Anne Baker is the daughter of the subject of this book, and as such, has unrivalled access to the voluminous family correspondence and photographs, which she has used to excellent effect. Truly, this book is also about Geoffrey’s brother Jack as well, and as they were both important figures in the formative stages of the RFC and RAF, we are lucky to have such an informative and well written record of the time. The early days of the retreat from Mons are vividly told, but the part that interested me most was the story of the Middle East (an area which stretched from Greece to India!) where Geoffrey started and ran the RFC involvement, being recalled just before Allenby captured Jerusalem. However, he was quickly sent back, and took part in the final triumph over the Turks. The operations conducted were the forebears of the aviation activities in ‘Desert Storm’ at the other end of the century. Both brothers became Chief of the Air Staff, Geoffrey succeeding brother Jack, to die sadly of cancer after only 57 days in office. There were some pretty unpleasant people at the top when the RAF was formed in 1918, but that does not include these brothers, who seem to have been, like the knights of old, sans peur et sans reproche. And they innovated so much during their careers – air control of Mesopotamia (the success of which arguably saved the RAF as a separate Service), development of high speed and long distance flights being among the most important successes to their credit. When you add that Geoffrey was shipwrecked by a mine off the coast of Egypt, and knew T.E. Lawrence and everyone else who mattered, you have a biography that reads like the Boys Own Paper, but it is all true and riveting stuff, and a very important record of a very important time.