Books?

[Bagpipe 15]

Ladies/Gents,

 

I am looking for recommended reading on the subject of WW1. I am sure some of you will have some ideas.

Ideally books which cover as wide an area as possible and preferably including details of the air war but if they are really too good to miss and are narrower in their scope then that is fine too.

Some form of concise WW1 bible if you will 

[VFC_Baxter 19]

I just finished Military Aviation of the First World War by Alan Sutton, War Story by Derek Robinson and the five book series by N L Collier. The first one is pretty good non fiction and it covers most of the major air services, Aces and planes, the second one is fictional about the RFC, the last mentioned covers progression from the trenches to Ace status of a German pilot. I liked them all.

[Adger 85]

My opinion..No Parachute and Open Cockpit, Sagittarius rising, Winged victory and Flying fury ..RAF Louverts your man for WW1 aviation Bagpipe 

[+Trotski 931]

German aircraft of the first world war, Peter gray & Owen Thetford, invaluable source book for all the German types of the war. any of the Crowood Press books. Aeroplanes of the Royal Aircraft Factory for example. Finally, Biggles, if you havent read the Biggles books, that is a sad loss. For younger folk maybe, a bit jingoistic, definately, but good light reads anyhow.

[Bagpipe 15]

Thanks, more factual/educational reading I am meaning but I will see what of the fiction is available in audiobook! Some great suggestions so far

[Pips 5]

For books that provide a good overview of the Great War in the air I would suggest:

Royal Flying Corp/Royal Naval Air Service/Royal Air Force
The Friendless Sky, By Alexander McKee
The First Great Air War, by Richard Townsend Bickers
The First Air War 1914-1918, by Lee Kennett
The Royal Flying Corps, by Geoffrey Norris
The Royal Flying Corps in WWI, by Ralph Barker
Independent Force: The Daylight Bomber Squadrons Of the Independent Air Force July-November 1918, by Keith Rennles
Royal Naval Air Service 1912-1918, by Brad King

Aeronautique Militaire
French Strategic And Tactical Bombardment Forces Of WWI, by Rene Martel and Steven Suddaby
Kings of The Air: French Aces And Airmen Of The Great War, by Ian Sumner 
Sky Fighters Of France: Aerial Warfare 1914-1918, by Henry Farre
First To Fly: The Story Of The Lafayette Escadrille, by Charles Flood
The Lafayette Flying Corps: American Volunteer's In The French Air Service, by Dennis Gordon
French Aviation During The First World War, by Vital Ferry

American Air Service
Aerial Observation In The Great War, by Harold E. Porter
Hostile Skies, by James J. Hudson
The Unsubstantial Air: America In The First World War, by Samuel Hynes
America's First Air War, by Terry Treadwell

 Luftstreitkrafte
Development Of German Warplanes in WWI, by Jack Herris
Sharks Among Minnows: The Fokker Eindecker Period, July 1915 - September 1916, by Norman Franks
Germany's First Air Force 1914-1918, by Peter Kilduff
The German Air Force In The Great War, by Georg Paul Neuman
Zeppelin In Combat: A History Of The German Naval Airship Division 1912-1918, by Douglas Robinson
The German Air Raids On Britain 1914-1918, by Joseph Morris

General
Early Aircraft Armament: The Aeroplane And The Gun Up To 1918, by Harry Woodman
Eyes All Over The Sky: Aerial Reconnaissance In The First World War, by James Streckfuss
Wings Over The Trenches: Air Power And The Western Front 1916-1918, by E. R. Hooton
Gallipoli Air War by Hugh Dolan
The First Air Campaign, by Eric And Jane Lawson
The Strategy And Tactics Of Air Fighting In World War One, by Oliver Stewart
The Great War In The Air: Military Aviation From 1909-1921, by John H. Morrow

 

[catch 81]

That's a comprehensive list Pips. I expect Lou to come along at some point with his vast knowledge of all things WW1. 

