The Unsubstantial Air
American Fliers in the First World War
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Narrated by:
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Sean Runnette
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By:
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Samuel Hynes
About this listen
The Unsubstantial Air is the gripping story of the Americans who fought and died in the aerial battles of World War I. Much more than a traditional military history, it is an account of the excitement of becoming a pilot and flying in combat over the Western Front, told through the voices of the aviators themselves. A World War II pilot himself, the memoirist and critic Samuel Hynes revives the adventurous young men who inspired his own generation to take to the sky. The volunteer fliers were often privileged - the sorts of college athletes and Ivy League students who might appear in an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. Hynes follows them from the flying clubs of Harvard, Princeton, and Yale to training grounds in Europe and on to the front, where they learned how to fight a war in the air.
By drawing on letters sent home, diaries kept, and memoirs published in the years that followed, Hynes brings to life the emotions, anxieties, and triumphs of the young pilots. They gasp in wonder at the world seen from a plane, struggle to keep their hands from freezing in open air cockpits, party with actresses and aristocrats, rest at Voltaire's castle, and search for their friends' bodies on the battlefield. Their romantic war becomes more than that - a harsh but often thrilling reality.
©2014 Samuel Hynes (P)2014 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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"The sky was full of dying airplanes" as American Liberator bombers struggled to return to North Africa after their daring low-level raid on the oil refineries of Ploesti. They lost 446 airmen and 53 planes, but Philip Ardery's plane came home. This pilot was to take part in many more raids on Hitler's Europe, including air cover for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. This vivid firsthand account records one man's experience of World War II air warfare.
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Fascinating...and true story
- By Loretta on 06-24-15
By: Philip Ardery
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Mission
- Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe
- By: Robert Matzen, Leonard Maltin - foreward
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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In March 1941 Jimmy Stewart, America's boy next door and recent Academy Award winner, left fame and fortune behind and joined the United States Army Air Corps to fulfill his family mission and serve his country. He rose from private to colonel and participated in 20 often-brutal World War II combat missions over Germany and France. In mere months the war took away his boyish looks as he faced near-death experiences and the loss of men under his command. The war finally won, he returned home with millions of other veterans to face an uncertain future.
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SKIP THIS ONE
- By G-Man on 05-13-18
By: Robert Matzen, and others
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When Tigers Ruled the Sky
- The Flying Tigers: American Outlaw Pilots over China in World War II
- By: Bill Yenne
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1940 Pearl Harbor had not yet happened, and America was not yet at war with Japan. But China had been trying to stave off Japanese aggression for three years - and was desperate for aircraft and trained combat pilots. General Chiang Kai-shek sent military aviation advisor Claire Chennault to Washington, where President Roosevelt was sympathetic but knew he could not intervene overtly. Instead he quietly helped Chennault put together a group of American volunteer pilots.
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A Well Written Historical Perspective
- By Donald Hill on 11-21-17
By: Bill Yenne
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The Mighty Eighth
- The Air War in Europe as Told by the Men Who Fought It
- By: Gerald Astor
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 23 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Europe has fallen. Pearl Harbor is in flames. Enter: the Eighth. In 1941 the RAF fought a desperate battle of survival against the Luftwaffe over Britain. Then, from across the Atlantic, came a new generation of American pilots, gunners, and bombardiers, a new generation of flying machines called the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 Liberator, the P-47 Thunderbolt, and the P-51 Mustang fighter.
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A Good Listen with 1 problem
- By Matthew Schuller on 08-23-19
By: Gerald Astor
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Never Call Me a Hero
- A Legendary American Dive-Bomber Pilot Remembers the Battle of Midway
- By: N. Jack "Dusty" Kleiss, Timothy Orr
- Narrated by: Mike Ortego, Cassandra Campbell, Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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An extraordinary firsthand account of the Battle of Midway by one of its key participants, timed to the 75th anniversary: American dive-bomber pilot "Dusty" Kleiss helped sink three Japanese warships (including two aircraft carriers), received the Navy Cross, and is credited with playing a decisive individual role in determining the outcome of a battle that is considered a turning point in World War II.
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Love the story, disagree with the title.
