Books from Steelpilow

J.W. Dunne's Sunshine and the Dry Fly is one of the great classics of fly-fishing. First published in 1924, it was written as much to engage and enthuse as to inform, and it succeeded. Its author has gone down in history as “one of the prophets of old.”

The larger part of the book describes the art of dry-fly fishing for trout, the flies they eat and his efforts to develop artificial copies, with the remainder a primer on how to make these copies for yourself.

This extended third edition is published in its 100th year. It includes a number of lost and hard-to-find treasures, not least two short but lyrical essays aimed at the beginner, recipes for four more dry flies which he had intended for the second edition but mislaid, more complete detail on his fly-dressing materials and three unique archive images.

Casebound hardback with dust cover, 9 in x 6 in (23 cm x 15 cm). 154 pages. ISBN 9781446792568.

For more about this book, see Sunshine and the Dry Fly: 2024 Centenary Extended Special Edition main page.

Available in print only, from all good booksellers including:

Lulu

Soldier, pioneer aviator, dry fly fisherman, prophetic dreamer and philosopher, JW Dunne was famous from 1910 until the postwar era. He laid the foundations of many things that we today take for granted, not least the stable aeroplane and the hard science of parapsychology research.

Detailed, informed and revealing, his extraordinary tale is told here for the first time.

“He was one of the most fascinating characters that have ever entered the pages of history!” — Percy Walker

“(vide An Experiment with Time) you saw this future machine and put the vision into practice!” — Geoffrey de Havilland

Softback, 9 in x 6 in (23 cm x 15 cm). 550 pages. ISBN 978-1-4466-3981-8.

For more about this book, see The Man Who Dreamed Tomorrow main page.

Available in print only, from all good booksellers including:

Lulu

Born in rural Herefordshire in 1931, Robert Jenkins grants us a memoir of a vanished childhood. A series of fascinating vignettes and anecdotes, skilfully strung together, convey with candour and hu-mour the spirit of a bygone era, seen through the eyes of a child as he grows into a man. His love of the natural world is unsentimental, indisputable and honest. He paints a picture of rural life in the ‘30s and ‘40s as warm and intimate as Laurie Lee’s ‘Cider with Rosie’ does for an earlier epoch. Through his anecdotes, poems, drawings and photographs, Jenkins introduces us to the wild creatures of land and water, domestic animals of farm and home, human comrades young and old, the railway, Kington Camp hospital and the idyllic Hereford-shire landscape of the River Arrow, Rushock Hill and the land around Hergest Ridge. Besides the military historian, the fisherman, poacher and railway historian too will all find much to absorb.

This Second Edition is expanded with significant new material.

A5 format. ISBN 9781447669784.

Available in print only, from all good booksellers including:

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In this his autobiography, Inchbald set down a historical record of what he had seen and done which, he believed, might interest future generations. Part of this record includes the family history. Still not quite finished at the time of his death on 2 July 2004, the book was tidied up and published posthumously by his son Guy.

A4 format. ISBN 9781291555387.

Available in print and e-book editions from all good booksellers, including:

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Available only as an e-book from:

Apple iBookstore

The story of the iconic winner of the greatest air race ever at a pivotal moment in aviation history has never been fully told, those of its stablemates even less so. Only five de Havilland DH 88 Comets were ever built. With one restored to flying condition and another on the way, the ever-growing community of enthusiasts have, bit by bit, been unearthing the astonishing truth. This 48-page book focuses on the new, the arcane, and the cultural heritage of perhaps the most beautiful aeroplanes ever made. It is packed with facts and profusely illustrated with rare and informative photographs.

Large format, 48 pages. ISBN 9781716095429.

For more about this book, see The Comet Racers Uncovered main page.

Available in print only, from all good booksellers including:

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Three article-length monographs reveal fascinating insights into some of the greatest highways and least-known byways of aviation throughout its history. Comprehensively illustrated with many rare and unique images.

• The Levis-Belmont Affair : The Belmont monoplanes and their Levis multi-cylinder engines.
• Essex Aero : Powerhouse of the Golden Age.
• The F-18 Hornets that Aren’t : The Hugo Wolf F/A-18C training simulators.

Large format, 48 pages. ISBN 9781471076633

Available in print only, from all good booksellers including:

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The GSM “2G” cellular radio telephony system has been around a long time and shows no sign of disappearing just yet.

This booklet is intended both as an introductory guide for the new student and as a handy aide memoire for those working in the field.

A technical overview of the basic GSM system is used to introduce the principles of mobile radio telephony in general. After outlining basic concepts and the GSM high-level architecture, the challenges of mobile tele­phony are emphasised through the complexities of the air interface.

This revised second edition includes an updated and expanded first chapter as well as many other small improvements.

A5 format. ISBN 9780244913687

Available in print and e-book editions from all good booksellers, including:

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Available only as an e-book from:

Apple Books

Includes the novella Nobody Steals My Air along with six more short stories, mostly SF.

In space, to steal air is the cardinal sin. Jim was one of life's losers, let out of jail only to be ripped off by the shuttle operator on his way home. He and his space station – his personal stinkbucket – set off on a trail of adventure that will lead them to an interplanetary conspiracy where whether a mind is human or cyber pales into insignificance alongside the explosion of cultures that followed civilisation's expansion into space – and to its astonishing climax. Nobody Steals My Air is a novella-length tale of the Last Frontier, of what it means to be human in the birth pangs of a new era.

Six more tales in this slim but thoughtful collection span the universe, from Victorian steam-punk to the deepest reaches of space, time and being.

A5 format. ISBN 9781326650919.

Pocketbook format. ISBN 9781326623876.

Available in print and e-book editions from all good booksellers, including:

Lulu Amazon Barnes & Noble

Available only as an e-book from:

Apple Books Smashwords