I prefer first hand accounts and I'd add to Adgers excellent list "Into the Blue"/Norman Macmillan and "Sopwith Scout 7309"/Gordon Taylor. Otherwise "Bloody April" by Peter Hart is a very well documented piece using Pilots' diaries and historical documents.

A word of caution .... do not buy "The Canvas Falcons" illustrated below. It is full of unbelievable inaccuracies. The author must have been 'avin' a larf or his proofreader was incompetent or on acid or something .... 

[NotRelevant 6]

For something that is far more narrow in scope, "Fighting the Flying Circus" by Eddie Rickenbacker himself about his misadventures during the war is rather interesting.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

 

I heard my name mentioned - twice!  

A lot of excellent recommendations here already, folks.  Allow me to add a few more.

 

About WWI in general:

"A World Undone: The Story of the Great War 1914 to 1918", G.J. Meyer
"The War That Ended Peace", Margaret MacMillan

For some of the oft overlooked air services:

"The Belgian Air Service in the First World War", Walter M. Pieters
"Capronis, Farmans, and Sias: U.S. Army Aviation Training and Combat in Italy with Fiorello LaGuardia 1917-1918 ", Jack B. Hilliard
"Italian Aces of World War I and their Aircraft", Roberto Gentilli, Antonio Iozzi, Paolo Varriale
"The Imperial Russian Air Service, Famous Pilots and Aircraft of World War One", Alan Durkota

Concerning the German side of things:

"Handbook of German Military and Naval Aviation 1918"
"Schlachtflieger! Germany and the Origins of Air/Ground Support 1916-1918", Rick Duiven and Dan-San Abbott
"German Air Power in World War 1", John H. Morrow, Jr.
"Winged Mars, Volume II: The German Air Weapon 1914-1916", John R. Cuneo

On the defense of Britain against the German Zeppelin and heavy bomber raids:

"The Air Defence of Britain 1914-1918", Christopher Cole and E.F. Cheeseman
"The Sky On Fire: The First Battle of Britain", Raymond H. Fredette

For some British insight on seaplane operations:

"The Spider Web", T.D. Hallam
"The Story of a North Sea Air Station", C.F. Snowden Gamble

 

Concerning the Aussies:

"The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres of War 1914-1918", F.M. Cutlack

 

From the British perspective:

"Tumult In The Clouds: The British Experience of the War in the Air 1914-1918", Nigel Steel and Peter Hart
"The War in the Air", Raleigh and Jones, (a massive nine-volume read)

On the French/U.S. air services: 

"The Lafayette Flying Corps", James Hall and Charles Nordhoff
"The U.S. Air Service in World War I", Maurer Maurer

 

There are of course many, many, many other great reads on the subject.  Also, I too prefer the first hand accounts of the pilots, be it their recollections, diaries, and/or letters home.  Those put you right there in it.

 

 

 

[RAF_Louvert 101]

By the way, I just checked the downloads section here and the dozens of WWI aviation digital books I brought together over a decade ago for folks are still available via the following link:  WWI Aviation Books downloads

Enjoy! 

[rjw 48]

And to add another book, "William Barker VC by Wayne Ralphs" which covers Canadian training, the Italian Campaign and the western front with significant coverage on two seater Obs  by a much forgotten Canadian Ace.

Well worth the read if you can still find it.

 

Regards

Edited May 15, 2021 by rjw

[RAF_Louvert 101]

An excellent read Robert, and thanks to you one that is now in my own library.  

What's that you ask?  What all is in my own library?  Well allow me to elaborate.   

