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Corsairville: The Lost Domain of the Flying Boat | 
 enlarge | Author: Graham Coster
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £6.99
Buy Used: £3.98
You Save: £3.01 (43%)
New (1) Used (15) from £3.98
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 153243
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 276
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0140253483
Dewey Decimal Number: 355
EAN: 9780140253481
ASIN: 0140253483
Publication Date: January 2, 2001
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: PAPERBACK. A nice copy, clean and tight with very light wear. Daily despatch by Royal Mail.
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Amazon.co.uk Review
In March 1939, the flying boat (aka seaplane) Corsair crashed in the Belgian Congo. The accident spawned an absurd rescue operation: teams of engineers were sent out to one of the remotest corners of Africa, roads were hacked through the jungle, and a salvage operation was launched. In Corsairville, Graham Coster sets out on a journey through Africa, Florida, Alaska and the Caribbean, seeking out this piece of vanished history and interviewing those who were involved in this operation. He also comes across many who still remember their journey on a flying boat as one of the most thrilling events of their lives. Just as much a history of the flying boat as a travel narrative, Coster cleverly juxtaposes people's memories with the sad tale of the brief flowering of a golden age. The fondness in which flying boats are still held leads Coster to contend that they now represent an age when the act of travel was thrilling and wonderful, and had not been reduced to the sort of commodified trash which now seems to accompany all journeys. These memories 'were about countless individual destinies, times when history itself happened to people'. While Coster recognises that some of the attitudes that accompanied flying boats patronised the former British colonies in an appalling manner, he nevertheless evokes a genuine sense of loss at the decline of these early wonders of aeronautical engineering, and has written a book which will appeal even to those who are not remotely interested in aviation. --Toby Green
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 What a wonderful book December 10, 2007
J. H. Turner (UK,)
This book paints a vivid picture of Great Britain in the 1930's, I love the mix of travelogue part reminiscing, it made me wat to have at least seen one of these elegant giants of the sky and sea flying off to African shores.
If you have a passion for things a little old fashined, please read this book!
 Unusual book February 27, 2007
Mr X (London)
This book is an interesting read. It tells the story of flyingboats thorough their early days to the period immediately after the Second World War. In fact from the product description one would think that it was going to tell the story of the flying boat Corsair that crashed in the Congo and its subsequent rescue. But the book covers a much wider subject matter than that and is all the better for doing so.
I also enjoyed the way the author mingled history with his own journey to find what traces of this fascinating period in aviation history remain today. The fact that many of the areas where the flyingboat usued to visit are no longer accessible due to the political situations in those regions makes the book (and consequently his quest) for the mysterious flyingboat all the more unattainable.
 Great Subject , Poorly written September 12, 2006
Mr. G. B. Baird (UK)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The story of the forced landing of the Empire flying boat Corsair and it's subsequent salvage from the Belgain Congo should have been a fascinating read, however this is not the case and only a few small, poorly written chapters are devoted to the heart of the book.
The book rambles on with facts about everything from cricket to literary history and only scrapes the surface of the Corsair story. It is padded about with observations from the author's own travels and those of people who operated or used flying boats. You never know where you are on the time line and as such it becomes an irritating book to endure.
 Capturing voices that will soon be lost July 9, 2004
David Skidmore
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Mr Costner's book, though ultimately disappointing to readers with prior knowledge of the flying boat subject, is a welcome addition to the archive of first-hand experiences of this lost mode of transport.
The book's strengths lie in the telling of personal histories of travelling in a bygone age, especially through Africa in the 1930's and 40's.
Later, chronologically, the narrative speeds up and lacks detail in it's descriptions of post-war flying boat travels. The writing style in this latter part of the book gives the feeling that the publisher was pushing the writer to deliver a finished manuscript, after a multi-year wait.
In parallel, Mr Costner seeks out surviving examples of flying boats (and sea planes) that still operate passenger services or have retired to museums. It is curious that the author has missed the best opportunity to experience at first hand the closest surviving relative of an Empire boat - the Short Solent at the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) in Auckland which has been restored to its' full passenger carrying glory.
A good read but, one hopes, an inspiration for further works in this neglected area.
Excellent read for those interested in Flying Boats April 2, 2002
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Great to read, particularly if you have been to the Southampton Hall of Aviation where they have a whole Sandringham inside and allow you to visit the flight deck too!
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