Books You Might Be Looking For?

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Here's an auction for Albert ball...

ALBERT BALL VC World War I Ace AVIATION RFC Bowyer
In the 1st World War the daring exploits of pilot Albert Ball caught the imagination of the British public like no other. Ball acquired his wings in the RFC in January 1916 and was first posted to France in February of that year. Then he joined No 13 Squadron and for a six-week period in March 1916 saw almost constant action flying the Squadron's Bristol Scout. Moving to No 11 Squadron in May 1916, Ball's score quickly accumulated. He had acquired a reputation as a tenacious scout pilot, often flying alone in his Nieuport and invariably returning to base with a near empty fuel tank. In August he returned to No 11 Squadron and soon after became the highest scoring scout pilot of the time. Waging his solitary aerial war, Ball became a true inspiration to the RFC when its squadrons were being mauled. But his life was to prove tragically short and he was killed in action just before his 21st birthday leading a patrol of SE5's. He had accounted for forty-four German aircraft and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

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This is without the dust jacket, but carries a very low opening bid for this great Harleyford book ... $1

AIRCRAFT OF THE 1914-1918 WAR NO RESERVE!
For those of you who are really into WWI aircraft, listen up, because here is a very rare book that is more than 50 years old. Up for auction is a very rare aircraft book featuring WWI aircraft photos and blueprints. The book is AIRCRAFT OF THE 1914-1918 WAR and is a hardcover book with a 1954 copyright, published in England. The book was compiled by Thetford and RIding, with the managing editor being D.A. Russell. It was republished by Harleyford Publications, England and printed by Alabaster, Passmore and Sons, Ltd, Kent. The book is 120 pages long and features not only the regular aircraft of GB, GR, Fr, It, and the US, but also experimental and rare planes produced by those countries during WWI. Each aircraft has a large b+w photo taken at an airstrip during WWI and is usually accompanied on the opposite page by a blueprint of the plane in question (however there are no dimensions given on the blueprints). The book is in GOOD condition, there are no torn pages but the binding is missing a 4-5” piece and has frayed. The edges of the hardcover are a bit dented and banged but otherwise the book is in decent shape for 50+ years old. My father had this book and this was passed on to me back in the 1960’s when he died. I am clearing out some old books so I am letting this one go.

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For you Spad fans... $4.95

SPAD TWO-SEAT FIGHTERS of World War I ILLUSTRATED 2005
SPAD TWO-SEAT FIGHTERS of WORLD WAR I by Jack Herris is a pictorial volume on the history, weaponry and development of all models of French SPAD fighter biplanes during the Great War from Flying Machines Press. The author has gathered hundreds of rare photos of SPAD aircraft flying with air forces across Europe, the Far East and with the U.S. Army Air Service and Lafayette Escadrille. He has also included eight pages of color illustrations by artist Bob Pearson and 24 pages of detailed scale technical drawings of the aircraft. This book is Number 7 in the Great War Aircraft in Profile series from Flying Machines Press.

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This one is just charming.... $2.50

We Were There with The Lafayette Escadrille - 1961
This is an example of great historical fiction. It tells the story of the brave American pilots who volunteered to fly for the French before the US entered World War I. The book is written in the traditional We Were There style and includes eight illustrations to help bring the characters to life. It also has photos from the files of the US Air Force inside the front and rear covers.

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If you don't own a copy of Nordhoff and Hall yet.... 3 bids so far.... $77.66

1920 Lafayette Flying Corps, Hall & Nordoff FIRST 2 vol
Copyright, 1920, by James Norman Hall and Charles Bernard Nordhoff, All Rights Reserved.

Volume I:

The Origin of the Escadrille Americaine
The Escadrille Lafayette at the Front
The Lafayette Flying Corps

Biographical Sketches (each with photo)
Service Record:
Service in French Aviation
Date of Enlistment
Aviation Schools
Breveted
At the Front
Final Rank
Service in U.S. Aviation
Decorations
Citations

Volume II:

Letters from the volunteers covering various aspects of their service:
Enlistment and Early Training
Adventures in Action
Life on the Front
Combats
Prisoners of War

Appendix:
Members of the Lafayette Flying corps Released by the French Government Before Serving at the Front.
The Dead
Wounded
Prisoners of War
L.F.C. Pilots in Order of Enlistment
L.F.C. Pilots in French Squadrons
Transferred to U.S. Air Service
Transferred to U.S. Naval Air Service
L.F.C. Pilots Who Remained in the French Service\
Official Victories

Blue cloth with decorative gilt title on cover and spine. Two volumes (Vol. I - 514 pp.; Vol. II - 361 pp.) 7-1/2" W. x 10-1/4" H. The covers are stained; wear to edges and points; top and bottom of spine are worn off - see photo. Internally, the pages have no rips or tears; no marks or writing; page points sharp. Vol.I appears almost unread. Vol. II has some fingerprints and end papers are foxed.