 

Personal Narratives, Biographies, and Novels:

"Above the French Lines: Letters of Stuart Walcott, American Aviator", Stuart Walcott, (1918 1st Edition)
"Ace of the Iron Cross", Ernst Udet, (1970 English translation, 1st Edition)
"Ace With One Eye: The Story of ‘Mick’ Mannock VC", Frederick Oughton, (1963 1st Edition)
"Adventure's A Wench: The Autobiography of Charles Veil as told to Howard Marsh", (1934 1st Edition)
"A Flying Fighter", E.M. Roberts, (1918 1st Edition)
"Airmen O' War", Boyd Cable, (1918 1st Edition)
"All Quiet on the Western Front", Erich Remarque, (1929 English Edition)
"An Airman Marches", Harold Balfour, (Vintage Aviation Library Edition)
"An Airman Remembers ", Hans Schröeder, English translation, (1936 1st Edition)
"An Airman's Outings", Alan 'Contact' Bott, (1917 1st Edition)
"An Aviator's Field-Book", Oswald Boelcke, English translation, (1917 1st Edition)
"An Escaper’s Log", Duncan Grinnell-Milne, (1926 Edition, author’s personal copy with revision notes)
"An Explorer in the Air Service", Hiram Bingham, (1920 1st Edition)
"A Poet of the Air", Jack Morris Wright, (1918 1st Edition)
"A Rattle of Pebbles: The First World War Diaries of Two Canadian Airmen", Brereton Greenhous, (1987 1st Edition)
"Belgium: A Personal Narrative", Brand Whitlock, (1919 1st Edition) 2-volume set
"Beyond the Tumult", Barry Winchester, (1971 1st Edition)
"Black Fokker Leader", Peter Kilduff, (2007 1st Edition)
"Bomber Pilot 1916-1918", C.P.O. Bartlett, (1974 1st Edition)
"Captain Arthur Ray Brooks: America's Quiet Ace of W.W.1", Walter A. Musciano, (1963 1st Edition)
"Cavalry of the Clouds", Alan 'Contact' Bott, (1918 1st Edition)
"Cloud Country", Jimmie Mattern, (1936 Pure Oil 1st Edition) 3-volume set
"Combat Report", Bill Lambert, (1973 1st Edition)
"Days on the Wing", Willy Coppens, English translation, (1931 1st Edition)
"Death in the Air", William Heinemann, (1933 Edition) (famous faked aerial photos)
"Double-Decker C.666", Haupt Heydemarck, English translation, (1931 1st Edition)
"Eastern Nights and Flights: A Record of Oriental Adventure", Alan 'Contact' Bott, (1920 1st Edition)
"En L'air!", Bert Hall, (1918 1st Edition)
"Extracts From the Letters of George Clark Moseley", (1923 1st Edition)
"Fighter Pilot on the Western Front", Wing Commander E.D. Crundall D.F.C., A.F.C., (1975 1st Edition)
"Fighting the Flying Circus", Edward Rickenbacker, (1919 1st Edition)
"Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps", James McCudden, (1918 1st Edition)
"Flying Corps Headquarters 1914-1918", Maurice Baring, (1968 1st Edition with supplementary notes)
"Flying for France", James McConnell, (1917 1st Edition)
"Flying Minnows", Roger Vee, (1935 1st Edition)
"Flying Section 17", Haupt Heydemarck, English translation, (1934 1st Edition)
"Flying With Chaucer", James Norman Hall, (1930 1st Edition)
“From German Cavalry Officer to Reconnaissance Pilot”, Paul L. Rempe, (2016 1st Edition)
"From Many Angles", Frederick Hugh Sykes, (1942 1st Edition)
"Gatchina Days: Reminiscences of a Russian Pilot", Alexander Riaboff, (1986 1st Edition)
"Go Get 'Em!", William Wellman, (1918 1st Edition)
"Granville: Tales and Tail Spins from a Flyer’s Diary", Granville ‘Granny’ Gutterson, (1919 1st Edition)
"Green Balls: The Adventures of a Night-Bomber", Paul Bewsher, (1919 1st Edition)
"Guynemer, Knight of the Air", Henry Bordeaux, English translation, (1918 1st Edition)
"Head Wind: The Story of Robert Loraine", Winifred Loraine, (1938 1st US Edition)
"Heaven High, Hell Deep", Norman Archibald, (1935 Signed 1st Edition)
"High Adventure", A.H. Cobby, (1981 Edition)
"High Adventure", James Norman Hall, (1918 1st Edition)
"Horses Don’t Fly: A Memoir of World War I", Frederick Libby, (2000 1st US Edition)
"I Flew for the Lafayette Escadrille", Edwin C. Parsons, (1962 1st Edition)
