CHARLES KINGSFORD-SMITH AND THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN

Richard Aspel gives a breezy narration to the story of one of Australia's flying legends. A decorated war veteran—seeing action in the infantry in Gallipoli and in France and then as a fighter pilot over the Western Front—Kingsford-Smith went on to set a variety of long-distance flying records after the war. At one point, he held more records than any other pilot. The author fills out his biography of "Smithy" with a brief history of motorized flight and WWI. Aspel’s narration style fits the tone of the book well. He gives non-English speakers a bit of an accent. This device generally works but sometimes seems strained, as when he gives the French-born Octave Chanute a kind of British urban working-class accent. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2009]