less than 2 weeks.) If you are fascinated by the unique story of Rhodesia--and like me want to learn something from these courageous people's raw-deal--then "Winds of Destruction" is mandatory reading material. I only wish that I could someday meet this amazing man named "PB." He is truly made of the "Right Stuff."