"Immelmann: The Eagle of Lille", Franz Immelmann, English translation, (1930 1st Edition)
"In the Clouds Above Bagdad", J.E. Tennant, (1920 1st Edition)
"Into The Blue", Norman MacMillan, (1929 1st Edition)
"Jagdstaffel 356", M.E. Kahnert, (1939 1st English Edition)
"Kitchener's Mob", James Norman Hall, (1916 1st Edition)
"Letters From a Flying Officer", Rothsay Stuart Wortley, (1928 1st Edition)
"Letters From a World War I Aviator", Josiah P. Rowe Jr., (1987 Edition)
"Letters of Cyrus Foss Chamberlain: A Member of the Lafayette Flying Corps", C. F. Chamberlain, (1918 1st Edition)
"Malaula! The Battle Cry of Jasta 17", Julius Buckler, (2007 1st Edition)
"Memories of World War 1", William Mitchell, (1960 Edition)
"Memoirs of Brigadier-General Gordon Shephard", Gordon Shephard, (1924 1st Edition)
"My Escape From Donington Hall", Gunther Plüschow, (1922 1st Edition)
"My Experiences in the World War", John J. Pershing, (1931 1st Edition) 2-volume set
"My Helpful Angel Flew With Me", William H. Cupples, (1975 1st Edition)
"My Island Home", James Norman Hall, (1952 1st Edition)
"Night Bombing with the Bedouins", Robert Reece, (Battery Press Edition)
"Night Raiders of the Air", A.R. Kingsford, (1939 Edition)
"Nocturne Militaire", Elliot White Springs, (1934 Edition)
"No Parachute", Arthur Gould Lee, (1970 1st US printing)
"Norman Prince, A Volunteer Who Died for the Cause He Loved", George Babbitt, (1917 1st Edition)
"Observer: Memoirs of the R.F.C., 1915-1918", A.J. Insall, (1970 1st Edition)
"One Airman's War: Aircraft Mechanic Joe Bull's Personal Diaries 1916-1919", Mark Lax, (1997 1st Edition)
"Open Cockpit: A Pilot of the Royal Flying Corps", Arthur Gould Lee, (1969 1st Edition)
"Over the Front in an Aeroplane", Ralph Pulitzer, (1915 1st Edition)
"Riders of the Sky", Leighton Brewer, (1934 1st Edition)
"Rovers of the Night Sky", W.J. 'Night-Hawk' Harvey, (1919 1st Edition)
"Sagittarius Rising", Cecil Lewis, (1936 1st US Edition)
"Sopwith Scout 7309", Sir Patrick Gordon Taylor, (1968 1st Edition)
"Stepchild Pilot", Joseph Doerflinger, (1959 1st Edition)
"That’s My Bloody Plane: The World War I experiences of Major Cecil Montgomery-Moore, as told to Peter Kilduff", (1975 1st Edition)
"The Balloon Buster: Frank Luke of Arizona", Norman S. Hall, (1928 1st Edition)
"The Diary & Letters of a World War I Fighter Pilot", Christopher M. Burgess, (1981 1st Edition)
"The Diary of a P.B.O.* * poor bloody observer", Frank J. Shrive, (1981 1st Edition)
"The Escaping Club", A.J. Evans, (1936 Edition)
"The Flying Poilu", Marcel Nadaud, English translation (1918 1st Edition)
"The Red Battle Flyer", Manfred von Richthofen, English translation, (1918 1st Edition)
"The Red Knight of Germany", Floyd Gibbons, (1927 1st Edition)
"The Spider Web", T.D. Hallam (P.I.X.), (1979 Edition)
"The Way of the Eagle", Charles Biddle, (1919 1st Edition)
"Trenchard: Man of Vision", Andrew Boyle, (1962 1st Edition)
"Up And At 'Em", Harold Hartney, (1940 1st Edition)
"Victor Chapman’s Letters From France", John Jay Chapman, (1917 1st Edition, signed by his father)
"War Birds; Diary of an Unknown Aviator", Elliot White Springs, (1926 1st Edition)
"War Flying in Macedonia", Haupt Heydemarck, English translation, (1936 1st Edition)
"War Letters of Edmond Genet", Edmond Genet, (1918 1st Edition)
"Whom The Gods Love", Lewis C. Merrill, (1953 1st Edition)
"William Barker VC", Wayne Ralph, (2007 1st Edition)
"Wind in the Wires", Duncan Grinnell-Milne, (1918 1st Edition)
"Winged Peace", William Bishop, (1940 1st Edition)
"Winged Victory", V.M. Yeates, (1934 1st US Edition)
"Winged Warfare", William Bishop, (1918 1st Edition)
"Wings over the Somme 1916-1918", Wing Commander Gwilym H. Lewis D.F.C., (1976 1st Edition)
"With the Earth Beneath", A.R. Kingsford, (1936 1st Edition)
"With the Flying Squadron", Harold Rosher, (1916 1st Edition)

