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In the Company of Eagles
Superb prose in a gritty and vast WWI landscape. This is worth having, and reading over and over. This author has used some interesting ways of telling this story, and not just in the blood rivalry between the French ace Sgt. Chamay and his personal enemy, German Lt. Kupper. Look for some interesting the adventures of the ham from Kempinsky's, the comic (and sometimes dangerous) mishaps of Chamay's mechanics, and Sgt. Chamay's bicycle trip through the terrible aftermath of the Nivelle Offensive. The author has avoided the cliches about knights of the air. He spares nothing about the lethal and grisly nature of fighting, without parachutes, in what were little more than cloth-and-wood kites. And Chamay's battle with Kupper is not a duel but a search for he wants to kill him, not joust.
240 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
About the author
Ernest K. Gann
50 books100 followersErnest K Gann was an aviator, author, filmmaker, sailor, fisherman and conservationist.
After earning his pilot license, Gann spent his much of his free time aloft, flying for pleasure. The continuing Great Depression soon cost him his job and he was unable to find another position in the movie business. In search of work, he decided to move his family to California. Gann was able to find odd jobs at Burbank Airport, and also began to write short stories. A friend managed to get him a part-time job as a co-pilot with a local airline company and it was there that he flew his first trips as a professional aviator. In the late 1930s many airlines were hiring as many pilots as they could find; after hearing of these opportunities, Gann and his family returned to New York where he managed to get hired by American Airlines to fly the Douglas DC-2 and Douglas DC-3.
For several years Gann enjoyed flying routes in the northeast for American. In 1942, many U.S. airlines' pilots and aircraft were absorbed into the Air Transport Command of the U.S. Army Air Forces to assist in the War Effort. Gann and many of his co-workers at American volunteered to join the group. He flew DC-3s, Douglas DC-4s and Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express transports (the cargo version of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber). His wartime trips took him across the North Atlantic to Europe, and then on to Africa, South America, India, and other exotic places. Some of his most harrowing experiences came while flying The Hump airlift across the Himalayas into China. In the years to come Gann's worldwide travels and various adventures would become the inspiration for many of his novels and screenplays.
At the end of World War II, the Air Transport Command released the civilian pilots and aircraft back to their airlines. Gann decided to leave American Airlines in search of new adventures. He was quickly hired as a pilot with a new company called Matson Airlines that was a venture of the Matson steamship line. He flew from the U.S. West Coast across the Pacific to Honolulu. This experience spawned ideas that were developed into one of his best-known works, 'The High and the Mighty.' Matson ultimately soon fell prey to the politically well-connected Pan American Airlines and failed. After a few more short-lived flying jobs, Gann became discouraged with aviation and he turned to writing as a full-time occupation.
Gann's major works include the novel The High and the Mighty and his aviation focused, near-autobiography Fate Is the Hunter. Notes and short stories scribbled down during long layovers on his pioneering trips across the North Atlantic became the source for his first serious fiction novel, Island in the Sky (1944), which was inspired by an actual Arctic rescue mission. It became an immediate best-seller as did Blaze of Noon (1946), a story about early air mail operations. In 1978, he published his comprehensive autobiography, entitled A Hostage to Fortune.
Although many of his 21 best-selling novels show Gann’s devotion to aviation, others, including Twilight for the Gods, and Fiddler's Green reflect his love of the sea. His experiences as a fisherman, skipper and sailor, all contributed storylines and depth to his nautical fiction. He later wrote an autobiography of his sailing life called Song of the Sirens.
Gann wrote, or adapted from his books, the stories and screenplays for several movies and television shows. For some of these productions he also served as a consultant and technical adviser during filming. Although it received positive reviews, Gann was displeased with the film version of Fate Is the Hunter, and removed his name from the credits. (He later lamented that this decision cost him a "fortune" in royalties, as the film played repeatedly on television for years afterward.) He wrote the story for the television miniseries Masada, based on 'The Antagonists.'
After earning his pilot license, Gann spent his much of his free time aloft, flying for pleasure. The continuing Great Depression soon cost him his job and he was unable to find another position in the movie business. In search of work, he decided to move his family to California. Gann was able to find odd jobs at Burbank Airport, and also began to write short stories. A friend managed to get him a part-time job as a co-pilot with a local airline company and it was there that he flew his first trips as a professional aviator. In the late 1930s many airlines were hiring as many pilots as they could find; after hearing of these opportunities, Gann and his family returned to New York where he managed to get hired by American Airlines to fly the Douglas DC-2 and Douglas DC-3.
