Falcons of France (Flight, Its First Seventy-Five Years) [Hardcover]

Charles Nordhoff (Author), James N. Hall (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 332 pages
• Publisher: Ayer Co Pub (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0405121989
• ISBN-13: 978-0405121982
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,487,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great account of the WWI air war., December 5, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Huntington, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Falcons of France (Hardcover)

For anyone interested in the air war of WWI, I have to recommend "Falcons of France." A wonderful read from the first page on. All the drama of friends, combat, capture and escape are in it. And when your done with "Falcons of France," you must read "Fighting the Flying Circus" by Eddie Rickenbacker. The two books parallel each other until the mid point and then go off in two directions. I got a better understanding of "Fighting the Flying Circus" after reading "Falcons of France." I highly recomend "Falcons of France."

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A WONDERFUL HISTORIC NOVEL OF AN AMERICAN FLYER IN FRANCE., August 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Falcons of France (Flight, Its First Seventy-Five Years) (Hardcover)

WHEN I WAS IN JR. HIGH SCHOOL IN HOUSTON IN 1964, THIS WAS THE FIRST NOVEL I EVER READ. IT LAUNCHED ME ON A LIFETIME OF READING AND A LOVE OF HISTORY. IT'S TREATMENT OF THE "HERO" ALLOWS ALL OF US TO RELATE TO HIM. HE IS JUST A PLAIN YOUNG MAN WITH AVERAGE ABILITIES, AND HAS AVERAGE SUCESS IN THE COCKPIT, OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT HE STAYS ALIVE.

THE BOOK TRACES THE EXPLOITS OF CHARLES SELDEN FROM THE TRENCHES THROUGH FLIGHT TRAINING, THE LAFFAYETTE ESCADRILLE, AND INTO THE U.S. ARMY FLYING CORPS WHERE HE IS SHOT DOWN AND CAPTURED. THE BOOK CLOSES WITH HIS ESCAPE AND RETURN.

THE REGULAR MEN AND WOMEN AND THE HEROS OF HISTORY ARE VIVIDLY PORTRAYED TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU SEEM TO KNOW THEM ALL AND MAKE FRIENDS WITH CHARLES SELDEN. IT'S 1999 NOW AND I HAVE ONLY AVERAGE MEMORY, BUT I'VE NEVER FORGOTTEN THIS SPECIAL BOOK EVEN THOUGH I'VE NOT READ IT SINCE 1964. IT'S THAT GOOD.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Relive the life of an 18 year-old fighter pilot over France, June 18, 1998

By 

Netherwind (OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Falcons of France (Hardcover)

Falcons of France is a novel of flying, World War I, growing up, and the moralities of the time. Written by two American veterans of the Escadrille Layfayette (who later wrote Mutiny On The Bounty), both the action of battle and the routine of the aerodrome are immediately believable. I first read Falcons of France as a teenager, barely younger than the novels characters. Having reread it numerous times over the years since, the saga still facinates, still captivates, and still ends sooner than I would wish. Reading this novel is the closest any of us will ever come to being a young World War I fighter pilot struggling to stay alive in the skies over France.