History, Reference, and General Interest Books:

"A History of the 17th Aero Squadron", Frederick M. Clapp, (1920 1st Edition)
"A World Undone: The Story of the Great War 1914 to 1918", G.J. Meyer, (2006 Edition)
"Air Aces of the 1914-1918 War", Bruce Robertson, (1964 Edition)
"Aircraft of World War I, 1914-1918", Jack Herris & Bob Pearson, (2010 1st Edition)
"Aircraft of Today", Charles Turner, (1917 1st Edition)
"Aviation in Canada 1917-18", Alan Sullivan, (1919 1st Edition)
"Bristol F2B Fighter: King of Two-Seaters", Chaz Bowyer, (1985 1st Edition)
"Capronis, Farmans, and Sias: U.S. Army Aviation Training and Combat in Italy with Fiorello LaGuardia 1917-1918 ", Jack B. Hilliard, (2006 1st Edition)
"Colliers New Photographic History of the World War", (1917 Edition)
"Color Profiles of World War 1 Combat Planes", Giorgio Apostolo, (1974 1st Edition)
"Decisive Air Battles of the First World War", Arch Whitehouse, (1963 1st Edition)
"Dragon Master: The Kaiser's One-Man Air Force in Tsingtau, China, 1914", Robert E. Whittaker, (1994 1st Edition)
"Early Aircraft Armament: The Aeroplane and the Gun Up to 1918", Harry Woodman, (1989 1st Edition)
"Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War", W.M. Lamberton, (1964 Edition)
"Flying The Old Planes", Frank Tallman, (1973 Edition)
"Fragments From France", Bruce Bairnsfather, (1917 1st Edition) (Great War cartoons by the master of the genre)
"French Aviation During The First World War", Vital Ferry, (2014 1st Edition, English Translation)
"French Military Aeronautical Branch Badges Up to 1918", Phillippe Bartlett, (2003 1st Edition)
"German Aircraft of the First World War", Peter Gray and Owen Thetford, (1962 1st Edition)
"German Air Power in World War 1", John H. Morrow, Jr., (1982 1st Edition)
"Handbook of German Military and Naval Aviation 1918", (1995 Imperial War Museum Reprint)
"Heroes of Aviation", Laurence La Tourette Driggs, (1919 1st Edition)
"High Flew the Falcons", Herbert Molloy Mason Jr., (1965 1st Edition)
"High in the Empty Blue", Alex Revell, (1995 1st Edition with author's signature card)
"Historic Airships", Rupert Holland, (1928 1st Edition)
"History and Rhymes of the Lost Battalion", L.C. McCollum, (1929 Edition)
"History of the World War", Francis March, (1918 1st Edition)
"History of the Great World War", Rolt-Wheeler and Drinker, (1919 1st Edition)
"Italian Aces of World War I and their Aircraft", Roberto Gentilli, Antonio Iozzi, Paolo Varriale, (2003 1st Edition)
"Land and Water" Magazine, (entire April through September 1917 series, hard bound, ex-library copy)
"Ludendorff's Own Story", Erich Ludendorff, (1919 1st Edition) 2-volume set
"Mapping the First World War: Battlefields of the Great Conflict From Above", Simon Forty, (2013 Edition)
"Marine Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War", Heinz J. Nowarra, (1960 Edition)
"Military Aeroplanes", Grover C. Loening, (1918 Edition)
"Naval Aviation in World War I", Naval Aviation News, (1969 1st Edition)
"National Geographic" Magazine, (entire 1918 series, hard bound, ex-library copy)
"New England Aviators 1914-1918: Their Portraits and Their Records", (1919-20 1st Edition) 2-volume set
"Oswald Boelcke - The Red Baron’s Hero", Lance J. Bronnenkant, (2018 1st Edition)
