Originally Posted by framer
You can only get so much out of books.
Well I certainly can relate to that!
Not to be ganging up on Dozy, but I do know the "spell" that Vette's book can have on lay readers. Sometimes an unstated assumption drives a belief. For me, perhaps it was the fact that Vette paints Collins as of the highest possible experience and calibre, and indeed it seems likely this is how he was regarded by everyone pre- Erebus. How can one argue with that?