Fighting the Flying Circus

296, illus., maps, glossary, tables, index, usual library markings, bds scuffed, tears at spine, top & bottom spine edges quite worn. Edward Vernon Rickenbacker (born Edward Rickenbacher, October 8, 1890 - July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient. With 26 aerial victories, he was the most successful and most decorated United States flying ace of the war. He was also a racing driver, an automotive designer, and a long-time head of Eastern Air Lines. In late May 1917, Rickenbacker was invited to sail to England with General John J. Pershing. By mid-June, he was in France, where he enlisted in the United States infantry. In February and March, 1918 Rickenbacker and the officers of the nascent 1st Pursuit Group completed advanced training The 1st Pursuit Group was the first air combat group formed by the Air Service, American Expeditionary Force, on 5 May 1918. The Group was first organized at Croix de Metz Aerodrome, near Toul, France, as a result of the United States entry into World War I. As the 1st Pursuit Group it saw combat on the Western Front in France. The pilots of the 1st Group included Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, credited as the top scoring American ace in France during World War I. This is one of the best first-hnd accounts of air combat in World War I, by an American "ace of aces." Eddie Rickenbacker had an extraordinary career: inventor, race car driver, fighter ace, Medal of Honor winner, and finally president of Eastern Air Lines. In this book he recounts how he achieved 26 confirmed kills in less than a year of combat on the Western Front, rising from the ranks to lead the famed "Hat-in-the-Ring" squadron. Early pilots had to contend with primitive engines, unreliable guns, no parachutes, no oxygen, and wings that could tear off in a dive. Just surviving was a daily challenge, and Rickenbacker saw many friends and comrades die through no fault of their own. In this book he unflinchingly explains all of the errors that he made in combat, and how he learned to become a better dogfighter. He also gives the reader a glimpse of the tremendous psychological pressure that came from being America's leading ace - every previous holder had been shot down - and from his own leadership style of leading from the front.…