He has written for The Times, The Mail on Sunday and The Observer and is a widely quoted commentator on military affairs. No one would ever want to have to use an ejection seat, but thank goodness some people have – and have lived to tell the tale. In Germany, Heinkel had fitted their turbojet-powered fight He-280 with a catapult seat escape system, and on January 13 1942, the Luftwaffe’s Wolfgang “Bombo” Schenck became the first man to use an ejection seat in an emergency. Since those first post-Second World War ejections, many tens of thousands of lives have been saved by increasingly sophisticated escape systems. For John Nichol to produce this book must have taken nerves of steel and a huge chunk of mental toughness, backed by massive friends and family support.

He devised and presented 2 series of Survivors, interviewing newsmakers who have been through life changing experiences. That the two men survived their ordeal was due not only to their bravery and resilience but also – obviously – to the existence of aircraft ejection seats. In 1928, he moved to Denham in Buckinghamshire, where he hung a sign on the front of an old linoleum factory, “Martin’s Aircraft Works”.Most works of popular narrative non-fiction could be written by anyone with a small amount of talent, as well as enough time, energy, commitment and a decent library. I'm not sure that we need all of the graphic detail of Vietnamese attrocities against US fliers, that was really the makings of another book altogether. Captured, tortured and held as a prisoner of war, John was paraded on television, provoking worldwide condemnation and leaving one of the most enduring images of the conflict. Without doubt by its very nature there must be a constant battle between aircraft/missile performance and the safe deliverance of aircrew from an aircraft that is too fast, fatally compromised, too low, spinning too much, taking cannon shells or is on fire and for this reason no doubt work will continue.

Packed with interviews with aircrew who know exactly how it feels to ‘Bang Out’ from an aircraft at high speed, both in peace and in war, the book gives the reader a vivid sense of what that life-saving experience feels like, but also features the moving accounts of what happens next, from the viewpoint of both the crews and their families, who often have little or no information about whether or not their loved ones have survived.While I can see that the ejectees are the focus, there was a similar slant to 'Spitfire' and particularly, 'Lancaster'- these are books that are clearly written by a flyer, about other flyers, and the people on the ground could do with a little more mention. I’ve read much of the author’s work, and while not wanting to discredit his earlier productions in any way, his more recent books have really stepped up to the next level as his writing style has evolved.

The tales they told about, of course, being lucky to be alive were accompanied by lifelong disability and regrets like the poor young woman who would have loved to have been able to wear a skirt and a nice blouse - an option forever lost to her. Lastly, as I began the book I thought that this would make for an excellent recommendation for my friend’s son-in-law who flies off an American carrier and is due home on leave at Christmas.You'd think that all the stories would get samey- banging out of an aircraft- but they really don't.