Above the Trenches
A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces, 1915-1920
by Christopher Shores, Norman Franks, Russell Guest
Hardcover: 456 pages
Dimensions (in inches): 1.50 x 10.25 x 7.75
Publisher: Grub Street the Basement; (January 1991)

"The inaugural volume in Grub Street's monumental series about Great War aces was published in 1990. It's hard to believe that nine years have passed, but the GOGS (Gods of Grub Street) have maintained an awesome quantity and quality of production, including an addendum to this work, with "late arrivals" that came to the authors' attention after publication.

Shores, Franks, and Guest have been generous in their interpretation of what constitutes an "ace" in WWI British service. The 850 entries in this volume include any fighter pilot (including two-seat drivers) credited with five aerial victories: destroyed, captured, OOC, driven down, etc. Parenthetically, about 325 would have been considered aces by WWII standards.

The main section of the book contains biographical entries f each aviator with a complete victory list. Other sections include short squadron histories, an overview of British fighter aviation, and appendices about balloon busters, top scorers in each aircraft, and gunner aces of the "scout" squadrons. A subsequent volume, Above the War Fronts, lists bomber and recon aces and their gunners plus aces of Belgium, Italy, Austro-Hungary, and Czarist Russia.

"ATT" is a landmark in WWI aviation history. Researched and written by three of the finest authorities in the field, this exceptional volume easily rates five stars."

Reviewed by Barrett Tillman