|
|
(Larger Image)
|
Echoes of Eagles: A Son, a Father and America's First Fighter Pilots
by Charles Woolley, Bill Crawford
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Dutton Adult/The Penguin Group (2003-11-10)
ISBN: 0525947574
EAN: 9780525947578
Dewy Decimal #: 940.44973
Hardcover: 320 pages
Edition: 1st
Release Date: 2003-11-06
SKU: 41147
Condition: New
Comments: THE HARDBACK BOOK! THE UNABRIDGED 1ST EDITION, DUTTON, 2003. HARDCOVER W/GILT LETTERING, DUST JACKET AND PAGES BRAND NEW! Rapid shipping w/FREE tracking. GREAT PACKAGING . Air Mail. BL
|
Editorial Reviews
|
Product Description
The intrepid fighter pilots of World War I live again in this thrilling true account of the men who risked their lives for our country and who became America's first heroes of the skies.
Published to coincide with the one-hundredth anniversary of the Wright Brothers' historic first flight and the birth of aviation, Echoes of Eagles is a rousing chronicle of American air combat during the first world war.
In 1917, Charles H. Woolley, the author's father, enlisted in and trained as a pilot with the newly created U.S. Air Service. He and his fellow pilots of the 94th, 95th, and 49th Aero Squadrons flew at 20,000 feet in open-cockpit French biplanes, with no oxygen, no parachutes, and no radios. Death was their constant companion. This extraordinary book takes readers into the cockpits of these fragile fighter aircraft and into the souls of the men who fought for their country in a new environment-the air. The grit of muddy airfields is balanced by the women and champagne of Paris.
From tales of dog-fighting with German aces to strafing enemy trenches, Echoes of Eagles describes the risks and the dangers of flight, feats of incredible heroism and acts of stunning cowardice, and the camaraderie among men dedicated to a common goal. Based on diaries and letters and never-before-published interviews with the heroes themselves, and featuring amazing photographs, this unforgettable account of America's first fighter pilots is also a son's stirring tribute to his father.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Like sitting down to talk with the past
Rating  (5)
Date: 2004-01-29
6 out of 6 customers found this reveiw helpful
I wasn't sure about reading this book--too often books about ancestors focus too much on the family, too little on the historical events with which the family was involved. But this one is a pleasant surprise. Only one short chapter about family background, then much information from interviews with men the elder Woolley served with, but not focused on him in particular. It's informative and interesting and personable. I found new insights into the state of mind of men facing death daily, often before ever encountering the enemy, thanks to unreliable aircraft. I felt almost as though I were talking to some of those veterans myself, which is high praise for the writing style.
One quibble. On page 253, Amelia Earhart is said to be "originally from the Boston area." She may have been from Boston later in life, but originally, she was a Kansas girl!
|
|
Superb history, very personal
Rating (5)
Date: 2003-12-06
This is like "Flags of Our Fathers" goes airborne. It's all about the author's quest to understand his father's wartime experience, which here involved not raising a flag on Iwo Jima, but serving in the 95th and 49th Aero Squadrons and flying Nieuports and Spads against Germany's best. The cultural context is intriguing here, because the war that Woolley Senior knew was fought by rich people, upperclass scions like Sumner Sewell or Quentin Roosevelt, Andover preppies who volunteered for aviation and thereby went on a sort of outward bound-like adventure in the clouds. Mr. Woolley captures this romance well and shows his winning affection for his father through this detailed, intimate storytelling. I was very taken with this reach back through the generations. This book is for anyone who's interested in either WWI fliers, or where our current generation of pilots gets their heritage (nice drawing of an F-15 Eagle on the cover is a signal that the publisher thinks that's part of the market for the book----they're probably right). A great read -- recommended highly.
|
|
|
|
|