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A review by pixieauthoress
The Last Enemy by Richard Hillary
5.0
Read for EN4413: Reading the 1940s, 2011-2012.
This was one of the set texts on my Reading the 1940s course, and I wasn't entirely sure what to expect in reading the auto-biography of a WWII RAF pilot. When I was discussing this course with my family my dad brought out my Grandpa's first edition of this book, which was a nice surprise! My dad loved this book, but me and my dad don't always share the same taste in books, so it was pleased to find that I enjoyed this book a lot more than I had expected. The last chapter didn't completely fit with the rest of the book (although according to the introduction Hillary fabricated part of this section) but the rest of the memoir was fascinating. A great insight into the life of RAF pilots in WWII, which was far from glamorous. It was really interesting observing Hillary as he grew from a lazy, self-centered Oxbridge boy into a man with life experience and understanding of the world. I found myself musing over this book for several days afterwards. 9/10
This was one of the set texts on my Reading the 1940s course, and I wasn't entirely sure what to expect in reading the auto-biography of a WWII RAF pilot. When I was discussing this course with my family my dad brought out my Grandpa's first edition of this book, which was a nice surprise! My dad loved this book, but me and my dad don't always share the same taste in books, so it was pleased to find that I enjoyed this book a lot more than I had expected. The last chapter didn't completely fit with the rest of the book (although according to the introduction Hillary fabricated part of this section) but the rest of the memoir was fascinating. A great insight into the life of RAF pilots in WWII, which was far from glamorous. It was really interesting observing Hillary as he grew from a lazy, self-centered Oxbridge boy into a man with life experience and understanding of the world. I found myself musing over this book for several days afterwards. 9/10