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  • The Pathfinders

  • The Elite RAF Force That Turned the Tide of WWII
  • By: Will Iredale
  • Narrated by: Richard Burnip
  • Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (175 ratings)
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The Pathfinders cover art

The Pathfinders

By: Will Iredale
Narrated by: Richard Burnip
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin. 

Military History Matters Book of the Year Bronze Award Winner 

The incredible story of the crack team of men and women who transformed RAF Bomber Command and helped the Allies deliver decisive victory over Nazi Germany.

The Pathfinders were ordinary men and women from a range of nations who revolutionised the efficiency of the Allies' air campaign over mainland Europe. They elevated Bomber Command—initially the only part of the Allied war effort capable of attacking the heart of Nazi Germany—from an impotent force on the cusp of disintegration in 1942 to one capable of razing whole German cities to the ground in a single night, striking with devastating accuracy, inspiring fear and loathing in Hitler's senior command.

With exclusive interviews with remaining survivors, personal diaries and previously classified records, The Pathfinders brings to life the characters of the airmen and women—many barely out of their teens—who took to the skies in legendary British aircraft such as the Lancaster and the Mosquito, facing almost unimaginable levels of violence from enemy fighter planes to strike at the heart of the Nazi war machine.

©2021 Will Iredale (P)2021 Penguin Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about The Pathfinders

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A very moving story but flawed

There is hardly a better subject than this about the RAF in WW2, and the author has done his research well.

But alas, from the perspective of a 75 year who didn’t go to university but had a rigorous secondary education in English grammar/writing of a type rarely available to modern young, this book is spoiled by poor grammar (split infinitives- a great sin) and by hyperbole/imaginative text instead of letting great achievements speak for themselves. The editor is equally if not more responsible.

To set this criticism in context, read for example the War The Infantry Knew by JC Dunn (also available on Amazon), medical officer to the 2nd Bn RWF in WW1 who survived three years in the trenches. He describes in his diary dinners in behind the front line with his fellow officers, illuminating their characters wonderfully, and then a simple line about one of them in next day’s entry reads “xxx was killed in xxx trench this evening”. Nothing else, and it hits you like a sledgehammer.

I know many of you who read this book will enjoy it and be moved by it, so don’t let me put you off, but to my mind a wise guiding editor could have made this into a great book.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very interesting.

An interesting book, well narrated. I'm now more interested in the human rather than the technical side of units such as this and this did a fine job of telling their stories. I use such books during long drives and this certainly made the recent ones seem far shorter. It also helps me research my next model building project, an Airfix Lancaster in Pathfinder markings.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A Little known group within Bomber Command

This book is a terrific listen on audible. A story of a group formed from within Bomber command to improve on the targeting accuracy at a time when if the bombs fell within 5 miles of the target you were lucky.
The book has everything, bravery, determination, commitment, disappointment. So many human interest stories involving love and loss. The appalling casualties of bombers and bombed. The politics of the time are brought to light in what seems to me to be fair assessments. Throughout the camaraderie of the pathfinders crews shines out for us all to admire
Excellent narration
The author has brought so many stories of the men and women involved to the book that would otherwise have gone unheard.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

A great book. All the personal histories made it a brilliant full telling of the story.

Perfect narration and production.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating and moving

Having no knowledge or prior interest in the Pathfinders, this excellent book opened my eyes to so much.
What a great debt we owe to these young men now almost all gone. This book told their story plus the bravery of this generation of the young men and women.
We must remember them.
It also highlighted the death and destruction of war.
The narration was perfect for this book. One certainly to listen to again.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent account of an amazing force

Very informative and interesting read, detailing the story of one of the second world wars most accomplished and courageous forces. The story of the pathfinders is expertly detailed in both the men and the organisational aspects.
Always humbled by the story of these guys.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A wonderful tribute.

Always been fascinated by the Bomber Campaign. My Grandad lost his youngest brother - a tail gunner in a Lancaster.
This is a wonderful tribute to all who served in Bomber Command.
The Pathfinder story was not one I was overly familiar with.
The author does a great job of balancing the details of the strategic campaign, the scientific innovations, together with some extremely moving personal anecdotes from diaries and survivors.
Also deftly covers the political manoeuvring of the key players.
Whilst the intentions of this book was obviously not to cover in detail the controversy that continues to surround the Campaign, the author does a good job in illuminating how the crews felt about the horrific (in every sense) job they were undertaking.
Would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone with an interest.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Trite pap

What a tiresome book.

Ok I appear to disagree with many reviews here – so why is this?

Well, if you want meaty (heh I'm a veggie but I understand the term) details of equipment, aircraft, techniques etc., Iike me, you will be disappointed. The whole of 'gee' and 'oboe' is dealt with in less than perhaps a paragraph, aircraft in less.

So, what is the book filled with? Huge amounts of trite personal cameos and little family details. Banality in the extreme. If you want short accounts of some crews pets, childhood memories, addresses, gardens, school-days all wrapped up in details of trees casting shadows on the road to the camp – on and on and on – it's chapter (not page) 9 before he even mentions Oboe – there is also a lot conversations noted – things people said. Well 80 yrs on that's remarkable – or even just made up – I'm just sayin'.

This is ultimately a truly facile book of little stories – perhaps of interest to some – it is totally unchallenging – it is for those who can't change a plug and find thinking too much of an effort.

The narrator – well for some reason he decides (or the producer did) to try and use accents for citing the words said (or made up) by a number of folk. This is Ok perhaps in a fiction story to differentiate characters but unnecessary and childish here. Well it would be if this book was a military history about the pathfinders. IT ISN'T.

Sent mine back– it’s modern pap – devoid of fact or any big werds. Pathetic.


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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very enjoyable

I would recommend this to any WW2 history enthusiasts; a well rounded book about an interesting side of Bomber Command.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fast-paced, touching and informative

The book is fantastic, with many first-hand accounts. The audio performer therefore had a lot of work to do, conveying different nationalities and personalities in a way that didn’t feel forced. He was first class, delivering with both accuracy and tone. The best book I’ve listened to.

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