Sagittarius Rising
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Overview
The aircraft were parasols, Sopwith Camels, Moranes; the young warriors who flew them were the world's first aces. They piloted their flimsy planes in dawn patrols across no-man's-land and over enemy trenches, dived headlong--guns stuttering--into deadly Richthofen Circus, and dueled with an adversary as brave as themselves. They fought the first--and last--gallant war in the skies.These memoirs of a combat pilot in England's Royal Flying Corps during WW I are a great classic of military aviation, a chronicle of a lost age of heroes and the birth of a new age of flight.
"This prince of pilots has had a charmed life in every sense of the word. He is a thinker, a master of words and a bit of a poet" --George Bernard Shaw
Synopsis
Classic memoir of a renowned WWI ace, sent to France with the Royal Flying Corps at just 17, Cecil Lewis was an illustrious and passionate fighter pilot., described by Bernard Shaw in 1935 as 'a thinker, a master of words, and a bit of a poet'. In this vivid account the author evocatively sets his love of the skies and flying against his bitter experience of the horrors of war.
Michael Rogers - Library Journal
A born aviator, Lewis was winging his way over France as a member of the Royal Flying Air Corps at the ripe old age of 17 and ultimately became a member of Britain's top squadron of World War I fighter pilots. Lewis recalls his experiences in this 1936 memoir in which he relates his love of flying and the horror of aerial combat.
Editorials
Lone Star Book Review
"…brings to life the illustrious career of a passionate fighter pilot…engaging and spirited account…beautifully written and by turns horrifying, moving and exhilarating, this is a stirring tribute to the remarkable young men who risked their lives daily in the golden age of aerial combat."Library Journal
A born aviator, Lewis was winging his way over France as a member of the Royal Flying Air Corps at the ripe old age of 17 and ultimately became a member of Britain's top squadron of World War I fighter pilots. Lewis recalls his experiences in this 1936 memoir in which he relates his love of flying and the horror of aerial combat.
—Michael Rogers