Fighting the Flying Circus

This is the WWI memoirs of Medal of Honor winner, Capt Eddie Rickenbacker. He fought in and eventually became commander of the 94th "Hat-in-the-Ring" Squadron, which ended the war with the highest number of air victories of any American squadron. The circus mentioned in the title refers to the German squadron commanded by the famous Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen. (Introduction by Brett W. Downey) (10 hr 6 min)

Chapters

01 - INTRODUCING ARCHY	15:14	Read by Brett W. Downey
02 - THE AERODROME	17:21	Read by Brett W. Downey
03 - OUR FIRST SORTIES	24:28	Read by Brett W. Downey
04 - DOWNING MY FIRST HUN	12:25	Read by Brett W. Downey
05 - JIMMY MEISSNER STRIPS HIS WINGS	17:12	Read by Brett W. Downey
06 - JIMMY HALL'S LAST FIGHT	15:59	Read by Brett W. Downey
07 - NEW RESPONSIBILITIES	13:38	Read by Brett W. Downey
08 - A VICTORY AND A NARROW ESCAPE	15:08	Read by Brett W. Downey
09 - DOWN IN FLAMES	15:32	Read by Brett W. Downey
10 - LUFBERY IS KILLED	16:04	Read by Brett W. Downey
11 - SQUADRON FESTIVITIES	17:33	Read by Brett W. Downey
12 - JIMMY MEISSNER AGAIN	15:11	Read by Brett W. Downey
13 - AMERICA'S FIRST ACE	15:05	Read by Brett W. Downey
14 - RUMPLER NUMBER l6	16:40	Read by Brett W. Downey
15 - CAMPBELL'S LAST FIGHT	17:10	Read by Brett W. Downey
16 - BECOMING AN ACE	16:50	Read by Brett W. Downey
17 - A PERPLEXING BANK OF FOG	14:27	Read by Brett W. Downey
18 - STRAFING THE DRACHEN	17:05	Read by Brett W. Downey
19 - THE CHATEAU-THIERRY SALIENT	17:17	Read by Brett W. Downey
20 - THE DEATH OF QUENTIN ROOSEVELT	19:08	Read by Brett W. Downey
21 - THE FLYING CIRCUS SCORES HEAVILY	14:51	Read by Brett W. Downey
22 - OUR SPADS ARRIVE	17:18	Read by Brett W. Downey
23 - BACK CLOSE TO VERDUN	16:34	Read by Brett W. Downey
24 - THE ST. MIHIEL DRIVE	19:26	Read by Brett W. Downey
25 - AMERICAN ACE OF ACES	17:24	Read by Brett W. Downey
26 - CAPTAIN OF THE HAT-IN-THE-RING SQUADRON	16:32	Read by Brett W. Downey
27 - AN EVENTFUL D DAY	17:56	Read by Brett W. Downey
28 - FRANK LUKE STRAFES HIS LAST BALLOON	16:14	Read by Brett W. Downey
29 - A NIGHT-MISSION	17:29	Read by Brett W. Downey
30 - A DAY'S WORK SIX VICTORIES	18:06	Read by Brett W. Downey
31 - SEEING THE WAR	18:00	Read by Brett W. Downey
32 - A REGULAR DOG-FIGHT	18:31	Read by Brett W. Downey
33 - AN AEROPLANE MOVIE SHOW	18:46	Read by Brett W. Downey
34 - AN OVER-ZEALOUS ALLY	16:17	Read by Brett W. Downey
35 - THE END DRAWS NEAR	17:08	Read by Brett W. Downey
36 - LAST VICTORY OF THE GREAT WAR	16:34	Read by Brett W. Downey

Reviews

amazing reader & captivating story

(5 stars)

jaded_grl

first off, an amazing reader! loud peppy voice sounds like you are listening to a "newsreel" announcer from the 20s. i love the little bit at the end of the book where the reader says "also from the great state of ohio", very cute. this book will bring you to a realization of just how fast airplane design changed in the few years of the war. the constant death of war is present, but this writer dix uncle sam a favor in making death sound great & honorable instead of terrible. i appreciate the few occurrences where the pilots arranged to escort a prisoner back instead of shooting down helplessly injured planes. a must read book. fast pace, each chapter is its own story - so if you zone out during a chapter you dont have a "plot line" to miss. make sure you read a war story from the trenches to compare with this one - same war vastly different stories.

Amazing Story, Most Excellent Reader

(5 stars)

mnels

It is appalling how much history is not taught in school nor depicted on screen in documentaries with truth and honestly. This is an absolutely amazing story and should be shared with any boy or young man aspiring to be the best he came be. Brett W. Downy read this as if he were Eddie Rickenbacker and had lived every one of the events that happened.

Wonderful book. All I needed to know about flight in WW1

(5 stars)

D

Well written journal of an American WW1 fighter pilot. Have right me many interesting facts about that war. Book has given me vivid picture of a pilot, many things I'm sure have not changed since then. Book well worth my time and recommend to any war enthusiast.

Great recollection, well read

(5 stars)

Dennis Berry

This is an excellent recollection by Rickenbacker of hi time on the front lines in France during WW I. Downey is a wonderful reader. I felt as though I were listening to Rickenbacker himself. If you enjoy aviation and military history, this is definitely a book worth listening to...

EXCELLENT

(5 stars)

GonzoRanch

Goofy title, but this is REALLY interesting, w/ an engaging & compelling writing style. It's very long, but NEVER gets boring or slow. The reader - it felt like he / she really was the author. Kudos Dude / Dudettes.

Great story!

(5 stars)

Seven Archers

A rare glimpse into what it was like to be the first, and best, warriors of the air when flying was still in it's infancy by one of the greatest aviators this nation every produced.

Superb reading of a fascinating account

(5 stars)

beeker

This is my first foray into Librevox and I'm delighted and surprised by the quality of this presentation. Excellent work by Brett!