What's your favourite aviation literature?

[John Masters]

Although we have all been mentioning GW subjects, I think it's important to mention 'Wind, Sand, and Stars' , 'Night Flight', and 'Flight To Arras' by St. Exupery as examples of both excellent writing (much better than some) and historical accounts of the post-war era.

Facts are facts, but they can become horribly dull without the shine and voice of romance...


John

[Barrett]

I've had a run or two at Saint-Ex, and honestly, I can't catch the fever. Maybe he just doesn't translate well from Le Francais, but he simply doesn't float my boat. (That's why there's Fords and Chevys; Pipers and Cessnas; Glocks and Colts.) Anne Morrow Lindy (who knew how to write) really admired his work, but she knew him and spoka da lingo as well.

Willy Coppens mastered written English as few continentals ever did. Depth, content, and style.

[Michael Scheetz]

Here is another vote for "Horses don't Fly" by Frederick Libby.

[Nebogatoff]

"Falcons Of France" by Nordhoff and Hall.
If only because it was probably the ONE book that led to a life long interest in the subject.

'An Airman Remember's' by Hans Schroder

for me the finest 'allround' memoir from the German perspective.

Also, RFC Headquarters by Maurice Baring, especially when its signed and annoted by the man himself (what a great mind!).

Can anyone on this forum tell me what happened to Hans Schroder after WW1?

[Tedders]

Enemy Ace: War Idyll by George Pratt is very thought provoking. He takes the Ace and sees where his mind goes late in his life. How does the Ace of Aces justify his killing? What are the costs to himself and the family of the man he's killed? It's a powerful story supported by deconstructionist art, and it ends with all beginnings of flight: the birds. Brilliant and powerful.

[EARTHLING]

Originally Posted by Barrett

I've had a run or two at Saint-Ex, and honestly, I can't catch the fever. Maybe he just doesn't translate well from Le Francais, but he simply doesn't float my boat. (That's why there's Fords and Chevys; Pipers and Cessnas; Glocks and Colts.) Anne Morrow Lindy (who knew how to write) really admired his work, but she knew him and spoka da lingo as well.

Willy Coppens mastered written English as few continentals ever did. Depth, content, and style.

I agree with the comment on Saint-Ex as he seems somewhat poetically bloated.

Strange about Willy C though, because my copy of 'Days On The Wing' says that it was translated from the French by A.J. Insall. Doesn't mean he couldn't speak English of course, just preferred to write in French.

Recevoir Monsieur mes salutations de mes plus distinguees

EARTHLING

EARTHLING

To The Last Man by Jeff Shaara.

[J.R.]

Fiction is easy: The Blue Max. I re-read at least once a year.

Non-fiction: "Who Killed the Red Baron" by P.J. Carisella is the book that started it all for me many years ago.

J.R.

[rainbase]

Thought I'd throw in my two cents on the subject. Man how I love my WW1 library; these books are like old friends to me! My interest started when I was 10 years old; not with a book, but withthe gift of a Guillows Fokker DVIII kit. The little catalogue that came in the box had a one or two line description about all their models and I would read and reread those. Then I checked out a library copy of Gene Gurney's "Flying Aces Of World War One" and it was all over for me...

Today I'm going to talk about some of the fiction I like. As time permits I'll try to come back and get into other areas.

For WW1 aviation fiction, some of the obvious choices are, of course, Jack Hunter's "The Blue Max" and Ernest Gann's "In The Company Of Eagles". I think that what has set these books so high on most people's list isn't so much their technical excellence, but rather the quality of the writing. Not only do both these novels feature great stories, they're SO well written - the characters, major and secondary have a depth that's all to often lacking in the genre. I really wish Gann had written a second WW1 story; reading "Eagles" you can virtually smell and taste the time and place.

For the same reason, I love Derek Robinson's three entries in this genre. In my opinion his characters are the best. I've gone back and reread "Goshawk Squadron" through the years. It's really the prototype for his flying novels that were to follow and I admit that it has a few faults. Some of the characters are too similer and seem to run together, but it's a fun read nevertheless. By his second flying novel (the WW2 "Piece Of Cake") he'd really sharpened both his characters and narrative style. "War Story", chronologically the first book in the story, is a fine sketch of the late period early airwar; towards the very end of the Fokker Eindecker time. Robinson's descriptions about learning how to fight in an FE-2 is simply marvelous. The third book, Hornet's Sting is probably my favorite of the trilogy. Of the three, this one has the broadest scope and covers the period from Sopwith Pups through Brisfits. By now Robinson has really mastered his style. The characters are so well defined and believable and the action sequences presented with a real focus. This one definately sits high on my list.

