New Heavens: My Life as a Fighter Pilot and a Founder of the Israel Air Force.(Book review)

New Heavens: My Life as a Fighter Pilot and a Founder of the Israel Air Force by Boris Senior. Potomac Books (http://www.potomacbooksinc.com), 22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, Virginia 20166, 288 pages, $20.76 (hardcover), $13.56 (softcover).

Boris Senior grew up as the son of a prosperous farmer and businessman who immigrated to South Africa to escape Russia's oppression of Jews. As a young man, he had only a casual knowledge of his religious heritage and very little appreciation of the worldwide oppression exacted upon Jews. When World War II erupted, Senior's older brother joined the South African Air Force as a fighter pilot. He soon followed in his brother's footsteps.

As a fighter pilot flying for the Royal Air Force, Senior attacked targets throughout Italy. On one mission, he was shot down over the Adriatic, but a US Army PBY (patrol bomber) plucked him out of the freezing water in a daring rescue. The war enlightened Senior to the plight of his fellowJews and stirred his sense of Zionist nationalism. Afterward he surreptitiously joined forces with the Irgun and later the Haganah to set the stage for establishment of the Jewish state of Israel.

After the United Nations mandate of 1948, which created an independent Israel, he became one of the founding members of the new air force, serving as an Israeli pilot and eventually retiring with the rank of colonel. New Heavens is Senior's memoir of experiences throughout these turbulent times. One would expect that such a book would be a must-read for anyone interested in the infancy of what has become one of the most respected air forces in the world. Unfortunately, the book fails to live up to expectations.

As a memoir, New ...