- By STC on 08-21-17
By: N. Jack "Dusty" Kleiss, and others
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LeMay
- By: Warren Kozak
- Narrated by: Grainger Hines
- Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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The firebombing of Tokyo. Strategic Air Command. John F. Kennedy. Dr. Strangelove. George Wallace. All of these have one man in common—General Curtis LeMay, who remains as enigmatic and controversial as he was in life. Until now. Warren Kozak traces the trajectory of America’s most infamous general, from his troubled background and heroic service in Europe to his firebombing of Tokyo, guardianship of the U.S. nuclear arsenal in the Cold War, frustrated career in government, and short-lived political run.
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Definition.....Leader.....General Curtis Le May
- By Nj-Mike on 01-04-15
By: Warren Kozak
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Marked for Death
- The First War in the Air
- By: James Hamilton-Paterson
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Little more than 10 years after the first powered flight, aircraft were pressed into service in World War I. Nearly forgotten in the war's massive overall death toll, some 50,000 aircrew would die in the combatant nations' fledgling air forces. The romance of aviation had a remarkable grip on the public imagination, propaganda focusing on gallant air "aces" who become national heroes. The reality was horribly different. Marked for Death debunks popular myth to explore the brutal truths of wartime aviation.
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Excellent
- By Amazon Customer on 08-20-16
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Double Ace
- The Life of Robert Lee Scott Jr., Pilot, Hero, and Teller of Tall Tales
- By: Robert Coram
- Narrated by: Barry Press
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Robert Lee Scott was larger than life. A decorated Eagle Scout who barely graduated from high school, the young man from Macon, Georgia, with an oversize personality used dogged determination to achieve his childhood dream of becoming a famed fighter pilot. First capturing national attention during World War II, Scott, a West Point graduate, flew missions in China alongside the legendary "Flying Tigers", where his reckless courage and victories against the enemy made headlines.
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Tiger Fan
- By Robert M. on 12-23-17
By: Robert Coram
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The German Aces Speak II
- World War II Through the Eyes of Four More of the Luftwaffe's Most Important Commanders
- By: Colin D. Heaton, Anne-Marie Lewis, Dr. Dennis Showalter - foreword, and others
- Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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In The German Aces Speak II, Heaton and Lewis paint a picture of the war through the eyes of four more of Germany's most significant pilots, put together from numerous interviews personally conducted by Heaton from the 1980s through the 2000s. The four ex-Luftwaffe fighter aces bring the past to life as they tell their stories about the war, their battles, their off-duty lives, their lives after the war, and perhaps most importantly, how they felt about serving under the Nazi leadership of Hermann Göring and Adolf Hitler.
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Too Slow!
- By zur45 on 05-01-20
By: Colin D. Heaton, and others
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Deadly Sky
- The American Combat Airman in World War II
- By: John C. McManus
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 17 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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This insightful chronicle takes listeners inside the experiences of America's fighter pilots and bomber crews, an incredible assortment of men who, in nearly four years of warfare all over the globe, suffered over 120,000 casualties, with over 40,000 killed. Their stories span the Earth, into every corner of the combat theaters in both Europe and the Pacific. And the aircraft explored are as varied, tough, and legendary as the men who flew them.
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Twelve O'Clock High Unabridged
- By Chiefkent on 05-23-17
By: John C. McManus
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The First Heroes
- The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raid
- By: Craig Nelson
- Narrated by: Raymond Todd
- Length: 17 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Immediately after Japan's December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt sought to restore the honor of the United States with a dramatic act of vengeance: a retaliatory bombing raid on Tokyo itself. In those early days of World War II, America was ill-prepared for any sort of warfare. But FDR was not to be dissuaded, and at his bidding a squadron of scarcely trained army fliers, led by the famous daredevil Jimmy Doolittle, set forth on what everyone regarded as a suicide mission.
