LONDON ALERT
Page 27
Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal reinforced that notion, and far too soon – almost totally lacking experience – I wrote one, which I binned on being told by a US editor that there was far too much philosophizing about physical relationships.
London Alert, written many years later, benefits from more profound experience at home and abroad, and not least from insights and snippets of information gained from people whose names I cannot cite for fear that readers might jump to wrong conclusions. I hope those still with us will realize how much I appreciate their unacknowledged contributions.
There are therefore only three individuals whose encouragement and assistance I can properly acknowledge.
Hilary Tucker, my proofreader, who, besides checking, commented from the female vantage point.
Marcus Trower, my copy editor, who not only corrected and improved the copy, but also made invaluable suggestions regarding characters and scenes that needed treatment in greater depth.
And finally James Denny, a friend from way back, who made me believe the book was good enough to merit going that extra mile to get it really right.
Christopher Bartlett
The Author
Christopher Bartlett initially trained as a mining engineer.
As a teen he was a member of the British Interplanetary Society, where Patrick Moore and Arthur C. Clarke figured prominently at a time when believing in space flight was thought by many to be crazy. He completed his two years’ military service in the British Royal Air Force.
After taking a degree in Modern Chinese and Japanese at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, he became, among other things, a professional translator of Japanese technical material. He also wrote for magazines in the Far East.
His presence by pure chance in countries when and where headline air crashes occurred enabled him to add local colour and extra details to a number of the sixty narratives in his ‘classic’ - and in its genre best-selling - Air Crashes and Miracle Landings.