Book "Listening in"
 

A few months ago I bought a second hand copy of "Listening In". I think cost me around £20. Now trying to buy a copy for a friend whose father is mentioned a couple of times (He was a Washington captain on 192 Sqn) and on-line prices quoted are £100 -£150 a copy. Should I put my copy up for auction, or is there an error somewhere on A*****n or A*e Books.

Any info welcome

If you don't want it, you could give it to your friend. :O

No it's not an error, unfortunately. The market is very quick to react to a limited-run, niche book going out of print and the used price seems to be amplified by the more 'living history' that is involved i.e. how many connections there are to veterans today.

Other examples are Crowood's "Slingsby Sailplanes", about £70, or Peter Morton's "Fire across the Desert" about Woomera, £300+

I managed to bag a copy of the latter for £50 in a second-hand bookshop, stupendous amount of money for some old paper but presumably mis-priced and I held it close to my chest all the way to the till in case someone else tried to pounce on it.

Publicity helps. The latest price at SA River is £ 184.53

Miles Aircraft since 1925 by Don Brown (a Putnam) always sells for good price, £ 60:00 - £80:00.......

Pretty well all of the Putnam manufacturer series go for premium prices.

I did put a "thank you" on here yesterday but it seems to have sunk without trace - must be the new " TSB" upgrade
BTW, since the "upgrade" anyone else having problems typing in reply box, very slow and leaving chunks out

Yes, agreed. The Miles book tops the list, the others are, in my experience "variable". If you are patient and "hunt around" you can find the odd bargain. Overall Putnam books are a good investment and are, of course, excellent sources of information.

For Yellow Sun That is a very enigmatic post Matey. Would you care to elaborate for an old crew mate. Why would "they" burn them?

The Ancient Mariner (also exmpa)

As regards "Fire across the Desert" (an excellent book), see the attached link for a cheaper way to acquire it, courtesy of the Australian Govt.

https://www.dst.defence.gov.au/publi...oss-the-desert

You beat me to it redsetter. I downloaded it myself last week - great read so far.

I'd cast the net a wee bit wider and carry out a search on Biblio.com which links you with small, private booksellers world-wide and their stocks.

I have picked up quite a few books via Biblo that were either as scarce as hen's teeth (and therefore horendously expensive via Abe or Amazon), or else unavaliable, yet when I went looking on Biblo, I not only found numerous copies of the book I was looking for, but often found a good-condition copy at a much cheaper price.

KTJ - many thanks, I will look therte

. Here is a rare book in the sense of the quality of it's original, sparkling prose. The title refers to the in-flight oil transfer by PG Taylor over the Tasman Sea in 1935 - THE MAN WHO SAVED SMITHY; by Rick Searle. (The book is not only an exceptionally good read, but an excellent adjunct to the eight books of PG (Sir Gordon) Taylor published.. CLICHE by Eric Partridge is another useful text, if you abhor the hackneyed phrase.)

I've got a copy of that book.

A few years ago, I wandered into a second-hand bookshop in Devonport, Auckland, NZ and spied a copy of the book on their shelves. Curiosity got the better of me, so I picked it up and opened it and had a quick browse and ended up purchasing it. You are right, it is an exceptionally good read. Sadly, the bookshop in question closed about four years ago. You could find all sorts of very rare and interesting books in there. Whenever I was in Auckland it was always a good excuse to catch the ferry across from downtown Auckland to Devonport just to see what I could find in that shop.

Listening In: RAF Electronic Intelligence Gathering since 1945
Authors: Dave Forster & Chris Gibson

Key Points

• Secret reconnaissance aircraft and equipment
• From Lancaster and Washington to Comet and Nimrod
• Previously classified operations from the Falklands, to Iraq and Afghanistan

Description

As WWII closed, the Air Staff decided to preserve the UK’s electronic intelligence (ELINT) expertise, resulting in the formation of the Radio Warfare Establishment and later the Central Signals Establishment. A tentative ELINT programme was commissioned in 1946 using a small number of Lancaster and Mosquito aircraft specially modifiedfor the task and as relations with the Soviet Union deteriorated, interest focussed on the growing Soviet air defence system, with the 1948 Berlin crisis resulting in the first major ELINT programme against the Soviet Union’s air defences.

During the mid‐1950s the Washington and Canberra were introduced as interim ELINT platforms and proposals were made for the use of V.1000, the Shackleton and the Comet for this new and dangerous branch of warfare, often requiring flight close to, or over, hostile territory. Operations against Indonesia and China, and worsening relations with Iran, increased the importance of ELINT operations during the 60s and 70s and in the quest for more capable aircraft, the Comet 4 was passed over in favour of the Nimrod.

ELINT aircraft proposals including the VC‐10 and Airbus are covered, whilst Listening In also details operations in the Falklands, Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan as the authors draw together, for the first time, a mass of unpublished material to describe the evolution of the secretive ELINT aircraft, their equipment and operations. The story is bought right up‐to‐date with Project Helix and the controversial decision to scrap the almost complete Nimrod MRA.4 fleet and instead acquire the EC‐135R Rivet Joint.

A highly detailed work illustrated throughout with over 180 photographs and drawings, Listening In tells the full story of this secret world and it’s aircraft (both actual and proposed) and is a natural companion to Chris Gibson’s best‐selling ‘Vulcan’s Hammer’ and ‘Battle Flight’.

Fantome - could not have put it better. My own interest heightened by discussions with a friend about her Father's role as a Washington captain on 192 Sqn, AFC, I suspect in connection (on the basis of timing) with Suez, and one of only two named Washington captains in that section of the book.