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Heroic Attempt
- By William on 07-20-04
By: Craig Nelson
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The German Aces Speak
- World War II Through the Eyes of Four of the Luftwaffe's Most Important Commanders
- By: Anne-Marie Lewis, Jon Guttman, Brigadier General Robin Olds USAF - Ret., and others
- Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Few perspectives epitomize the sheer drama and sacrifice of combat more perfectly than those of the fighter pilots of World War II. As romanticized as any soldier in history, the World War II fighter pilot was viewed as larger than life: a dashing soul waging war amongst the clouds. In the 65-plus years since the Allied victory, stories of these pilots' heroics have never been in short supply. But what about their adversaries - the highly skilled German aviators who pushed the Allies to the very brink of defeat?
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Not what I hoped for
- By Michael Jacobi on 09-01-20
By: Anne-Marie Lewis, and others
What listeners say about The Unsubstantial Air
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Joseph P.
- 05-22-15
Great info poorly arranged
The author did a good job researching the book, but it fails to gel into a solid connected work. It feels like a collection of different sources.
Add in a very "breathy" narrator who makes ever fact and event sound like call to emotion, and the whole becomes less than the sum of its parts.
It's still a good nonfiction reference on the first air war, it's just not the page turner it might have been.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Grumpysik
- 03-17-16
Wonderful Book
I have read and re-read (listened to) this book. It's a marvelously well crafted story of the young pilots who bravely fought that first war in the air. Not just an historical recollection, this book draws on letters and diary entries from the pilots themselves, woven together with a narrative that keeps the reader fully engaged. A masterful book coupled with an outstanding audio performance. A must read for any aviator, aviation enthusiast, or student of history.
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1 person found this helpful
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- B Taub
- 10-31-16
A realistic view of WW1 pilot life
I read and listen to a ton of aviation literature and this one was memorable. Samuel Hynes is very sympathetic to the young men he documents and his compassion comes through.
Maybe 10 years ago I read a book called THE CANVAS FALCONS. While that book had some factual inaccuracies it did provide a strong understanding of what the WW1 pilot's life was really like. It really affected me. THE UNSUBSTANTIAL AIR does the same, with a particular focus on American pilots (I recommend reading / listening to these two titles in sequence).
It seems that a lot of aviation history has been written by people who aren't pilots. That's not the case with this book. Samuel Hynes was a WW2 aviator and his experiences color his writing in this book. That background works well. (BTW, Mr. Hynes' memoir of that time, FLIGHTS OF PASSAGE doesn't seem to be available on Audible - please, please, please bring it!)
As opposed to the vast majority of WW1 aviation books, this one doesn't restrict itself to pursuit (fighter) pilots. Mr. Hynes spends a good deal of time also talking about bomber and reconnaissance aviators. That kind of material is largely missing from many books of this genre (although Cecil Lewis, author of SAGITTARIUS RISING, for which Mr. Hynes wrote the introduction of the Penguin Press edition does start the war as a reconnaissance pilot). It turns out that there were more US bomber and reconnaissance pilots in the war. That fact, and the facts about the hierarchy of aircrews, was interesting to hear about.
Near the beginning of this book it seems like there will be no flying in it but, if you want flying, stick with it - it comes and it's masterfully described.
Finally, part of what makes this selection so strong is the narrator. He brings gravitas to the subject matter.
Anyhow, wish I could better capture how much I enjoyed this selection. I highly recommend it to aviation history buffs!
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1 person found this helpful
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- KT
- 09-14-19
Enthralling WWI Aviation History
In order to understand a war a century old, it help if authors get as close to the first-hand stories and documentation. Unfortunately most books written with such meticulous eye to original source docs all too often arrives on your shelf as dry as the musty pages upon which it is based.
Samuel Haynes did not fall into the academic style of history as well researched as this usually do.
This is beautifully written account of the allied expediditionary air forces of the Great War, with the strongest coverage being that of the US AEF and earlier Escadrille Lafayette.
The tales may be less well written than I think, and if so, the reason would be the incredibly well performed Sean Runnette. I do look forward to more of his work from opening to the final an inevitable summing up, Runnettes tone and his and author Hynes ability to put a reader into the midst of WWI, whether in the gas-soaked, castor oil smells of a pursuit plane, to Headquarters or simply quarters, provide a read that is emotive and enthralling as any overall coverage of the Allied side of the air that I've read.
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