Oddly, I haven't had the chance to read Yeates. For whatever reason, I haven't yet gotten a copy in my hands, but do have my eyes open for this book.

I have quite a bit of Arch Whitehouses fiction in my collection. His novels fall into two catagories: adult fiction and fiction for younger readers. Unfortunately, in my opinion, there's little difference between the two. In general his stories are less than believable. I think Whitehouse wanted to be a mystery writer and his tales all too often boil down to some fantastic plot twist involving a double agent. In addition his characters come across as very cliche and his dialogue tends to be stiff. That said, there's always something I find myself liking in his stories; some small insight involving the equipment or war that that makes me think "oh right... sure, that makes sense". My favorite Whitehouse novel would be "Playboy Squadron", about a group of Americans who con their way into getting their own RFC squadron.

"The Eagle's Height", by Robert Elliot and published in 1961 was touted as a very accurate novel about RFC operations. I generally like this book; it's certainly ambitious. Elliot set out to write a very technical account and the research that went into this one was very good. Unfortunately, again, the characters and dialogue are nothing special. I found myself not really believing in any of the characters in this story and therfore just not caring what happened to them.

Nordhoff & Hall's "Falcons Of France" is one that I do highly recommend. Because much of this story parallels Jimmy Hall's own wartime experiences, I find myself forgetting that this one is fiction (rather like Elliot Spring's "Warbirds"). This book really captures the feel and flavor of flying in an escadrille and the authors strike a lovely balance of both fictional and historical figures. It's really cool that Charles Nunguesser makes an appearence!

Jeffery Sharra's "To The Last Man" is a good read too. The research that went into this was obviously intense and both Lufbery and MVR make great characters. My only problem with novel is that from the very beginning, you know exactly where it's going. The very nature of this sort of work dictates that there can be no plot twists or suspense. For me, the experience was a bit like sitting through Ron Howard's "Apollo 13". While that was certainly a well made movie, try as he might Howard is never able to create the suspense he wants. Since everybody knows those guys made it safely back to earth there's simply no "edge of your seat" moment in that movie.

"A Killing For The Hawks" (Frederick Smith, 1966) DOES do a fairly nice job building suspense. Set in an SE5 squadron, an American pilot inadvertantly finds himself in an affair with his sadistic squadron commander's wife. After they're "busted" the story becomes somewhat of a psychological thriller, as paranoia begins to overtake the younger pilot. It's a decent enough story and the flying/action sequences are adaquate enough to make it worth the read.

Peter Saxon's three RFC novels from the early 70's, "The Enemy Sky", "The Unfeeling Sky" and "The Warring Sky" are ok but not spectacular. They feature loads of Pups clashing with Albatrosses and while the author doesn't make any glaringly obvious mistakes, the books don't really take off either. Like so many works in this genre the characters tend to be two dimensional and the dialoque stiff. To be fair, I haven't looked at these books in many years and maybe a fresh reading would cast them in a better light, but I do find them to be largely unmemorable.

Elliot Spring's "Warbirds" is certainly a classic, although I waffle between filing this one in fiction or nonfiction. "Contact" is another novel of his that obviously draws heavily on his real experiences in the war. His stories generally don't offer much insight into the technical end of flying those old crates, but he does a fabulous job of conveying the personalities and attitudes of his generation. I do enjoy Springs; his breezy, wisecracking style of narration is downright fun. For a biography about Springs, I would point anyone to Burke Davis' "Warbird: The Life And Times Of Elliot White Springs" (1987). Spring's life was simply fantastic.

Oh my, has this ever turned into a long post! I could go on about other books on topic, but really need to get out of here and up to my restaurant. Briefly, I'll mention a bunch of books that occupy a pretty large shelf in my collection...

I think of these as hardcover pulp fiction. These are the slew of novels published in the 1920s and the 30s (and occasionally earlier). Interest in WW1 flying was at it's height and series of novels (many geared for younger readers) were pumped out. These include books by Thomas Burtis ("Four Aces", "Daredevils Of The Air" and others), The "Air Service Boys" credited to Charles Emory Beach (who I understand didn't exist - the books were written for World Sundicate Publishing by different authors) and, among others, the "Tom Slade" series by Percy Fitzhugh. While non of these books stand out as being especially well written or memorable, I began collecting them a few years ago off ebay. They make a nice little addition to my library, being very inexpensive and usually sporting wonderfully colorful dustjackets. I won't profess these to be high literature, but they are fun nevertheless.

So there it is, my first post on this topic. Like I said at the beginning, I'll try to come back and share my thoughts on other areas (memoirs, biographies and both specific and general histories). If you've managed to get through this long post, I thank ya for taking the time. Peace.