In America, Nevil Shute--British aeronautical engineer turned esteemed novelist--is best known for the bestselling ON THE BEACH, in which Aussies go gently into a nuclear good night. This, his autobiography, goes equally gently into his life and time, from birth to the threshold of WWII. And stuffily, too, at least as interpreted by narrator Michael Tudor Barnes. Though affecting considerable enthusiasm, Barnes fails to make it infectious. He even underplays or misses much of the humor, thus further reducing whatever charm the original possesses. Still, one can admire the lean, precise writing and historical color. Y.R. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine--
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Review
This might better be defined as a chapter in autobiography, for here is the Nevil Shute (Norway) occasionally glimpsed in some of his novels, as aeronautical engineer, and virtually only that. There is a brief survey of his early life, - a boy playing truant in the Kensington Museum aviation exhibitions; a college student working- for love of it- in the drafting room of aviation production; a cub pilot, with not many hours training; and chiefly, the managing director of a struggling pioneer industry, Airspeed Limited, where for years the dilemmas of reckless optimism came of necessity close to dishonesty to investors - and only wars saved them from bankruptcy. A big slice of the story tells, in intimate technical detail, of the competitive race to determine whether private industry (which constructed the successful rigid airship, R-100,) or government project (responsible for the tragedy of failure in its sister ship, R-101) should be given the go-ahead. While the major issues are inherently dramatic, the minutiae of construction will appeal largely to the technically trained reader. A segment of aviation history, rather than a personal story of a popular novelist. (Kirkus Reviews)
