"During my whole life, I have not found a happier hunting ground than that in the course of the Somme River." That famous sentence begins the chapter on the Battle of the Somme in Manfred Von Richtofen's autobiography, The Red Baron, first published in 1917 and available in a reprint by Pen & Sword with additional new material. In this edition, Norman Franks summarizes Richtofen's air battles and gives us a fine summary of the life of Richtofen. N. H. Hauprich presents a list of the aircraft flown by Richtofen.

That this work is of historical value cannot be denied. It is, after all, the autobiography of one of the truly great flying aces of World War I. That it is a fascinating portrayal of a gentleman officer in a world long gone cannot be denied. That it is a very entertaining read cannot be denied.

And yet, to the modern reader there is something uncomfortable in Richtofen's describing combat in such a way as to read like the adventure books for boys so popular in his time: "I advised him to fly around the smoke cloud. Holck did not intend to do this. On the contrary. The greater the danger, the more the thing attracted him. Therefore straight through! I enjoyed it too to be together with such a daring fellow."

Richtofen died young, of course, and he died in a fight in the Valley of the Somme, his happy hunting ground. We are not likely to see his type again, and that may not be a bad thing.

--David Lang at Advance Book Reviews

I saw a biography about the Red Baron on tv and thought that he had an exciting life so I wanted to read his book that way I could read about it straight from the person that lived these events. The book is fairly short and you could easily read through it very fast without any trouble. He writes about his childhood,entering the cavalry and the war, then how he became a piolet and the rest of the book talks about his many victories as the best fighter piolet. There are a bunch of black and white pictures of the Baron, other German aces and a few planes. There is also a list of all his victims including the plane type, date, times and piolets and there is also a list of the planes he flew and which victims he shot down in which plane.

I liked the book because it's an easy read, it has some funny parts and exciting moments and in a way you get a feel for the man himself. However there are some things I didn't like such as he doesn't go into much detail through the book it's like he just breezes through some of his fights in a few sentences or so which kind of makes it anti climatic. One example is how his brother just shows up out of nowhere and is fighting along side him and not much is said about him. I'm also sure that there was some propaganda thrown in since this book was released during the war. I bet he would have wrote a far better book after the war had he lived but as we all know he was shot down.

This isn't the book to read if you want to know everything about the Red Baron but if you want to read what he experienced first hand then get this autobiography because it's a good read and it's coming straight from the horses mouth that.

I wonder if some of the fatherland stuff was added by one of the Kaiser's goons. This guy is a wild boar hunting nutcase. A great book if you wonder why Germany keeps starting wars.

This is a fantastic autobiography, because Von Richthofen was an amazing person. Very real (he devotes as much attention to his cousin and him climbing the spire of the local church, as he does to some of his aerial battles), full of good-natured humor and a zest for life. I particularly loved how the early fighter pilots were known as "Knights of the Sky", and kept to the chivalric code, including following downed pilots to ensure that they were all right.

Great book! Great photos and an amazing life told by The Red Baron himself (translated into English, of course!).

The book is great.... However, one would think that the printer would check the spelling of his last name on the front cover.... It's "Richthofen" and NOT "Richtofen" as printed.... Will the printer replace the book???

Regards,
Don_

The book is great.... However, one would think that the printer would check the spelling of his last name on the front cover.... It's "Richthofen" and NOT "Richtofen" as printed.... Will the printer replace the book???

Regards,
Don_

An autobiography on the Red Baron up until he was killed in action, First chapter in the book dispells any myths about "he only shot down lesser performing aircraft - reality only 36 kills out of 80" etc, Manfred gives details of his and his family background his initial military career as a calvary officer and the opening stages of the war which then follows onto his aviation career until he was killed.

Awesome book and gives the reader some idea what went on inside the head of the Red Baron. Most interesting reading!

I first read this book when I was in high school. After I finished it and returned it to the library I then promptly checked it out again. After that I came on Amazon to try and find it and found the first American printing of it in hardback (the same edition that the school had) and bought it. As many times as I've read it now I always laugh at some points and enjoy the book the same as I did when I first read it. If you want a good non-fiction book on World War 1 then get this.

This book is great! An insight into the thoughts of the grandfather of air combat tactics. Manfred's descripton of Boelke and the early air tactics of fighter aircraft is well worth the read. Humorous, and serious, this is also a book for anyone that wants to excel in the business world, Manfred delivers sage advice regarding life and skills needed to become the best.

I am looking for an autographed copy of this book. Anyone know where I can look for one?

An autobiography of the Red Baron... need I say more? The writing makes you feel as if you were actually in the war. Lothar does a great job of describing von Richthofen's funeral. There is also a good description by Captain Browne (Brown?) of how he was shot down. A definite must-have.

This is an excellent title, the best I've read on WWI aviation. Not for the quality of the writing but because the author is Manfred von Richtofen himself. It also includes chapters by his younger brother Lothar, another German ace, and Capt. Roy Brown, who is credited with shooting the Red Baron down. A great book! Hope you can find a copy. (Can't have mine :-)) Patrick Williams