Customer Reviews

Hostile Skies: A Combat History of the American Air Service in World War I

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I bought this book on a whim. I'm glad I did. One of the best books I've read on WWI Aviation. Hudson's scholarship is solid. As a former AAF fighter pilot, he ties in his expertise to make Hostile Skies readable and enjoyable. It does not degenerate into an aces' scorecard of kills and losses, but rather includes various units of the Army Air Service--The Balloon Corps, Observation and Bombardment squadrons, and of course Pursuit. Hudson's use of personal interviews and first-hand accounts makes his work an excellent reference for WWI Aviation historians.

I had the pleasure of being one of Hudson's students, especially when I was able to discuss the pilot on the dust jacket, Capt. Field E. Kindley, of Gravette, Arkansas, one of the first Americans flying in a US unit to shoot down a German. Hudson took great pains to insure the accuraccy of this book, and continued to seek out information about the men and units he wrote about in this book. It is THE BOOK on the fledgling American Air Service, and having been a WWII fighter pilot, Hudson wrote from a pilot's point of view, and was able to discuss the salient points and the bad points of the experiences that these men had and how it shaped the future of our air force. I strongly recommend it to any serious military student.

I was fortunate to have been one of Dr. Hudson's Military History and Civil War History students at the University of Arkansas in the early 70s. "JJ" was an outstanding teacher, extremely thorough and always entertaining, and, as is most evident in this book, and outstanding author as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in air warfare of WW I.

Very detailed but not boring account of american involvement in WWI Aeronautics - nice addition to my library