For several years Gann enjoyed flying routes in the northeast for American. In 1942, many U.S. airlines' pilots and aircraft were absorbed into the Air Transport Command of the U.S. Army Air Forces to assist in the War Effort. Gann and many of his co-workers at American volunteered to join the group. He flew DC-3s, Douglas DC-4s and Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express transports (the cargo version of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber). His wartime trips took him across the North Atlantic to Europe, and then on to Africa, South America, India, and other exotic places. Some of his most harrowing experiences came while flying The Hump airlift across the Himalayas into China. In the years to come Gann's worldwide travels and various adventures would become the inspiration for many of his novels and screenplays.
At the end of World War II, the Air Transport Command released the civilian pilots and aircraft back to their airlines. Gann decided to leave American Airlines in search of new adventures. He was quickly hired as a pilot with a new company called Matson Airlines that was a venture of the Matson steamship line. He flew from the U.S. West Coast across the Pacific to Honolulu. This experience spawned ideas that were developed into one of his best-known works, 'The High and the Mighty.' Matson ultimately soon fell prey to the politically well-connected Pan American Airlines and failed. After a few more short-lived flying jobs, Gann became discouraged with aviation and he turned to writing as a full-time occupation.
Gann's major works include the novel The High and the Mighty and his aviation focused, near-autobiography Fate Is the Hunter. Notes and short stories scribbled down during long layovers on his pioneering trips across the North Atlantic became the source for his first serious fiction novel, Island in the Sky (1944), which was inspired by an actual Arctic rescue mission. It became an immediate best-seller as did Blaze of Noon (1946), a story about early air mail operations. In 1978, he published his comprehensive autobiography, entitled A Hostage to Fortune.
Although many of his 21 best-selling novels show Gann’s devotion to aviation, others, including Twilight for the Gods, and Fiddler's Green reflect his love of the sea. His experiences as a fisherman, skipper and sailor, all contributed storylines and depth to his nautical fiction. He later wrote an autobiography of his sailing life called Song of the Sirens.
Gann wrote, or adapted from his books, the stories and screenplays for several movies and television shows. For some of these productions he also served as a consultant and technical adviser during filming. Although it received positive reviews, Gann was displeased with the film version of Fate Is the Hunter, and removed his name from the credits. (He later lamented that this decision cost him a "fortune" in royalties, as the film played repeatedly on television for years afterward.) He wrote the story for the television miniseries Masada, based on 'The Antagonists.'
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 14, 2016
An excellent, gritty account of two WWI aviators, one a war-weary German ace and the other a French aviator out for revenge. The book spoke to me as a pilot, capturing the elements of flight perfectly. Very good supporting casts, with a little bit of humor mixed in. Highly recommended 4 Stars, a throwback to the age when a great story could be written in less than 250 pages.
May 15, 2016
The prologue of this novel is dialogue alone and it was so convincing that I had to double-check that it was indeed fiction. Set in World War I, the story follows Sergeant Chamay, a young French aviator in search of revenge after witnessing the terrible death of his best friend, and Oberleutnant Kupper, a German ace whose victories have won him both respect and hatred from friend and foe alike and whose experiences have cut scars deeper than he will allow to show. These two very different men are drawn together by the threads of fate and circumstance, and through their own choices they are shaped, changed and brought to an inevitable climax that threatens to bring down more than airplanes.
I picked up this book not knowing what to expect and came away having enjoyed the read more than I anticipated. The transitions between the two narratives could have been smoother and I would have liked it more if the narrative had merged, as the story did, at the end instead of continuing to cut off and come in from another angle.
I liked the focus on the private battles of the everyday soldier and aviator, as well as the character development of the two protagonists – Chamay's gradual decline into becoming precisely what he despised in his enemy, and Kupper's growing self-realisation, his struggle to be an effective leader and the gentle yet tragic purging of pride from his character.
Other characters, such as Kupper's batman Pilger, were captivating portraits, although it seemed to me they each represented a class of soldier rather than a man. I'm not sure if this was intentional, but I liked it. There is also a subtle examination of women's influence on soldiers and lovers, and therefore the war.
