Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)It is hard to imagine a better researched piece of historic detective work: the author has gone to incredible lengths to resurrect a detailed life history of an iconic American hero. There are very rare photos, exerpts from letters from a broad spectrum of family, friends and adversaries, and careful battlefield surveys. The result is a gripping and detailed view of Frank Luke and his war and his times. If you have even a passing interest in the history of our country during that period, this book is gold.
Now for the negatives. The author goes into too much detail sometimes and wastes an awful lot of time on the differences between a German balloon detachment commander's memories of Frank Luke's death and the other witnesses when even a casual observer could see that the German officer was confusing another American's pilot's crash for Frank Luke's. Another annoying thing is the author's habit of calling Frank Luke both "Frank" and "Luke" in different passages which confuses the reader. He could have used a good editor too, since there are numerous errors in spelling and captioning (such as labelling the German balloon hydrogen tanks as "helium tanks". If they had helium available to them, Frank Luke couldn't have burned too many of their balloons.)
The main thing I found odd was the failure of the author to communicate the critical reason attacking balloons and why it was so important and so dangerous. The observation balloons were the primary method to control and aim artillery accurately. Balloon observers were in direct communication with artillery batteries by telephone and passed precise corrections to those batteries to get the rounds exactly on target. Because they were so critical, the balloons were very heavily defended and to attack a balloon required the attacker to fly directly at the ballon and therefore directly at the defending antiaircraft guns. The defending gunners had an easy shot without having to "lead" their targets, so it was considered to be nearly suicidal to attack those balloons. "Balloon Busters" were a cut above even the most elite of the elite fighter pilots because of the obvious dangers.
No matter how many balloons Frank Luke actually got, he was supremely heroic and his sacrifice contributed to protecting hundreds, maybe thousands of allied lives by destroying the capability to accurately aim artillery.
A history this painstakingly researched should illuminate the real context of Frank Luke's courage by more clearly detailing what his heroism provided.
Nonetheless, if you treasure history, you could not spend your money more fruitfully than buying this book
Click Here to see more reviews about: THE STAND: The Final Flight of Lt. Frank Luke, Jr. (English and French Edition)
The last great mystery of World War I has been solved. Drawing from more than two thousand pages of unpublished material, archeological digs in France and dozens of interviews with the descendents of those involved, The Stand: The Final Flight of Lt. Frank Luke, Jr. writes the last chapter on the life and death of America's most spectacular fighter pilot. After fifteen years of research, author and Telly Award-winning television host Stephen Skinner pens a driving, dynamic account that fills in the blanks left behind byhistoryafter the legendary Arizona balloon buster died under controversial circumstances deep in enemy lines in September of 1918.
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