"Paris in Ten Days - A Little Guide for Tommy and The Yank", Sommerville Story, (1918 1st Edition)
"Pilots’ Luck", Drawings by Clayton Knight, (1929 1st Edition)
"Reconnaissance & Bomber Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War", W.M. Lamberton, (1962 Edition)
"Rhymes of a Red Cross Man", Robert W. Service, (1916 1st Edition)
"Schlachtflieger! Germany and the Origins of Air/Ground Support 1916-1918", Rick Duiven and Dan-San Abbott, (2006 1st Edition)
"Shooting the Front: Allied Aerial Reconnaissance and Photographic Interpretation on the Western Front", Terrence J. Finnegan, (2006 1st Edition)
"Source Records of the Great War", (1923 1st Edition) 7-volume set
"Sous Les Cocardes", Marcel Jeanjean, (1919 1st Edition)
"The Air Defence of Britain 1914-1918", Christopher Cole and E.F. Cheeseman, (1984 1st Edition)
"The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres of War 1914-1918", F.M. Cutlack, (1923 1st Edition)
"The Aviation Pocket-Book 1917", R. Borlase Matthews, (1917 Edition)
"The Belgian Air Service in the First World War", Walter M. Pieters, (2010 1st Edition)
"The Fighting Triplanes", Evan Hadingham, (1969 1st Edition)
"The First War Planes", William Barrett, (1960 Edition) (the one that started it all for me)
"The Great Air War", Aaron Norman, (1968 Edition)
"The Great War", George H. Allen, (1919 1st Edition) 5-volume set
"The Great War in the Air", Edgar Middleton, (1920 1st Edition) 4-volume set
"The Imperial Russian Air Service, Famous Pilots and Aircraft of World War One", Alan Durkota, (1996 1st Edition)
"The Lafayette Flying Corps", James Hall and Charles Nordhoff, (1964 Kennikat Press limited edition two-volume set)
"The Literary Digest History of the World War", Francis Whiting Halsey, (1919 1st Edition) 10-volume set
"The People's War Book and Atlas", (1920 1st Edition, signed by Lt. Col. William A. Bishop)
"The Secrets of the German War Office", Dr. Armgaard Karl Graves, (1914 1st Edition)
"The Sky On Fire: The First Battle of Britain", Raymond H. Fredette, (1966 1st Edition)
"The Story of a North Sea Air Station", C.F. Snowden Gamble, (1967 Edition with supplementary notes)
"The United States in the Great War", Willis Abbot, (1919 1st Edition)
"The U.S. Air Service in World War I", Maurer Maurer, (1978 1st Edition) 4-volume set
"The War in the Air", Raleigh and Jones, (1st Edition) 9-volume set including map cases, (originally in the military library at Whitehall; my personal Jewel of the Crown)
"The War That Ended Peace", Margaret MacMillan, (2014 Edition)
"The Western Front from the Air", Nicholas C. Watkis, (1999 1st Edition)
"Time-Life Epic of Flight", 23-volume set, (not old and not strictly WWI but still a lot of good info and photos)
"True Stories of the Great War", (1918 1st Edition) 6-volume set
"Tumult In The Clouds: The British Experience of the War in the Air 1914-1918", Nigel Steel and Peter Hart, (1997 1st Edition)
"U.S. Official Pictures of the World War", Moore and Russell, (1924 1st Edition) 4-volume set
"Winged Mars, Volume I: The German Air Weapon 1870-1914", John R. Cuneo, (1942 1st Edition)
"Winged Mars, Volume II: The German Air Weapon 1914-1916", John R. Cuneo, (1947 1st Edition)
"1920 World Book Encyclopedia", (entire set with addendums, great for cross-referencing in a contemporary context)