All the way through I thought I was so clever and predicting the end, but it didn't happen the way I thought it would. I liked it, especially how the story starts and ends with Pilger's perspective.
The author, Ernest K. Gann, was himself an aviator, so his own experiences provide realistic material for the novel and I learned some things about airplanes and aviators (it also helped that when I first started reading this book I watched the movie "The Red Baron", which is about the great fighter ace Richtofen). The downside of this is that the author is more an adventurer and less a writer. I didn't feel so involved in the story as I would have liked to and I think this is because the author, besides being American and not as immersed in the war as the Allied British and French, "flew for pleasure" and his wartime experiences seemed to amount to flying "across the North Atlantic to Europe, and then on to Africa, South America, India, and other exotic places". Sadly, that sense of distance comes across in this novel. To the author, there is nothing at stake except valuable machinery. In a war novel, there needs to exist that vital sense of all or nothing, the very fight for survival, the passion for home and country, the devotion to a cause, and the readiness to die for loved ones.
But overall I enjoyed the plot, suspense and characters. This is a story of honour where honour is lost.
I picked up this book not knowing what to expect and came away having enjoyed the read more than I anticipated. The transitions between the two narratives could have been smoother and I would have liked it more if the narrative had merged, as the story did, at the end instead of continuing to cut off and come in from another angle.
I liked the focus on the private battles of the everyday soldier and aviator, as well as the character development of the two protagonists – Chamay's gradual decline into becoming precisely what he despised in his enemy, and Kupper's growing self-realisation, his struggle to be an effective leader and the gentle yet tragic purging of pride from his character.
Other characters, such as Kupper's batman Pilger, were captivating portraits, although it seemed to me they each represented a class of soldier rather than a man. I'm not sure if this was intentional, but I liked it. There is also a subtle examination of women's influence on soldiers and lovers, and therefore the war.
All the way through I thought I was so clever and predicting the end, but it didn't happen the way I thought it would. I liked it, especially how the story starts and ends with Pilger's perspective.
The author, Ernest K. Gann, was himself an aviator, so his own experiences provide realistic material for the novel and I learned some things about airplanes and aviators (it also helped that when I first started reading this book I watched the movie "The Red Baron", which is about the great fighter ace Richtofen). The downside of this is that the author is more an adventurer and less a writer. I didn't feel so involved in the story as I would have liked to and I think this is because the author, besides being American and not as immersed in the war as the Allied British and French, "flew for pleasure" and his wartime experiences seemed to amount to flying "across the North Atlantic to Europe, and then on to Africa, South America, India, and other exotic places". Sadly, that sense of distance comes across in this novel. To the author, there is nothing at stake except valuable machinery. In a war novel, there needs to exist that vital sense of all or nothing, the very fight for survival, the passion for home and country, the devotion to a cause, and the readiness to die for loved ones.
But overall I enjoyed the plot, suspense and characters. This is a story of honour where honour is lost.
May 27, 2015
An out-of-print, little-remembered classic from Ernest K. Gann, but well worth a read now that the centennial of WWI is upon us. Superb prose in a gritty and vast wartime landscape. This book is worth having, and reading over and over. This author has used some interesting ways of telling this story, and not just in the blood rivalry between the French ace Sgt. Chamay and his personal enemy, German Lt. Kupper. Look for some interesting subplots: the adventures of the ham from Kempinsky's, the comic (and sometimes dangerous) mishaps of Chamay's mechanics, and Sgt. Chamay's bicycle trip through the terrible aftermath of the Nivelle Offensive.
The author has avoided the cliches about knights of the air. He spares nothing about the lethal and grisly nature of fighting, without parachutes, in what were little more than cloth-and-wood kites. And Chamay's battle with Kupper is not a duel but a search for vengeance: he wants to kill him, not joust.
And the other people in the book! They're vivid; the bestial Pvt. Pilger in Kupper's aerdrome is one such. And there's Chamay's squadron leader, Capt. Jourdan, "His Excellency" (not complimentary) to his unit, who shows some surprising changes. "For the seediest, most ineffectual officer they had ever known had taught them what it was to be a soldier of France."
Here's hoping this book is back in print someday.
The author has avoided the cliches about knights of the air. He spares nothing about the lethal and grisly nature of fighting, without parachutes, in what were little more than cloth-and-wood kites. And Chamay's battle with Kupper is not a duel but a search for vengeance: he wants to kill him, not joust.
