READING RIVETING Reads
For the book worms amongst us, here are two books by folk connected to the RAF in different forms. They might well prove an interesting read each:
Take a spiritual journey this springtime “It was as if my relationship with Kranthi was at the meeting point of two streams, West and East, the spirit and the mind. It would be the place where we would meet each other again in difficult times, the point of compromise, of understanding.”
After moving to a new city and experiencing a breakup, Harriet Curtis-Lowe was destined to go on many adventures – geographically, spiritually and romantically. Through meeting her now-husband, Kranthi, and joining the RAF, she embarks on life-changing journeys to India and Afghanistan. A touching, descriptive account of her experiences and the spiritual lessons she learns along the way, Where the Streams Meet will sweep the reader away alongside Curtis-Lowe; we can sense the love she feels for Kranthi and the sights and sounds of the myriad of places she encounters.
It is not merely a great story, either – it is for a great cause, too, with royalties from the book’s sales going to two charities: Womankind Worldwide, an organisation which aims to assist women in Asia, Africa and South America in improving their lives, and the Sufi Saint School in Ajmer, India, for which Curtis-Lowe hopes to raise enough money for a school library.
political and personal aspects and effects of war in the Kaiser’s Army.
Over a century after its commencement, we are still all too familiar with the haunting stories of the Great War: the danger, the bravery and the loss. Thanks to Stephan Westmann and his grandson, we can see what military life during the First World War would have been like in a very different position: the other side of the Front Line.
Where the Streams Meet by Harriet Curtis- Lowe (Chaplin Books, RRP £9.99) is available directly from the Chaplin Books website, or can be ordered from any UK bookshop or online retailer.
Step into the other side of history “To find a first-hand English-language account of the Great War written from the German perspective and enhanced by excellent photography is rare indeed... Promoted to medical officer, Westmann serves on the Western Front. He operates on all ranks and nationalities in appalling conditions and even rescues British soldiers after gas attacks in the Somme trenches.”
Written by Stephan Kurt Westmann, and edited by grandson Michael Westman, Surgeon with the Kaiser’s Army provides this different point of view. Westmann’s memoirs vividly describe his experiences of the war; through reading it, we gain insight into the everyday social,
56 Envoy Spring 2015
www.raf-ff.org.uk
Surgeon with the Kaiser’s Army by Stephan Kurt Westmann, edited by Michael Westman (Pen and Sword Books, RRP £19.99) is available directly from the Pen and Sword Books website or selected online retailers.
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