
Terror of the Autumn Skies
The True Story of Frank Luke, America's Rogue Ace of World War I
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.00 for first 30 days
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
John McLain
-
By:
-
Blaine Pardoe
Frank Luke, Jr., was an unlikely pilot. In the Great War, when fliers were still "knights of the air", Luke was an ungallant loner, a kid from Arizona who collected tarantulas, shot buzzards, and boxed miners. But during two torrid weeks in September 1918, he was the deadliest man on the Western Front. In only 10 missions, he destroyed 14 heavily defended German balloons and four airplanes, a rampage unequalled even by the dreaded von Richtofen, and the second highest American tally of the entire war. Cocksure and constantly reprimanded, Luke was actually under arrest on the day of his final flight, but he stole a plane to join the fatal action that won him the first Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to a pilot.
Blaine Pardoe retraces and refreshes Frank Luke's story through recently discovered correspondence. What emerges is a portrait of a life out of an "Old West" that was, by the late Teens, colliding with modernity. Frantic, short, and splendid, the life of Frank Luke, Jr. dramatizes the tragic intervention of an American spirit in the war that devastated Europe.
©2011 Blaine L. Pardoe (P)2012 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...




















Editorial reviews
Great War fighter pilot Frank Luke flew a scant 10 missions before his final stand behind enemy lines, but the brazen ace would go to his grave the second most victorious US Airman of World War I. Luke's two-week rampage through the western front skies capped a life marked by struggle and delinquency, from his beginnings as a miner and bare-knuckle boxer, to his near arrest for being AWOL on the penultimate day of his life. Husky-voiced performer John McClain captures Luke's fearless, tough-guy public demeanor, while nevertheless revealing the human sympathies of a young man with hopes, dreams, and an unyielding devotion to his family, comrades, and country.
Really good insight
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Remarkable
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very good but not totally outstanding
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Just another Tragic story of Ww1
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved it
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Details of the life of a World War I aviator
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Terror of the Autumn skies
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great story of an amazing pilot!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
History
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The author analyzes and compares multiple versions of Luke’s life as presented in various sources written over many years, discrediting those that have been embellished into fiction. Despite his thorough sourcing efforts, the author’s writing includes errors of terminology, grammar, and usage. In short, fine research is held back by unpolished writing. And he stretches the metaphor of dead pilots “flying west” much farther than needed.
Reader frequently has trouble with pronunciation — for example, in WWI Germans were referred to as “bosch,” the French word for cows, which is pronounced “bahsh,” not “boosh.” Additionally, he has the annoying habit of assuming contrived accents for every quotation cited. Finally, it’s very slow reading — suggest speed 1.4 or higher.
Many thanks to Audible for making this volume available free of charge.
Fine research held back by unpolished writing
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.