Being there . . . . for Schiffer Publishing Company’s famed military historian-author NormanFranks’ introductions of British and American Aces of World War I, followed in a few weeks,with an equally rare meeting of German air aces of that bitter disastrous European conflict.Mention the name Norman Franks and buffs of the First World War spring and leap to salute.All agree that Norman, with more than 80 works to large-formatted works to his name, bathesin such sobriquets as “world renowned” and “acknowledged expert” because he really is adedicated researcher of British, American, French, and German aviation history. In addition tohis impeccable research, he is matchless when it comes to quiet, well-told narration of complexaerial battles, especially when supported with photos, diagrams, charts, maps, drawings, etc.Here, there are 229 pages of faces, if studied carefully, reveal more than even he can describe.Their photo identities are clear and cogent, suggesting each man has an incredible, hardlybelievable, autobiography to share driving the reader nuts yearning to know and befriend.“BRITISH AND AMERICAN ACES OF WORLD WAR I – – The Pictorial Record”, by Norman Franks. ASchiffer Military History Book, Atglen, Pa.: 2005, 229 pages, 9” x 11 ½”, hardcover; $59.95. E-mail: info@schifferbooks.com.Reviewed and highly recommended by Don DeNeviTo prove how demanding such a book was to create, compile, and compose in words andphotos, Norman lets us know in the second paragraph that throughout the day and nights ofthose brutal four years, 1914 – 1918 German aces numbered a little over 400, while thecombined total of British and Americans ranged around 900. Of course, it was an impossibletask to collect reasonable portraits or just photos of the lower scoring aces. Therefore, decidedthe author, he would concentrate on those British aces that achieved ten or more definite kills.For us Americans, he covered all fighter pilots, from Rickenbacker’s 26 down to Robert Todd’sfive. Enthralling is how this masterful work is subdivided: first, THE TOP TWELVE, each fighterpilot with 14 victories. Then follows the aces with 39 to 30 certain and verified “kills”; followedby 29 to 20, all the way down to aces with 9 to 5. The final two section of the book are devotedto the pilots and aces of the French Air Service and British and American aces in alphabeticalorder.Since this over-sized, coffee-table book is a pictorial record, it offers no narrative texts or in-depth captions or bibliography of biographies or autobiographies. A crying shame since thishard-research endeavor surely would have mentioned, which, in less than an hour could havealphabetized for us buffs, seeing the portraits, crave the minds behind the faces. Within abreath of completing this sentence, this reviewer with a new overpowering curiosity about WWI aviation will be requesting review copies of “The LAFAYETTE FLYING CORPS – – The AmericanVolunteers in the French Air Service in World War I”, “THE CAMEL DRIVERS – – The 17 th AeroSquadron in World War I”, “ITALIAN ACES OF WORLD WAR I AND THEIR AIRCRAFT – – Roberto
Gentilli, Antonio Iozzi & Paolo Varriale”.
