The Canvas Falcons [Mass Market Paperback]

Stephen Longstreet (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 396 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 12, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345308913
• ISBN-13: 978-0345308917
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,907,153 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Most error-filled WWI book I've ever read, February 18, 2001

By 

B.F. Marlette (Coeur d'Alene, ID, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Canvas Falcons (Mass Market Paperback)

I've accumulated quite a library of WWI aviation books, and this is undoubtedly the most error-filled I've ever come across. The Red Baron's death ocurring in an Albatross? Triplanes with prop spinners? Twin Lewis guns in a Sopwith Camel? Mislabeled/misidentified aircraft too numerous to mention. I'll give the author good marks for conveying the "feel" of what an airman's life was like and how the war wore them down, but it was just impossible to get past the glaring factual errors. Any of the new info I gleaned was impossible to take at face value since he obviously got so much of the basic stuff wrong. Oh, yeah, a large portion of the photos are either of plastic models or the box art from old Revell model kits. At least it was inexpensive...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not technical but good, February 16, 2001

By 

Walter Judd (Ft. Pierce, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Canvas Falcons (Mass Market Paperback)

I take some issue with the above review. This is not the book if you are looking for technical breakdowns of the various aircraft. However, if you want to try to catch an image of what life must have been like in the aerodromes, Longstreet does a good job of telling us about the aviators and their (often very short) lives.

I failed to detect any animosity toward any individual flyer, including the famous Baron. Longstreet is open in his views about the foolishness of war but seems to respect the pilots. At least that was my take. He does point out that all of the claims for all of the aces are probably exaggerated.

If you're looking for horsepower ratings of Hispano-Suisa or Le Rhone engines this is not your book. If you're looking for a human story about the first air-battles The Canvas Falcons is a good place to start.

Besides "Canvas Falcons" sounds better than "Linen" or "Plywood" would. Doesn't it?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WWI Aviation Classic, January 12, 2004

By 

William B. Krones "wbrad" (Seminole, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Canvas Falcon The Men And Planes Of World War I (Hardcover)

I recently got around to pulling this one off of the shelf after having purchased a copy years ago. I have two regrets, one that I waited so long and second that this classic, well written history of the planes and aviators of the wood and canvas days is apparently no longer in print. If you are interested in this subject, you should spare no effort in finding a copy; this is one of the best. The author does a great job of bringing this exciting and tragic era back to life. The best section of the book is an excerpt from a privately printed memoir from an American flyer of the period. This is not a children's history; the author includes colorful details about the extracurricular exploits of the flyers while on leave. My edition was well illustrated with period photographs.