Enemy Coast Ahead

The Memoir of Dambuster Guy Gibson

By: Guy Gibson

Narrated by: Nigel Gair

Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

A definitive new edition of a classic memoir, published in association with the RAF Museum, complete with notes from leading historians.

Guy Gibson was the leader of the famous Dambusters raid and Enemy Coast Ahead is a vivid, honest account, widely regarded as one of the best books on World War II. It is also an insider's account that sets down in clear, honest detail the challenges that the RAF faced in the war against Germany's Luftwaffe.

Tragically, Gibson died in September 1944, when his Mosquito crashed near Steenbergen in the Netherlands. He was aged just 26. This new book has been published to mark the 75th anniversary of his death and includes an introduction by James Holland, a historian and broadcaster, and notes by Dr. Robert Owen, the Official Historian of the No. 617 Squadron Association.

©2019 Guy Gibson (P)2020 Greenhill Books

This is a must read.

This book put me directly in the presence of a true hero. Be amazed by the courage and True Grit of this oh so marvelous young man.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE God bless.

I was wrong! This is actually a really good story!

Having just finished OPERATION CHASTISE, by Max Hastings, where he lauds ENEMY COAST AHEAD, I was worried that I missed something in this book in my earlier review, which found this book lacking excitement. I'm re-listening to it now and really enjoying it. Not sure what was distracting me on my first listen but now I realize that Gibson provides an engaging month by month, hands-on view of how Britain's bomber war changed over the course of the war. There's a ton to learn here and Gibson's dry sense of humor comes through in places.

So, here is a revised review...
The book provides some interesting perspective from a pilot who was there at the time. Guy Gibson is, of course, more than just a pilot, he was the celebrated leader of the 617 squadron, the Dam Busters. Quick thoughts...
- I didn't realize that Gibson spent time flying night fighters. That was an interesting part of this book.
- Good perspective on early war bomber command
- Gibson's first hand account of the dams raid was quite good, and the way he opened the book with the approach to that raid was really well written (given that opening, it seemed to me that he was a really good writer. It was fascinating that, because this book was written during the war and the bouncing bomb was a military secret, Gibson never actually mentions that the bombs skipped along the water when dropped. James Holland's recent book on the dams raid provides a lot more detail and overall excitement about that raid.
- Perhaps one of the weakest parts of this presentation was the narration. I really appreciate the time that narrators put into doing their work for us and this one seemed engaged and professional. The problem was that his speaking style is almost monotonous. It was easy, therefore, for my mind to wander.
- Gibson ends with the dams raid but doesn't cover his career thereafter (He was killed on a mission a year or so afterward)

BTW, OPERATION CHASTISE provides some different perspective on Gibson. He was a hero but, as many are, a flawed one. I'd recommend listening to the two books sequentially (order doesn't really matter).

Great story badly read

Gibson’s account of air fighting in WW2 is authentic and fascinating, especially his account of the preparation and execution of the Dams raid.

Unfortunately it is rather let down by the monotonous delivery of the reader who didn’t even bother to learn to pronounce the names of the targets correctly. If ever there is a new recording of Winnie the Pooh, he would make a great voice for Eeyore!

That said, the book is well worth getting for the content alone!