| The Canvas Falcons |  | Author: Stephen Longstreet
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $3.95
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $3.94 (100%)
Used (29) Collectible (2) from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 1659216
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0345308913
EAN: 9780345308917
ASIN: 0345308913
Publication Date: March 12, 1983
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Riddled with obvious, idiotic mistakes. November 5, 2008
I first encountered this book when I was about twelve, and even then I knew that Manfred von Richtofen was killed while flying an iconic red Fokker Triplane, not an Albatros. Any author that makes a mistake that stupid has automatically removed himself from the realm of the useful. To be frank, even the "Peanuts" comic strip knew better. That may be the most obvious howling blunder in this small classic of disinformation, but it is far from the only one. I've always been baffled as to how a work this inept managed to find a major publisher willing to release it. If you want a narrative history of WWI's air war, I can highly recommend Aaron Norman's THE GREAT AIR WAR, or Lee Kennett's THE FIRST AIR WAR just to name two, but avoid this one at all costs. There are too many good books on this subject to waste your time on this slapped-together piece of junk.
 Incendiary at its Best March 16, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Moving from Donald Jack's The Bandy Papers, I was more than somewhat intrigued by the history and fate of the World War One pilot and all that his life entailed. So i got my hands on the Canvas Falcons and found it was almost impossible to put down. The incredible detail and colourful writing brought me back to an age i never knew but wanted so desperately to be a part of, even though i know that the life span of a pilot back then was six to eight weeks. And, as the other reviewer wrote, there is an excellent excerpt at the end of a pilot's life during and after the war in France. I did some digging for that one and discovered that it was in print and bought one. It was another excellent book bringing to life a period we all may read about or see in movies, but will never ever have a chance to live. Oh, by the way, the book is titled, Lower Than Angels and is written by W.W. Windstaff, a psuedonym for fellow who's rich parents would have disowned him if they ever discovered that he wrote such saucy material.
Cheers
Nelson B.C.
WWI Aviation Classic January 12, 2004
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I recently got around to pulling this one off of the shelf after having purchased a copy years ago. I have two regrets, one that I waited so long and second that this classic, well written history of the planes and aviators of the wood and canvas days is apparently no longer in print. If you are interested in this subject, you should spare no effort in finding a copy; this is one of the best. The author does a great job of bringing this exciting and tragic era back to life. The best section of the book is an excerpt from a privately printed memoir from an American flyer of the period. This is not a children's history; the author includes colorful details about the extracurricular exploits of the flyers while on leave. My edition was well illustrated with period photographs.
A great look at the REAL details of the pilot's lives April 30, 2002
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
While there do appear to be a few technical inaccuracies with this book, I found it amazing in at least one respect: rather than the typical hero-worship associated with our view of world war one pilots, THE CANVAS FALCONS provides the best understanding of what their lives were like that I've ever read. Were they gallant? Yes. But it was eye opening to me to see that these men were also very scared, completely in touch with the fact that death was almost a certainty. This was brought home with information about things like men flying with the 'shakes' while losing faith in the war effort. Yes, they were gallant and some were gentlemen but, it turns out, some were also just self aggrandizing louts. So, technically perfect, no. A mind opening view of what was supposedly a glamorous service? Absolutely!
 ...that option away from and above the trenches... April 12, 2002
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm not an aviation buff so I found no pain in (and can't verify) any technical errors this book might've had concerning the aircraft. I did however, enjoy the stories and goings-on of the various pilots and their air groups. The focus is mainly on the more famous (but some will definitely be lesser-known) English, German, and French fliers, but does stop to talk about American fliers, as well as pilots of other countries and lesser known areas of operation during WWI. Includes short histories and family upbringing on the pilots, their characters, their friends and fellow pilots, how they got into the then yet undeveloped air service, their trials and duels in the air (many times their deaths), and their activities on and off base, often interjected with their own quotes and sometimes excerpts of their own writing. Also includes stories of the more famous inventors working on the technological developments accompanying the planes and its armament at that time. Definitely interesting -- I felt a mix of awe, admiration and excitement for the fliers and innovators, was horrified by the gruesome realities in air combat, and sometimes laughed a bit at the funny and silly situations of that life and time. The people of the early 1900s: stupidly innocent, stubborn, brave, pioneering, and romantic...
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