And the other people in the book! They're vivid; the bestial Pvt. Pilger in Kupper's aerdrome is one such. And there's Chamay's squadron leader, Capt. Jourdan, "His Excellency" (not complimentary) to his unit, who shows some surprising changes. "For the seediest, most ineffectual officer they had ever known had taught them what it was to be a soldier of France."
Here's hoping this book is back in print someday.
January 12, 2013
Actual rating: 2.5 stars.
I was hoping for more WWI aviation action than Gann actually delivered here. The story focuses on two pilots, one German, one French, who fight on different sides of the front lines near Reims in 1916-1917, the stagnant trench warfare period of the Great War before the Americans entered. There's plenty of aviation history built into the narrative, and one learns a great deal about German and French fighter aircraft, tactics, training, and the day-to-day lives of early military aviators (how they were billeted, paid, fed, promoted, etc). The novel centers on the conflict between the two men, Kupper and Chamey, but Gann provides so much background the story builds too slowly toward the climactic dogfight. We spend chapter after chapter inside the heads of Kupper and Chamey as they ruminate, express doubts, and debate their inner devils ... and then, when the dogfight finally arrives, it is anticlimactic. My main stumbling point with this novel is its slowness. Too much day-to-day, not enough fighting or aerial derring-do. It's a good read, but not a thrilling one.
I was hoping for more WWI aviation action than Gann actually delivered here. The story focuses on two pilots, one German, one French, who fight on different sides of the front lines near Reims in 1916-1917, the stagnant trench warfare period of the Great War before the Americans entered. There's plenty of aviation history built into the narrative, and one learns a great deal about German and French fighter aircraft, tactics, training, and the day-to-day lives of early military aviators (how they were billeted, paid, fed, promoted, etc). The novel centers on the conflict between the two men, Kupper and Chamey, but Gann provides so much background the story builds too slowly toward the climactic dogfight. We spend chapter after chapter inside the heads of Kupper and Chamey as they ruminate, express doubts, and debate their inner devils ... and then, when the dogfight finally arrives, it is anticlimactic. My main stumbling point with this novel is its slowness. Too much day-to-day, not enough fighting or aerial derring-do. It's a good read, but not a thrilling one.
Want to Read
November 3, 2024Just to answer some questions the description of the shooting down of the French pilot is in the prologue. I don’t know how I missed that. Cooper was 36 years of age not 32. I read this book a second time actually it’s a third time, but I didn’t count the second time because I think I just scanned it but this time I reread the entire book and I am still amazed by the ending. Every time I read this book I think about it for the standard three days. It takes three days to adjust to a shock. Somehow, I always find the ending of this a shock only because how close they got to each other and could see each other’s faces it’s always interesting to me how Ernest Gann relates character thoughts in all their complexities. I think of this book and I look at it and I say I don’t know if I could’ve written all that. I will read it again. I’m sure. I still think the Frenchman was arrogant, but I always wonder in the light of future events how these two characters would’ve survived a second war and what they would’ve done.
Original review
OK OK I know it’s a war book but I loved this book. Oh, I loved it. I like Ernest K Gann I always have. I discovered this book by accident looking for something else. I don’t even know what I was looking for but I found this book. I had the most sympathy for the German character. Ernest Gann did a really good job of portraying a Frenchman out for revenge. It was kind of interesting that both of them were weary of killing, but the Frenchman was very arrogant. The strange thing is, I couldn’t find a description of the way the Frenchman got shot down that started the whole thing. Did he not describe it? I looked and looked and looked and looked again. it must’ve slipped through my mind. because I reviewed the chapters and every time somebody would mention the original incident I couldn’t find it. So I gave up and said OK I’ll just go look later and maybe I’m just missing something here.
