Oliver has an interesting starting point for his collection of daring-do, that British Men are no longer 'Manly-Men' and he is perhaps correct. The work is a collection of tales of bravery, most of which I was aware of but others I will have to source more information on, not only British but he also includes French, Native Indian and Byzantine tales. For those looking for an in-depth coverage of these events it would be better to look elsewhere but as an introduction or pointer to further works the book serves well. I only found one discussion point in the book but this one leads me to think that due to the light investigation that has gone into the tales others may also exist, in the chapter on Dien Bien Phu Oliver states that 2 civilian airmen where the first American casualties in Vietnam but from the far more detailed 'The Last valley' by Martin Windrow stated that the 'Airline' which supplied these fliers, "Civil Air Transport", was wholly owned by the CIA from 1950.