The Red Air Fighter

Rating:
Summary: A worthy purchase for military history enthusiasts
Review: I found this book to be tremendously interesting. It gives a first person view of what the life of the most famous and infamous ace of WWI was like. In it Manfred von Richthoven describes his upbringing, his training, his exploits in the air, and a number of colourful stories in between of what he did during his time off. He comes of as a charming and honorable man, whose somewhat plain prose is made up for by his remarkable life.

Throughout the book von Richthofen is quite frank as to his actions, and takes self-deprecating jabs at himself, yet given the nature of the book as inspirational/propagandistic material given out in a country in a time of war to keep up the moral of soldiers and civilians alike, this is not always possible. Either von Richthoven is a huge optimist who brushes aside the deaths of his comrades and mentors and lives in resplendant luxury, or his inner feelings and thoughts about some of the less glamourous aspect of war and all that it entails have been repressed. This is definitely not the type of personal and intimate book written by an old soldier looking back on the war, freed from the constraints of his position and obligations to his country and government (he obviously died in 1918, so that's impossible), so this book is quite one-sided and meant to stress the dashing, courageous, honorable and exciting aspects of his life. The book does also not spend a lot of time discussing his tactics, which I thought would have been interesting to hear, coming directly from the horse's mouth.

It was also written before his near fatal shooting down when he was grazed in the head by a bullet and the ensuing recuperation period. Reportedly he was somewhat changed by this incident, and it would've been fascinating to see his description of these events, but they all took place after the writing of the book and would likely have been flavoured, too.

I realize that I've spent a lot of time on the negatives, but often find that in situations like this the things that people didn't enjoy so much about something might give one a better insight as to whether or not one will enjoy a given book/film/recording. I really liked this book a lot, given that I am fascinated with this time period and aerial warfare during it. If you enjoy reading and learning about pilots during WWI & II, I would recommend you buying this book, because it's gives an interesting (albeit biased) historical perspective of the Great War by one of it's most famous participants, and also because it's the self-penned description of the life of the most famous combat pilot of all-time. I read this whole book in one go, really liked it, and hope you will too.

Rating:
Summary: Incomplete
Review: This edition doesn't contain the extra appendices from the second edition published after his death, including Richthofen's notes for a sequal and his brother Lothar's eyewitness account of his death and burial. Pass this one up and keep looking for a complete copy, or else how are you going to read the story of the Red Baron and the nun?

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, myth shattering account.
Review: WWI premier ace, Manfred von Richthofen gives an honest and respectable account of his amazing career. His straightfoward, blunt style of writing allowed the pages to flow quickly. The popular image of the Red Baron as a cold-blooded, "machine-made" German is quite inaccurate. Instead you see a portrait of a man who pokes fun at the human mistakes made early in his career as well as some humorous accounts that he graciously gives to the reader. Note: There is a preface by C.G. Grey that I believe is best read as a postscript. Most of what is written by Grey is correct as seen through the eyes of the British but it is overly clouded with war time propaganda that may cause the reader to approach Richthofen's account with a biased, defensive manner. One should approach this work with a neutral mind and allow the pieces to fall where they may. Franks, in his introduction clears the air considerably, but still the damage may be done.