I Flew With the Lafayette Escadrille (Literature and History of Aviation Series)

Rating:
Summary: A chronicle of the first, by one who survived.
Review: This is a remarkable memoir, not only of the earliest days of aerial combat but of the earliest days of aviation, itself. I was more than surprised to find no other reviews posted. This tells me that this entertaining and important history deserves a wider audience among the many readers interested in these subjects and the many more who enjoy great tales of adventure. Some of the early passages deal with flight training. Given the unbelievably crude machinery, these would be hilarious until you consider the element of danger. The descriptions of aerial combat are the archetype for the genre: "The Aviatik whirled crazily; shuddered like a stricken animal. With the hand of a dead man on the stick and a white-faced passenger coughing blood, it plunged to earth in long, moaning sweeps." The book is a product of its time and, of course, such prose romanticizes the horror of the subject. Originally published in 1937 under the title THE GREAT ADVENTURE, one can imagine the influence it had on the generation of young men about to be called upon to serve in the Second World War. The particular group of young men to which the author, Edwin Parsons, belonged believed in what they were doing and the cause they served. The author did a service to the memories of his friends in recording their lives and deaths, the details of which would otherwise have been forgotten. There are many contemporary photographs in the edition I own (pub. E.C. Seale, 1965), bringing to life the men and events described in the text. Edwin Parsons received his earliest flight training in 1912 from Glenn Curtis, spent a year training pilots for Pancho Villa, joined the Escadrille in 1917 and was the only pilot who did not transfer to the American Air Service when the U.S. eventually entered the war. He went on to become a member of the first class of FBI agents, later worked in Hollywood as a technical advisor on "Wings" and "Hell's Angels," and in 1939 volunteered for the U.S. Navy, winning the Bronze Star and retiring as a Rear Admiral. This is a vivid and exciting book by a man who led a vivid and exciting life.

Rating:
Summary: A chronicle of the first, by one who survived.
Review: This is a remarkable memoir, not only of the earliest days of aerial combat but of the earliest days of aviation, itself. I was more than surprised to find no other reviews posted. This tells me that this entertaining and important history deserves a wider audience among the many readers interested in these subjects and the many more who enjoy great tales of adventure. Some of the early passages deal with flight training. Given the unbelievably crude machinery, these would be hilarious until you consider the element of danger. The descriptions of aerial combat are the archetype for the genre: "The Aviatik whirled crazily; shuddered like a stricken animal. With the hand of a dead man on the stick and a white-faced passenger coughing blood, it plunged to earth in long, moaning sweeps." The book is a product of its time and, of course, such prose romanticizes the horror of the subject. Originally published in 1937 under the title THE GREAT ADVENTURE, one can imagine the influence it had on the generation of young men about to be called upon to serve in the Second World War. The particular group of young men to which the author, Edwin Parsons, belonged believed in what they were doing and the cause they served. The author did a service to the memories of his friends in recording their lives and deaths, the details of which would otherwise have been forgotten. There are many contemporary photographs in the edition I own (pub. E.C. Seale, 1965), bringing to life the men and events described in the text. Edwin Parsons received his earliest flight training in 1912 from Glenn Curtis, spent a year training pilots for Pancho Villa, joined the Escadrille in 1917 and was the only pilot who did not transfer to the American Air Service when the U.S. eventually entered the war. He went on to become a member of the first class of FBI agents, later worked in Hollywood as a technical advisor on "Wings" and "Hell's Angels," and in 1939 volunteered for the U.S. Navy, winning the Bronze Star and retiring as a Rear Admiral. This is a vivid and exciting book by a man who led a vivid and exciting life.