 

Instructional Books:

"Aeroplane Construction and Operation", John Rathbun, (1918 1st Edition)
"English-French War Guide for Americans in France", Eugene Maloubier, (1918 Edition)
"Learning to Fly in the U.S. Army", E.N. Fales, (1917 1st Edition)
"Lewis Machine Gun 'Airplane Type' Service and Operation Manual", (1918 Edition)
"Manual of Rigging Notes Technical Data", (1918, possible reprint)
"Manual for Aero Companies", John M. Satterfield, (1916 1st Edition)
"Notes and Rules for Pilots of the Signal Corps Aviation Sections", (1918 1st Edition)
"Practical Flying", W.G. McMinnies, (1918 1st Edition)
"Technical Notes on the Breguet Aeroplane - 14 B2 Type", (1917 1st Edition)
"Technical Notes: Royal Flying Corps", (1916 1st Edition)
"The A-B-C of Aviation", Victor W. Pagé, (1918 1st Edition)
"The Art of Reconnaissance", David Henderson, (1916 1st Edition)
"The Eyes of the Army and Navy", Albert Munday, (1917 1st Edition)
"The Soldiers' English-German Conversation Book: For the Man at the Front", Henry Buller, (1918 1st Edition)
"Training Manual, Royal Flying Corps, Part I", (1914 1st Edition with 1915 Addendum)
"Training Manual, Royal Flying Corps, Part II", (1914 1st Edition)
"Science of Pre-Flight Aeronautics", (1942 Edition)
"Self-Help for the Citizen Soldier", Moss and Stewart, (1915 1st Edition)

 

Keep in mind these are only the actual hard copy books, I have a lot more in digital format as well.  So many books, so little time.

.
 

[TROOPER117 146]

For a ripping good yarn about RFC/RAF WWI flyers, and although fictional, you have to read 'Goshawk Squadron' by Derek Robinson... I read it years ago and couldn't put it down! 

[Bagpipe 15]

Blimey folks them's a load o' books!

Gonna have to bookmark this post to come back to for years to come!

Thanks

[Bagpipe 15]

Mrs has been out in town today and brought back: Catastrophe: Europe Goes to War 1914 by Max Hastings which seems a good place to start I guess.

I see some of the books listed available quite reasonably online too so will get a wee order in!

[+Polovski 458]

My favourites already mentioned..

