39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
interesting and informative, May 30, 2007
Of course everyone has heard of the myths about the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen, but this book tells the real story, in his own words. Richthofen tells us about his early life, how he joined the army as a cavalry officer before going to flight school, and his experiences as the top-scoring fighter ace in World War One.
This version of Richthofen's autobiography also has a number of interesting photos which illustrate the world in which the Red Baron flew, fought, and died.
It also includes a very nice introduction which gives a short historical background of the First World War and the development of the airplane as a military weapon. Richthofen's accomplishments are placed in the context of earlier air aces like Roland Garros, Max Immelman, and Oswald von Boelcke, the German ace who took the young Manfred von Richthofen under his wing and taught him the rules of air combat.
Although there are several different printed versions of Richthofen's autobiography available, the very informative introduction and the accompanying photos make this version the best I have seen.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Red Fight Pilot, March 8, 2009
Very insightful book and well written. You get a pretty clear picture of Manfred Von Richthofen's short life, how he saw the war and his place in it. He had quite a sense of humor also. Kind of sad though when you realize he was bred for war. Interesting that his fighting tactics he learned from Boelcke are still used by fighter pilots today. Good introduction that gives alot of historical information on the war and the aces. I didn't know alot about WW1 when I got this book but I've certainly become interested enough to read alot more about it.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
first hand account of life of The Red Baron, October 5, 2009
This book is great, it was written by Manfred Von Richthofen himself. The book shows all the struggles and excitement of aerial warfare in its infancy, during the first world war. The book also gives us the story before Richthofen climbed in the cockpit, back when he was in the cavalry.
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