In Going Solo, the world's favourite storyteller, Roald Dahl, tells of life as a fighter pilot in Africa. 'They did not think for one moment that they would find anything but a burnt-out fuselage and a charred skeleton, and they were astounded when they came upon my still-breathing body lying in the sand nearby.' In 1938 Roald Dahl was fresh out of school and bound for his first job in Africa, hoping to find adventure far from home. However, he got far more excitement than he bargained for when the outbreak of the ...
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In Going Solo, the world's favourite storyteller, Roald Dahl, tells of life as a fighter pilot in Africa. 'They did not think for one moment that they would find anything but a burnt-out fuselage and a charred skeleton, and they were astounded when they came upon my still-breathing body lying in the sand nearby.' In 1938 Roald Dahl was fresh out of school and bound for his first job in Africa, hoping to find adventure far from home. However, he got far more excitement than he bargained for when the outbreak of the Second World War led him to join the RAF. His account of his experiences in Africa, crashing a plane in the Western Desert, rescue and recovery from his horrific injuries in Alexandria, flying a Hurricane as Greece fell to the Germans, and many other daring deeds, recreates a world as bizarre and unnerving as any he wrote about in his fiction. 'Very nearly as grotesque as his fiction. The same compulsive blend of wide-eyed innocence and fascination with danger and horror' Evening Standard 'A non-stop demonstration of expert raconteurship' The New York Times Book Review Roald Dahl, the brilliant and worldwide acclaimed author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and many more classics for children, also wrote scores of short stories for adults. These delightfully disturbing tales have often been filmed and were most recently the inspiration for the West End play, Roald Dahl's Twisted Tales by Jeremy Dyson. Roald Dahl's stories continue to make readers shiver today.
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This is the second book of his autobiography. It contains the war stories of his experiences in the Royal Air Force in North Africa and the Mediterranean during World War II. Dahl spins the tale of his adventure starting when he was 22 and a new employee of the Shell Oil Company taking the steamer to Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika. Then with World War II heating up, he joins the R.A.F. in Kenya where he has harrowing misadventures in North Africa while learning to fly fighter plane. The story continues with exciting air fights in Greece against the German fighters and bombers. The tales are told in the funny and outrageous Dahl style but are more believable as he cleverly inserted quotes from letters he wrote to his worried mother as well as many old photos and pages from his pilot's logbook. This is great reading for all ages.
Rich0
Apr 9, 2009
For the Adventurious
Wonderfully written adventure story about a young man taking risks and achieving the benefits of overcoming fear and barriers to life. The Author's dry sense of humor is a treasure and his style of writing is makes you want read more of his books.
