Pathfinders

Imperial War Museum Wartime Classics

By: Cecil Lewis

Narrated by: John Telfer

A new edition of Cecil Lewis's 1944 aviation classic.

Over the course of one night in 1942, the crew members of Wellington bomber 'P for Pathfinder' each reflect on the paths of their own lives, as they embark on a fateful mission deep into the heart of Nazi Germany.

Cecil Lewis's novel examines the life of every man in turn, rendering a moving account of each as not merely a nameless crew member, but as an individual with a life lived, 'a life precious to some, or one...these men with dreams and hopes and plans of things to come'.

This new edition of the 1944 classic includes a new introduction from an Imperial War Museums historian that puts the novel in historical context and shines a light on this vital and sometimes contested aspect of Britain's involvement in World War II.

©2021 The Estate of Cecil Lewis, The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum (P)2021 Headline Publishing Group Limited

Critic reviews

"A highly unusual war novel with several confluent narratives; moving, interesting and of great literary value." (Louis de Bernières)

"It's wonderful to see these books given a new lease of life [...] classic novels from the Second World War written by those who were there, experienced the fear, anguish, pain and excitement first-hand and whose writings really do shine an incredibly vivid light onto what it was like to live and fight through that terrible conflict." (James Holland, historian, author and TV presenter)

Excellent

The IWM classic books transfer so well to audio. This one is especially good, as it’s about the varied lives, loves and hopes of a bomber squadron. What makes it so interesting is it’s not really about the war at all. And then the bomber realities smack the reader and characters in the face. Absolutely fascinating. These are timeless.