Sagittarius Rising  - Cecil Lewis. What an amazing man, one the co-founders of the BBC no less amongst his life achievements.  Watch his interviews and see how up beat he is, and then very rarely switches to a momentary sadness when talking of the losses then back up to brightness again.
No Parachute - Arthur Gould Lee
Sopwith Scout 7309 - Gordon Taylor.  Some hair-raising moments in that one.
The Imperial Russian Air Service, Famous Pilots and Aircraft of World War One -  Alan Durkota. Truly an amazing large book with superb rare data and great images. 
The First Air War 1914-191 - Lee Kennett  more of an overview of the war but well explained I thought.

Edited May 15, 2021 by Polovski

[Baldric 42]

This one caused me to fall in love with aviation, WWI especially.

 

Schulz, Charles M. (1966) Snoopy and the Red Baron.   Holt Rinehart Winston.

[+VonS 1,424]

Great posts all, and here are another three references that may not have been mentioned - for those who enjoy perusing the mechanical details of WW1 'crates (the following three run over 300 or 400 pages in length each, giving hours of pleasurable technical reading).

The Airplane Engine, by Lionel S. Marks (McGraw-Hill Inc., 1922).

Textbook of Applied Aeronautical Engineering, by Henry Woodhouse (The Century Co., 1920).

Aeroplane Construction and Operation, by John B. Rathbun (Stanton and Van Villet Co., 1918). (This one I think was mentioned by Lou.)

Cheers all,

Von S

Edited May 15, 2021 by VonS
Edited post.

[AlbertTross 82]

So many great books already mentioned here.

 

I would reiterate, Sagittarius Rising, a fantastic book.

 

I would also draw attention to some excellent statistical gems.

 

The French Air Service War Chronology '14/18' - Frank Bailey and Christophe Cony 

Above the Lines (complete record of German air service and Naval aces in WW1) - Norman Franks and Frank Bailey 

 

KEKs and Fokkerstaffels - Johan Ryheul 

 

One book that has yet to be written though, a comprehensive english language biography of Charles Nungesser........SO much to write about. What a read that would be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bagpipe 15]

I have seen videos of Cecil Lewis and he sounds like a really interesting guy so I will most likely get a hold of Sag. Rising for sure!

Edited May 15, 2021 by Bagpipe

[RAF_Louvert 101]

In addition to the above mentioned Cecil Lewis work, a few of my other personal favorites, in no particular order, are:

"Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps", James McCudden
"Horses Don’t Fly: A Memoir of World War I", Frederick Libby
"No Parachute", Arthur Gould Lee
"Days on the Wing", Willy Coppens
"Heaven High, Hell Deep", Norman Archibald
"Wind in the Wires", Duncan Grinnell-Milne
"Winged Victory", V.M. Yeates
"The Way of the Eagle", Charles Biddle
"Double-Decker C.666", Haupt Heydemarck
"Combat Report", Bill Lambert
"The Diary & Letters of a World War I Fighter Pilot", Christopher M. Burgess
 

 

[catch 81]

9 hours ago, Polovski said:

Cecil Lewis. What an amazing man, one the co-founders of the BBC no less amongst his life achievements

Indeed. What an amazing and full life too. A highly intelligent man. I wish I was that guy. 

10 hours ago, RAF_Louvert said:

What's that you ask?  What all is in my own library?  Well allow me to elaborate.   

Your list is amazing Lou. All those first editions. Worth a ruddy fortune. I would require many cups of tea and cucumber sandwiches to get through that lot. I sincerely hope they are preserved well into the future. 

[Bagpipe 15]

bump, incase anybody else fancies some recommended reading. This page is saved in my bookmarks :D

[Bagpipe 15]

On 5/15/2021 at 1:11 PM, RAF_Louvert said:

By the way, I just checked the downloads section here and the dozens of WWI aviation digital books I brought together over a decade ago for folks are still available via the following link:  WWI Aviation Books downloads

Enjoy! 

I missed this reply first time around and just gave these a look. Absolutely cracking collection, thank you so much for sharing!

[Raine 102]

Another excellent overview of life in the Royal Flying Corps – "No Empty Chairs" by Ian Mackersey.