Speedbird: The Complete History of BOAC Hardcover – May 14, 2013

The author is clearly patient--the first agreement to write this book dates back more than half a century! The manuscript has been ready to go for 35 years. The hold up was due to dithering corporate managers and lawyers (they controlled when the book would appear as Higham had used company archives to tell his tale). The result, however, is well worth the long delay, for we now have a documented and well-illustrated (photos, maps, charts) history of British Airways' immediate predecessor--British Overseas Airways Corporation.Higham tells this tale from the top--his is largely a story of the interaction of airline management and government officials and their constantly changing sense of where Britain's "flagship" airline could fly--and with what aircraft. Put another way--don't look here for pilot stories or even much on the operational side. This is the story of changing policies and technologies from 1939 to the creation of today's British Airways in the early 1970s. And thus it is the story of airline transformation from an era when only the wealthy could afford to fly in small (by today's standard) propeller airliners to everybody (it seems) flying in widebody jet aircraft. And it's the story of how a nationalized company had to battle the dichotomy of earning a profit (or at the very least limiting losses) while still meeting government mandates to fly often inefficient and uncompetitive British airliners when the world was flying Douglas and Boeing products all the way to the bank.Along the way in this long but readable account, we learn of the personalities and roles of key airline officials from the post-war days of struggle (Heathrow arrival "lounges" were in tents in 1946) through the "Comet" disasters of 1953-54, the struggle to be allowed to buy American airliners, and the growing complexity of running a global airline. Higham plus in insightful analysis, not to say critiques, here and there, helping to underline how the cycles of crisis and success seemed to repeat themselves in the BOAC story.I found this well-written and documented (several appendices as well as pages of often quite interesting notes)--an excellent sequel to Higham's very first book, BRITAIN'S IMPERIAL AIR ROUTES (1960) which told the story of the 1920-40 period. Now an emeritus professor of history at Kansas State University, he has also written widely on military aviation history.If the rise of the airline business is your cup of tea, buy this one. Fascinating . . .

Being a collector of books on airline histories and an admittedly self-proclaimed commercial aviation historian, I am constantly on the outlook for additions to my library. So when I saw the publication of Speedbird: The Complete History of BOAC, I immediately ordered it.Unfortunately, this book doesn’t qualify so much as a history as poorly organized and written corporate meeting minutes. So if you’re looking for a book that’s enjoyable to read, Speedbird isn’t it.From beginning to end, the book was a difficult and confusing read; the only reason I slogged through it was because of the money I spent buying it. How bad was it? If the author had even a cursory knowledge of capitalization rules it would have made the book immensely easier to read. But the problems go beyond mere capitalization, punctuation, and grammar. Which begs the question: didn’t the book’s author, Robin Higham, have an editor at the publisher?Names pop up out of nowhere with no explanation of who or what they are. Terms like pool, partnership, and association are not defined, and although apparently distinct were seemingly used interchangeably. Also, one sentence you’re in the 1940s, the next you’ve jumped to the 1960s, the next you’re back in 1950s. It’s the same with the chapters. And there are so many reports, white papers, and statements mentioned it’s hard to keep track of where you are or what’s going on in this historical stew.And the extraneous detail! Do we really need to know about BOAC’s office copier contracts? Or the names of everyone who was appointed to every blasted board or committee, of which there are many, especially when those names never appear again in the book? Or the days of the week and the dates when those boards and committees met?Fortunately, books aren’t only supposed to be enjoyable to read. They’re also intended to impart knowledge, but that knowledge is much easier to absorb when the book is well-written and enjoyable. Speedbird’s knowledge takeaway is that government has no business meddling in business.As proof of that: in the time it took the government-run British aircraft industry to produce 1-1/2 Britannias, privately held Douglas in the US could turn out 16 DC-7s. And the US product was much better and a financial winner. Moreover, government ministers who came and went every 18 months on average and who had little or no airline or aviation experience were making decisions about what types of aircraft BOAC should buy.In the case of the Concorde – the one section of this just under 500-page book that is palatable –these ministers and bureaucrats forced BOAC to buy a plane knowing full well there was no way it could ever make money. Of course, politics is all about egos rather than sound economics, and incompetence and inefficiency are funded endlessly when the taxpayer is the source of the financing.Higham may be a fine university professor and an acknowledged aviation expert, but as a writer he leaves much to be desired. While I’m sure everything anyone could possibly want to know about BOAC is contained in Speedbird, trying to ferret it out was an agonizing task.

It was my own fault, I should have read the description more thoroughly, but just saw BOAC and being very interested in the subject in the 60s through to its absorption into BA in the early 70s I had to buy it.I was expecting a fullscap book with lots of colour pictures etc. Instead what arrived was a thick hard back book. Still interesting but concentrating on management and politics surrounding the airline , with a lot of emphasis on the set up from Imperial Airlines, the war years , 50s and 60s. There are some fascinating insights into the buy British v American argument, 707s v VC10s..I found myself skimming over sections to get to the interesting bits that never quite turned up. There are no passenger or pilots views on what it was like on these aircraft , for instance, so you really just get the stuffy management stuffWhat I would say is if you want what is probably the definitive Management and Political History of the airline , with who said what when in great detail then this is probably the best there is. For those of us wishing a more rounded view of the airline this doesn't do it.

Any former BOAC staff who were not at boardroom level will be disappointed for this is by no means the "complete" history the book's subtitle claims.Most attention is paid to the politics involved and almost none to the broad sales, marketing and operational history of the airline. In that limited respect it is valuable - and should be required reading for anyone who thinks nationalisation is ever a good idea. It is an outstanding justification for keeping politicians out of commercial activities.If anything, readers will probably be amazed that BOAC managed to be successful at all given the appalling incompetence and interference by successive governments.The book is not a holiday read; the author's academic background is clear on every page. Nor is the structure of the book, divided into topic areas rather than the linear timeline implied by the term "history", easy to follow. One often feels one should be making notes as the read progresses.For anyone like me who served in BOAC through what seems to be on reflection the golden age of aviation, the book offers an interesting insight into the boardroom politics of which we were unaware, but don't expect anything like the comprehensive history the subtitle promises.

A first class history for those interested in every nook and cranny of every aspect of the airline. Fascinating.

Very interesting it is only when you start reading a history book all be it only 50 years or so how things have changed and the problembers of the early days of commercial aviation in Europe.

Excellent book on the history or the airline. A few more photgtaphs particularly of the crews and a/c would have been appreciated.