JACK HUNTER'S New WW1 Novel "THE ACE"

[Aerowallah]

Hans in the thread "The Next Great Novel" mentions Jack Hunter's new book--I second the motion!

Here are some details...

"The Ace" is due out October 1, 2008.

I got to read a snippet and it’s maybe some of the best stuff he’s ever written, which is what comes, I guess, from almost 50 years of practice. He’s 87 now, and still writes and paints every day.



Jack today.

I like "Ace" because it has echoes of the Blue Max, except from the American point of view. The characters are memorable, and every graph has touches of masterful detail.

Apparently the basic book is now available on Amazon for $10.85 plus postage, but I put in an order with Ken Greenfield at Der Rittmeister, who is Jack’s exclusive agent and is selling a limited number of autographed first edition copies, or ones that Jack will personalize for you.

Ken says that Jack will also insert a “Remarque” (or original pen and ink sketch) of a WW I airplane. Jack will draw whatever plane strikes his fancy, but he promises to make each one different.

Apparently publishers consider WW1 ancient history, and despite Jack's track record he has had to back his own book with his savings and self-publish. The Ace's first edition will run even smaller than Blue Max's 5,000 copies.

I will post the press release below…

[Aerowallah]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cardinal Publishers Group

When the United States declared war on Germany in April, 1917, its air
force consisted of 26 army officers qualified to fly 55 obsolescent
training planes from two military flying fields operated and
maintained by another 105 officers and 1,087 enlisted men. Not one
among this pitiful handful had as much as one minute of actual combat
experience.

In his new book, “The Ace,” Jack D. Hunter – author of 17 novels,
including the World War I aviation epic, “The Blue Max” – dramatizes
America’s chaotic, often heartbreaking effort to create, virtually
overnight, an organization capable of facing off the German Kaiser’s
swarms of sophisticated aircraft and legions of skilled, combat-tested
crews. Into this awesome factual mass Hunter introduces four key
fictional characters of seemingly unrelated backgrounds, and by
weaving together their separate efforts to deal with the nation’s
military, economic, political, and moral disarray, serves up a
portrait of the human determination and love that brought about the
miracle in little more than a year.

The pivotal roles are played by an ailing 20-year-old slum kid, a
blithe and dissolute army officer, a corrupt U.S. senator, and a
beautiful, guilt-ridden heiress to millions. The supporting cast
includes real historical figures, such as Brig. Gen. “Billy” Mitchell,
AEF commander Gen. John J. Pershing, flying ace Capt. Eddie
Rickenbacker, and assorted French and British dignitaries.

Says Hunter, “My first novel, ‘The Blue Max,’ was a narrow-focus
character study of a German innkeeper’s son who, upon becoming a
pursuit pilot, grows so resentful of the condescension and bias laid
on him by the aristocrats in his squadron he’s goaded into the Nazism
that later consumed his nation. ‘The Ace,’ by contrast, is a broad
scale view of the war itself, of the incredible push-and-pull in
Congress and the military that led to the climactic aerial battles
establishing Allied air superiority. There’s a lot of aviation action
dogfights and the like – but the story’s spine is the doomed,
offbeat love affair between the kid, who becomes a leading ace, and
the heiress, who can buy anything but self-respect.”

[Aerowallah]

Got some questions about where to buy the Remarque edition.

Just email Ken at...

Der Rittmeister Militaria About Blue Max Author

[Boom]

Wonder if there's a towel scene?

Howcum never heard of his other novels?

Entry from wikipedia follows. Color blind?!

cheers, Boom

Hunter was born in Hamilton, Ohio, on June 4, 1921. Hunter was the son of a paint color evaluator at DuPont; ironically he is color blind. He graduated with BA in journalism from Penn State University in 1943. During World War II he joined the infantry, but when he could not recognize tracer colors he was transferred to counter intelligence in a move that spared him the fate of all others in his infantry class - death on Omaha Beach during D-Day.

Because he spoke German (having taught himself and then studied it in college), Hunter was sent to Germany just after the war ended. The Allies had discovered that some high-ranking Nazis had gone underground and were waiting until the political atmosphere settled down, at which point the Nazis would infiltrate the new German government. As a 24-year-old lieutenant, Hunter, disguised as a Lithuanian black marketeer, engineered a sting called "Operation Nursery" which resulted in the arrest of over 1000 Nazis in a single night. (See Stars & Stripes [1]article, March 31, 1946). He was awarded the Bronze Star[2].

After the war, he worked in various journalistic capacities, as a public relations executive for Dupont, and as a speech writer in Washington D.C. [1]

His first novel was The Blue Max, and the publisher remarked that, as a new author, they would not spend the money to have an artist paint a color cover for his book. Hunter volunteered to paint it himself, which eventually became a hobby and then a part time profession.[2]

Jack D. Hunter is the author of 16 novels, but The Blue Max continues to be the most popular to this day.[3]

He now lives in St. Augustine, Florida.

[rainbase]

I'm so excited to get my hands on this book. I also think it's time for me to go back and read some of his non-flying novels. It astounds me that the The Blue Max was a first novel. It's just so damn good.

I did recently read the Tin Cravat, the third book in the Bruno Stachel saga, which was ok. I haven't gotten my hands on The Blood Order yet, which everyone assures me is excellent. I've currently got my "ebay eyes" open for a copy of this.

Unrelated... I see Derek Robinson's written another RAF novel; set in a Vulcan Squadron this time. I wonder if this is a continuation of the "Damned Good Show" folks? I really like Robinson's writing. All those books are just so fun. "A Good Clean Fight" is marvelous, even without WWI planes in it... heh heh.

Really Unrelated.... anyone in here read though some of Hans Helmut Kirst's bibliography? He's another of my very favorite writers. Of course, most are WWII or after stories, but what a great sense of humor and humility he brings to the German side of the war. I read "Forward Gunner Asch" right after coming out of boot camp, and man, could I relate to his description of military life. I wish they'd bring more of his novels to the big screen.

[fliegeraldo]

Hey Aerowallah, I too can't wait for the new release from Jack. I have read his last three on the Blue Max etc. and would love to see the story from the Allied side. Jack still has it as seen from his artwork and other writings. Should be an OUTSTANDING read. Please keep us posted. Aldo out here.