Both Vol. I and Vol. II have colored a frontispiece by A. VIMNERA, with tissue guards intact. Numerous black and white illustrations integrated in the text; listed color plates of the insignias of the French Escadrilles in which the Flying Corps were members; listed color cartoons by JEAN CAMILLE BELLAIGUE. Pages and illustrations counted.

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This isn't at all rare, but a good addition to a WW1 Aero Library. $3.99

[b]World War I-Gen. William 'Billy' Mitchell Memoirs,1st[/B]
This is a covered hardback copy of "Memoirs of World War I, From Start To Finish of Our Greatest War," by Brigadier General William (Billy) Mitchell, 1960 stated first printing. World War I memoirs of General "Billy" Mitchell, who is considered the "father" of American air power. 34 chapters and based on Mitchell's diaries, covers the overall development of the Great War, the trial-and-error nature of the first aerial combat, personal accounts of the aerial war combat, events of the war before the arrival of the Americans, the first combat of American forces, the strategy that led to the winning of the war, Battles of Chateau-Thierry, Soissons, St. Mihiel, the Argonne, and other aspects of Mitchell's experiences in World War I. Includes photos of German combat airplanes, Mitchell with aircraft, German Zeppelin, various commanders, combat pilots, and other photos. 312 pages, privately owned, has minor dust jacket imperfections, very good condition with unclipped price. U. S. shipping $3.75 in padded mailer, will also ship to Canada (see payment instructions below; note that Ebay now accepts only Paypal as payment). Thanks!

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This is the first time I've seen this book come up on ebay. I found a copy at a flea market a couple years ago. Despite being listed for "younger readers", it's not too juvenile a bad story at all. Listed at $0.99

FLIGHT TO VICTORY - Hough (1985) Weekly Reader J.F.B.
Sixteen-year-old Will leaves his home, his school, and his youth behind to become a pilot in World War I.

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This is very nice too.... $9.99

Fighter Pilot in WORLD WAR ONE. 1916 Somme Battle
First hand account of air combat over the trenches of the Somme, and later battles, from British Royal Flying Corps aviation hero Lewis. At the age of only eighteen, he shot down twelve enemy machines, and so was an air ace! This book is mainly based on the long letters he wrote home to his family during the conflict. A super look at one man`s contribution to the struggle, with a view of the larger struggle. A riveting read! For anyone interested in the RFC, RAF, Royal Air Force, WWI, First World War, airplanes, distinguished flying cross, gallantry awards, and so on.

The book was published in London in 1976 and is the first edition. A hardcover with dustjacket -- bound in blue cloth. It is 204 pages long, and also has an index, and many black & white photographs. The book is a former LIBRARY book, so there is a stamp inside, and a card pocket in the back

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This is a fine book. GDP 2.49

TIGER SQUADRON~74th Squadron RAF in Two World Wars
Published by W.H.Allen July 1954. 4th Printing (June 1954). 236pp. with b/w frontis and 20 pages b/w photographs. Hardcover, 6½" x 9½"approx.

This is the glorious story of one of the greatest fighter squadrons of all time, told by its oldest member, the famous air ace, Wing Commander Ira (Taffy) Jones. It is, however, much more than the history of a single squadron, for in settiNg down his narrative the author tells what is virtually the whole thrilling story of air fighting from the days of the old R.F.C. in France right up to and after the Battle of Britain. As such, it will be read with pride and pleasure by every man who ever served in the flying forces of Britain in either---or both-world wars. No man could be better qualified to write this epic story than Wing Commander Jones for he is perhaps the only living airman who flew fighter aircraft in the two great wars. He himself accounted for 40 enemy planes in combat, and it was "Taffy" Jones who trained so many of the FEW.

Lists W.W.1 British Fighter Aces and also Fighter Command Pilots with more than 12 confirmed victories.

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Here's one for the pre-war reader. I've read this; very nice book $1.00

The Air Show at Brescia, 1909, Peter Demetz, Book
An entrancing avant-garde adventure at the dawn of the modern age.
In 1909, municipal authorities built an airfield in northern Italy and invited leading pilots to compete on it. The show attracted thousands of spectators--among them Giacomo Puccini and Gabriele d'Annunzio--and reporters, including, amazingly, Franz Kafka, Max Brod, and Luigi Barzini. Peter Demetz's sparkling new book tells the enchanting story of what happened in the air and on the ground before, during, and after this amazing moment.
Kafka, it turns out, was a very precise observer of both the fragile new machines and the people who flocked to see them in action. Demetz shows us the spectacle as Kafka reported it, and also its unexpectedly melodramatic preparations, amazing dirigibles, and ace pilots--the American Glenn Curtiss, the Italian Mario Calderara, and the reigning king of the skies, Louis Blériot.
But above all Demetz wants to know what flying really meant to these visionaries of the air: many political and imaginative issues were sent aloft at Brescia. With discerning affection, he elucidates Kafka's subtle ambiguities about the consequences of flight, d'Annunzio's lust for power in aviation, Puccini's enthusiasm for speedy escapes, and Curtiss's modest heroism. Illustrated with fascinating material from the show itself, this provocative work reveals a vital point where art and technology met in imagining the future.