Tim
As a journalist, how on earth can you have the audacity to criticise '607' when you have not even read the whole thing? Is that not both supremely arrogant and professionally dubious at the same time?
You made similar comments about another Vulcan book you haven’t read in another thread.
I think that your comments here are unprofessional and unacceptable.
FTR, I very much enjoyed ‘607’.
You stated that:
I should point-out that I'm not claiming to write the "authoritative text on the Vulcan" - I'm just doing a book which will hopefully be worth reading, combining material from my past books with additions and amendments so that it creates what will doubtless be a far-from perfect book, but hopefully something better than anything else that's likely to come along.
Broadly interpreted, you are happy to settle for regurgitated mediocrity, then?
You then said:
That's one of the problems with aviation books - in reality there isn't much information around other than stuff which has already been previously published in books and magazines.
I simply do not agree. This sort of attitude is very prevalent in the military aviation publishing sector, but it's about time there was a shake up to rid us of it.
What you say smacks of laziness and apathy, and it should not be that way. This is particularly true of texts pertaining to an aircraft where there are dozens of operators still alive today to interview.
Since you frequently reference your trips to the archives, pilots’ notes, and whatnot, I had assumed that your Vulcan book would have been written ‘from the ground up’. Based on this comment and your earlier admission that it’s actually a mishmash of what you have already written, I wonder how well your book will be received by the reviewers?
Finally, you say:
Books are never perfect sadly - you have to gather all the available information and make a (semi) educated guess!
You might, but not all of us do!
I agree that books can never be perfect, and will always contain some statements that people will take issue with. But, make a semi educated guess? YGTBFSM. If you do the interviews and let the sources tell the story themselves, then you don’t have to do any guess work. If there are no sources available, then you present both sides of the story and allow the reader to make his own mind up.
I really think that you should consider things more carefully before you post about other peoples' works and your own modus operandi. You are not portraying yourself, or our industry, in a very good light.