Wings Over Iraq

by Eric B. Forsyth

This is Iraq in the turbulent 1920s--a cauldron of intrigue, violence and death in a new country created from disparate parts of the old Ottoman Empire after WWI. The British are attempting to establish a puppet monarchy and protect the vital flow of oil using obsolete bombers. Lawless, rebellious Arab tribes roam the vast deserts, preying on anything that moves on the ground or in the air. Allan Chadwick is a slightly gauche, newly qualified RAF pilot posted to a bomber squadron near Baghdad. He is soon initiated into the brutality of war and the pleasures of romantic liaisons. Although they rarely meet, he has an accidental but profound influence on the life of Dr. Kurt Scharf, a respectable professor of archaeology. Scharf is a reluctant partner of German military intelligence, which funds his dig at Ur as a front for anti-British espionage. Their stories play out against the historical background of Middle Eastern conflict, the rise of fascism in Europe and the slow build-up to another world war.

292 pages, Paperback

Published May 4, 2020

About the author

Eric Forsyth grew up in Bolton, England. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Manchester University, he served as an RAF fighter pilot in the 1950s. Stories heard from the older pilots of their experiences in WWI and the inter-war period were the initial inspiration for his novel, "Wings Over Iraq."

Eric worked until his retirement in 1995 at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, New York, leading the development of superconducting cables suitable for high capacity underground AC transmission systems. In 1986 he was appointed Chair of the Accelerator Development Department, which was responsible for the construction and design of several particle accelerators, including preconstruction design and planning of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, now the largest nuclear physics research tool in the U.S. Forsyth is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE)

When he moved to Long Island for the position at Brookhaven National Labs, Forsyth took up sailing and quickly became hooked, as he recounts in his book "An Inexplicable Attraction: My Fifty Years of Ocean Sailing," listed among Kirkus's 100 Best Memoirs of 2018. Upon retirement, he devoted his years to the global ocean cruising that he had dreamed of doing. In addition to sharing his experiences in this memoir, Captain Forsyth maintains a web site— https://www.yachtfiona.com/ —with stories, photos, and videos from his voyages, book reviews of his memoir, articles that he has written, and crew calls when planning another cruise. His Facebook page is also called Yacht Fiona.

Captain Forsyth has been honored by fellow sailors with the Seven Seas Award from the Seven Seas Cruising Association, and the Blue Water Medal, given annually by the Cruising Club of America to a single amateur sailor worldwide.

Reviews

[Thomas Lennek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a copy of Wings Over Iraq on Goodreads, on 15 August and it was delivered 15 Sep 2019. I expected it to take longer. I found the time setting extremely interesting and the plot compelling. I would never have considered Iraq to be a low intensity conflict battlefield in the late 1920's and early 1930's, and who would have thought the British were still using Vimy Bi-Plane Bombers from World War I in an age of full metal monoplanes. An extremely helpful map and Glossary are included including Army and Air Force equivalent ranks. Author Eric Forsyth leads his protagonist Allan Chadwick through the painstaking process of being a young flying officer checking into a new unit, getting quarters, being checked out in a new (to him) aircraft. This will lead into plenty of action in the air on the ground and at sea. Read this to get a feel of Post-Great War military aviation under primitive conditions (with a healthy dose of contemporary British Colonial attitude.) I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Heather Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a big supporter of our military and a history buff. This book was informative.

[Eric B. Forsyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just wanted to thank all of you who registered for a free copy of my new novel, "Wings Over Iraq," in a recent Goodreads Giveaway. Copies have been ordered for the 35 (out of 1200 who registered!) who were randomly selected by Goodreads to receive a copy. Please be patient - our printer/distributor, IngramSpark, has been slow fulfilling orders during the pandemic, but they're doing their best. In the meantime, I look forward to any and all reviews and questions.

Fair winds,
Eric B. Forsyth
ericbforsyth@gmail.com

[Asuka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy history and war stories, so I may be a bit biased, but I do think this book is a hidden gem! Not only does the story pull you in, but this book is also informative featuring a map and glossary full of helpful knowledge. This book is truly manly, which isn't a very common occurrence with large bestsellers. For that reason I felt it was fresh, authentic, and deserves more attention! The timeframe in which this book takes place is also unique, we have a lot of WWI and WWII historical stories, and overwhelming amount, yet "Wings Over Iraq" takes place between the two of them, touching an era that gets less attention than the others. I can confidently say I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical war stories, and is looking for something that veers out of the common eras.

[Amy Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great historical information, but the writing style seemed a little elementary.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good

[Margaret (Peg) Daisley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wings Over Iraq is a real man’s book—war, intrigue, RAF bombers, a likeable and inventive main character, and even sex—and it was written by a real man, Eric Forsyth, who has managed to pack more into his 80-plus years than most. I’m all the more honored that Eric let me work with him on this book, given the subject matter. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the story myself, as well as the experience of editing and and the process of seeing this book published. I highly recommend “Wings” as a good read for both men and women! But then I’m prejudiced, so I’ll share what some other reviewers have said.

BookLife noted Eric's originality: "Forsyth has selected a rich and resonant milieu for his story, and his briefings of the region's history and the machinations of European governments there are informative and revealing. Scenes of Chadwick's intimate encounters are more familiar but presented in a winning comic register. Forsyth's extensive knowledge of aircraft results in fresh, inspired passages about flying, engines, and innovations."

“John” gave the book 5 Stars on Amazon and described the book as an “exciting adventure of a young R. A. F. Pilot in Iraq following WW 1” and called it “a great read about air battles, planes, & intrigue,” and “a gripping tale of RAF air warfare in Iraq in 1931.” “You are in the air over Iraq in the 1930’s, enmeshed in flying adventures, and terror, Intrigue, violence and death. The book is impossible to put down and I had to finish the 278 pages in one sitting.”

Another Amazon reviewer also gave the book 5 Stars and called it an “extremely informative story of the struggle to control Iraq and it’s Oil by the Brits following WW1” and said that it provided “amazing insights into the development of early military aircraft and the Men that flew them.” He noted also that “the Author [is] a former RAF pilot and World Renowned Sailing Adventurer has written a very interesting and factually based history of the period and the people that that influenced the time.”

Captain Russ Roberts, retired from Delta Air Lines, wrote after reading a proof copy: “Forsyth’s imagination takes us from the desert upward to the sky. He gets the flying details right. With authenticity and historic detail, he launches us into the beginnings of the modern Middle East and the build-up to WWII.”