Fascinating, full of original material and shrewd insights ... a masterful historian of air power Leo McKinstry, Literary Review

The RAF was the worlds first air force. This is the story of its founding in 1918, as a response to the new terror of aerial warfare, the struggles to keep it alive amid controversy and opposition, its crucial role in the Second World War and its unique place in Britains history.

Brilliantly lucid Noel Malcolm, Daily Telegraph

Richard Overy is to be congratulated on creating a concise exposition of the formation of the RAF ... this is a book that makes you think...