"Vantage Points" by Ken Libbey

This is a fine first novel about flying, romance, and people caught up in great events. The main character, Louise Mitchell, is an exceptional pilot and when the opportunity presents itself, she becomes a member of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron ( WAFS, later called the Women's Air Forces Service Pilots, or WASPs). Louise spends much of the war delivering everything from slow trainers to hot fighters from factories and airfields to where they are needed. This book honors the many women that did a dangerous job and a great service for their country. Because of them, many male pilots were freed to go off to war where they were desperately needed. The WASPs did a thankless job and got little or no recognition for their service until recent times. When the war was nearing its end, they were dismissed pretty cold-heartedly with no future and none of the benefits that were afforded to other veterans.

The other main characters are Tom Clark, an advisor to President Roosevelt, and Anne Wilson, a war correspondent. Tom is sent on several fact-finding missions around the world and along the way he meets with such greats as MacArthur, Chennualt, Churchill, and Stalin. Tom's dialogues with Roosevelt and the reasoning behind some of the decisions made at the highest levels are fascinating and probably close to reality. Anne, the consummate reporter, finds ways to be near the action in North Africa and Europe and becomes a highly respected correspondent for the truthful descriptions of the action and the men on the front lines.

Anne, Louise, and Tom spend the war traveling and when their paths cross, the consequences are sometimes poignant and not always predictable.

This a great book for a rainy Saturday night. I found it engaging enough to read in one sitting. The story is interesting and the characters seem very real. Mr. Libbey has his facts right and the reader will learn some interesting history about great historical figures and the political considerations behind some of the most important decisions about the conduct of the war.

Reviewed By Kenneth S. Smith, 12 April 2001

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