Horses Don't Fly: A Memoir Of World War I

Horses Don't Fly: A Memoir of World War I

Review"...fascinating...captures the panorama of the war years...an important piece of previously unpublished history...a gripping and uplifting story to read..." -- Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump"...long overdue...a great event...More than a cowboy or a flying ace, Captain Libby was a genuine American hero..." -- W.E.B. Griffin, author of Brotherhood of War, The Corps, Men at War, and Honor Bound series"Frederick Libby has a marvelous capacity for recalling specific details of his life as horseman, aviator, soldier, and consummate citizen of the 20th century..." -- Clayton Reynolds, author of Franklin's Crossing and PlayersIn a firsthand account of the air war over France during World War I, American cowboy-turned-ace-pilot Frederick Libby describes his enlistment in Canada's Royal Flying Corps and his daring exploits in the air over enemy lines. 25,000 first printing.From Library JournalIt is surprising that this remarkable World War I memoir, written shortly after 1918, has remained unpublished for 82 years. Author Libby survived the war and died in 1970, but he left a powerful account of his three years of aerial combat over the trenches in France, first as an observer/gunner and later as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps. Libby was an American cowboy from Colorado. By 1914, at age 22, he was in Canada and joined the Canadian Army for the travel and adventure offered by a world war. The first half of the book is Libby's tale of cowpunching and horsebreaking in the last decades of the Old West. Even better, however, is the second half, where he vividly relates his at once hilarious and terrifying experiences as an American flying in a British aircraft against swarms of German fighter planes. Credited with 24 aerial victories, Libby was the first American to be awarded England's Military Cross for valor, presented by King George V himself. By volunteering before America entered the war, Libby lost his citizenship, but he clearly has no regrets. This colorful, stirring memoir leaves no doubt that he made the right decision, and it serves as a grim reminder of the archaic chivalry and cold-blooded nature of early aerial warfare. Strongly recommended for all public libraries.DCol. William D. Bushnell, USMC (ret.), Harpswell, MECopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.About the Author" Frederick Libby downed twenty-four confirmed enemy aircraft as a gunner and pilot in the Royal Flying Corps and retired from the U.S. Army Signal Corps with the rank of captain. After the war, he married and raised a family in southern California. He became a wildcatter and made and lost a fortune exploring for oil. He also continued his career as an aviation pioneer, founding Western Air Express, a cargo airline that became a commercial carrier, in the 1950s. He died in 1970."