The Big Show Audiobook By Pierre Clostermann cover art

The Big Show

The Classic Account of WWII Aerial Combat

 Preview

$0.00 for first 30 days

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

The Big Show

By: Pierre Clostermann
Narrated by: Julian Elfer
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.19

Buy for $17.19

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

Pierre Clostermann DFC was one of the oustanding Allied aces of the Second World War. A Frenchman who flew with the RAF, he survived over 420 operational sorties, shooting down scores of enemy aircraft while friends and comrades lost their lives in the deadly skies above Europe.

The Big Show, his extraordinary account of the war, has been described as the greatest pilot's memoir of WWII.

©1948, 2008 Flammmarion (P)2020 Tantor Air Forces Armed Forces Military Military & War Wars & Conflicts World War II
Vivid Combat Descriptions • Unique Perspective • Excellent Narration • Immersive Storytelling • Historical Authenticity
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
My father gave me a tattered copy of this book in the mid 1990’s. I’ve read it 4 times and at last, listened via Audible. The narrator sounds exactly as I imagined when I read the book.

The best fighter pilot memoir ever. Enjoy!

Finally in Audible

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
this is one of the most detailed accounts of ww2 aerial combat. clearly due to the authors diligence in keeping a written daily journal. Few ww2 accounts provide this level of detail. Excellent

detail

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wow! The absolute best aerial WWII story delivery, period. I’ve now listened to it intently twice, and plan on doing the same again. If you’re a fan of WWII aerial battles, then this must be on your list.

The details!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
amazing book especially if you like ww2 aircraft stuff otlr just ww2 in general, this guy is very descriptive and good at painting a picture in your head

fantastic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As a retired Fighter Pilot, I was amazed at how much combat they encountered and as often as they did and how much they pushed their equipment and the weather. How much they pushed themselves.

The savagery they endured daily

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Moment a moment, the writer describes the daily risks encountered in seeking to destroy a foe, while facing outcomes that included injury, defeat and imprisonment or complete annihilation by the opponent, and injury or death by mechanical failure, misjudgment, or sheer bad luck. Training, teammates, ground crew and improvements in planes and weaponry helped him survive on this knife edge, in extreme duress. Survival was not likely among fighter pilots. Pilots saw the loss of comrades daily. and for one to survive and record his daily experiences so well is quite remarkable.

Amazing firsthand narrative

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I was stoked to see The Big Show was coming out on Audible. I’ve probably read this book 6-7 times in my life. I’m half way through it and have to say, hearing it told is even more exciting and intense then reading it. The reader does a great job. If you love dog fights and flying you HAVE to get this one. Trust me. You will not regret it.

Simply one of the best all time books on air combat ever written.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved this book! After a brief introduction, almost every chapter was an account of another mission.

This book provides a different view of the fighter pilot's war from most accounts. For one, Clostermann was French, which provides a unique perspective on the war, he flew not only Spitfires but also Tempests, and he describes a ton of different mission types (fighter combat, train strafing, V1 site attacks...).

I learned a ton. For example, I thought that the Luftwaffe was pretty much gone by 1945. But, Clostermann was still involved in a lot of air to air combat right up to the end. In addition, it's kind of shocking to hear how many losses there were in Tempest squadrons.

Anyhow, this book is considered a classic and if you're into WW2 aviation, you really should check it out!

Classic account of a WW2 fighter pilot-all action

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great account of events and well written. I enjoyed the flow and the action of the story.

The brilliant visual descriptions.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was gripping, moving and lyrical. I really felt like I had gone through the war with the author. I felt the enthusiasm and excitement of the early days. Then I felt the increasing tension, dread and sadness of the last days of the war as the author’s squadron was relentlessly thrown into combat against a still potent Luftwaffe. Excellent book.

One of the best war books I ever read/heard.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews