Product Description

First published in 1944, Enemy Coast Ahead combines Gibson's RAF career, including the famous Dambuster raid which he himself led, with the inside story of life in Bomber Command and is still a riveting read for the immediacy and vibrancy of its writing.
And yet, what has not been widely known is that the published edition of Enemy Coast Ahead was carefully cut by wartime censors.
Now, Gibson's original manuscript which was archived for almost 60 years has been be brought to light. This uncut edition provides not only previously unpublished details of Gibson's career, but also reveals his true view of the course of the war, of the wartime population, of his pilots and crews and of Bomber Command tactics. Combined with newly added photographs and diagrams Enemy Coast Ahead - Uncensored remains one of the outstanding accounts of WWII seen through the eyes of one of its most respected and controversial personalities, but now allows the reader to know Gibson's own story in his own words.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25481 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
Guy Gibson wrote this book while being rested from operations in 1944. By then he had flown two full tours on bombing ops with 83 and 106 Squadrons, another one as a night-fighter pilot with 29 Squadron and, of course, the Dam Busters raid with 617 Squadron on 16 May 1943. It was serialised in the Sunday Express during the winter of 1944-45, by which time Gibson was dead, the Mosquito that he was flying having crashed near Steenbergen in Holland on 10 September 1944. It was first published in book form in 1946, to much critical acclaim.
There has been a certain amount of comment since then regarding the authorship. It is such a well-written book that there was speculation that Gibson was assisted by a ghostwriter. This contention has been comprehensively refuted by his biographer, who examined the original manuscript (Guy Gibson by Richard Morris, Penguin Books 1995).
This edition of the book, published by Crecy, has used that draft, restoring some of Gibson's more robust and less than tactful opinions and comments on personalities, tactics and the course of the war, which the censor and his original publishers omitted. It has the feel of authenticity, of Gibson's thoughts being poured out onto the page.
It is a highly readable, enjoyable and at times, moving account; giving a rounded picture of
just what it was like to be a young man at that time (Gibson was only a month over 26 when
he died). He was brought up when the Empire was a part of daily life, he grew to manhood
in the age of the dictators and the appeasers, joining the RAP pre-war when it was the best flying club in the world. The early years of the war seemed at the time to be an almost hopeless struggle against the odds with setbacks and disasters on all fronts. Gibson was part of the only force, which for a period of several dark years, seemed to be the only means of taking the war to the enemy. He recounts this learning process with great clarity, as he himself grew in experience and maturity, rising from rather bumptious Pilot Officer to a highly decorated Wing Commander, just as Bomber Command grew from its somewhat amateurish early days into mighty force bringing death and destruction to the enemy on a nightly basis.

The descriptions of the aircraft, preparations, operations and social life are well drawn and evocative. The character studies of individuals are brief but very much to the point. The bomber war from 1939 to 1943 is described with great insight and shows a penetrating, analytical mind at work.
Gibson was a remarkable, talented and forceful man, like many warriors he was at his best
when at the forefront of the battle, back in England he was hero-worshipped by many, respected, loved, feared and cordially disliked by others. He had immense responsibility thrust upon him and deserves to be remembered as a hero. I found that I had developed a
liking for Gibson as I read the book, he would not perhaps have been the easiest to work for
but he was to say the least an interesting person, whom it would have been rewarding to know.
The book itself is produced to a very high standard, with an excellent selection of crisply reproduced photographs, two useful appendices on the Dams Raid and an index (none of which were included in the Pan paperback which my father purchased in 1955). At £10.95 it is excellent value for money and I would recommend it highly.

Guy Warner --Ulster Airmail - Jan 2009

Customer Reviews

A Fantastic Depiction Of A Bomber's War
I first read this when I was 12 in the early '70's, and snapped this up as soon as I saw it has been re-printed.

Gibson started right at the beginning of the war in Bombers, did a stint in nightfighters (he was due for rest, but wouldn't accept the genuine break from the war that his superiors wanted him to have), then went back to Bombers through to his being killed in a raid over Germany after he returned to front line duty post Dambusters' raids.

This autobiographical book chronicles the aerial bombing campaign, and, as well as recording Gibson's personal experiences, the people he knew, and some of the scrapes that they got up to on base, charts the developing sophistication of RAF Bomber Command's tactics and aircraft.

As you'd expect, a good chunk is devoted to the Dambusters' raid. The build up to this is also good, and is written very much on the basis of what Gibson was told and "needed to know" at the time. He wrote the book before returning to active service after his post - Dambusters' break, and is very much written so as to not give away any secrets of the time.
This - I believe - provides additional atmosphere to the story.

I've heard that Guy Gibson was thought to be big headed and arrogant - well, it's hard to accomplish things if you don't have a degree of self belief, and at no time in this book do I recall him appearing to self - aggrandise.

It's a great read, and I thoroughly recommend this to anyone interested in the period.

Enemy coast ahead
Very well written . I have a keen interest in the air war 1939- 45 , and especially the dams raid .Having read a few accounts of this , the "horses mouth " version was excellent . A good read .Early part dealing with the failures and the formation of the squadrons Gibson served in was unique and informative .

Best read in ages
This is the best book I have read in a long while. Right from the opening page I was absolutely hooked, even if you have seen the film this truly is the view from the cockpit. If you ever wiondered what it would have been like to fly a bombing raid over Germany during WW2 then this is the book for you.