But he did such a good job of portraying the feelings of the characters that I kept reading the book and still want to find out if I missed something. It’s not very often that I want to re-read a book but I’m sure I’ll read this one again and again and again and again. I have begun to read World War One literature. I read a lot of World War II literature, so I am kind of familiar with that genre. we are getting to the point where we are getting literature that’s based on third hand sources so the people who wrote the books in the 50s were there, the 60s, were the people who read the books written by the people who were there. Now, it’s the people who read the people who read the primary sources that are writing the books about World War II. I don’t think we have any world war one people left to write books. I know this book was written in the 60s. I don’t remember if the author was a pilot in world war one. I’ll need to re-search him again because I know I read a couple of other books that he wrote about flying and I’m sure he put his history somewhere. It was rather dramatic as I recall. Anyway, to get back to this book, I thought it was humorous and serious, and just a great story in general. And I was surprised at how old Cooper was. I thought he might be younger than 32. I read that in the text somewhere and I said oh I didn’t realize that he was, that far advanced in some thing at maturity or years or both. I just can’t get over this book. I kind of knew though before it happened how it would end. It was just fascinating how he ended it and where he ended it. It seems these days authors or even ones in the past just drag the books out forever and ever and ever. He just ended it where he did and left the rest to your imagination. I like that. This book gets 10 stars on a five star rating.
And then there are people who know me that would just say I have a thing about eyes. You have to read the book to understand what I mean by that. And I also have a different relationship with dogs since moving to Texas, because I kept noticing the prominence of Cooper’s dog, and how important he was to the story. I just liked the book. That’s all. I can’t say anything else about it except that. :-) So I won’t say anymore, except to say only that I keep thinking about this book. I think I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.
Original review
OK OK I know it’s a war book but I loved this book. Oh, I loved it. I like Ernest K Gann I always have. I discovered this book by accident looking for something else. I don’t even know what I was looking for but I found this book. I had the most sympathy for the German character. Ernest Gann did a really good job of portraying a Frenchman out for revenge. It was kind of interesting that both of them were weary of killing, but the Frenchman was very arrogant. The strange thing is, I couldn’t find a description of the way the Frenchman got shot down that started the whole thing. Did he not describe it? I looked and looked and looked and looked again. it must’ve slipped through my mind. because I reviewed the chapters and every time somebody would mention the original incident I couldn’t find it. So I gave up and said OK I’ll just go look later and maybe I’m just missing something here.
But he did such a good job of portraying the feelings of the characters that I kept reading the book and still want to find out if I missed something. It’s not very often that I want to re-read a book but I’m sure I’ll read this one again and again and again and again. I have begun to read World War One literature. I read a lot of World War II literature, so I am kind of familiar with that genre. we are getting to the point where we are getting literature that’s based on third hand sources so the people who wrote the books in the 50s were there, the 60s, were the people who read the books written by the people who were there. Now, it’s the people who read the people who read the primary sources that are writing the books about World War II. I don’t think we have any world war one people left to write books. I know this book was written in the 60s. I don’t remember if the author was a pilot in world war one. I’ll need to re-search him again because I know I read a couple of other books that he wrote about flying and I’m sure he put his history somewhere. It was rather dramatic as I recall. Anyway, to get back to this book, I thought it was humorous and serious, and just a great story in general. And I was surprised at how old Cooper was. I thought he might be younger than 32. I read that in the text somewhere and I said oh I didn’t realize that he was, that far advanced in some thing at maturity or years or both. I just can’t get over this book. I kind of knew though before it happened how it would end. It was just fascinating how he ended it and where he ended it. It seems these days authors or even ones in the past just drag the books out forever and ever and ever. He just ended it where he did and left the rest to your imagination. I like that. This book gets 10 stars on a five star rating.
And then there are people who know me that would just say I have a thing about eyes. You have to read the book to understand what I mean by that. And I also have a different relationship with dogs since moving to Texas, because I kept noticing the prominence of Cooper’s dog, and how important he was to the story. I just liked the book. That’s all. I can’t say anything else about it except that. :-) So I won’t say anymore, except to say only that I keep thinking about this book. I think I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.
October 28, 2023
This novel of aerial combat in the Great War focuses on Sergeant Paul Chamay of the 322nd Escadrille in the Service Aéronautique and Leutnant Sebastian Kupper of Jasta 76 of the Luftstreitkräfte. Early in his combat experience Chamay sees his friend and mentor, Raymonde, killed by a German flying an Albatros with a distinctive target painted on its fuselage. Chamay is enraged since, though Raymonde’s aeroplane was incapacitated, he might have survived had Kupper (the Albatros was his) not come in to fire at him again, hitting him in the head. Chamay is from then on fixated on seeking out that Albatros and killing its pilot.
While that is the bare bones of the plot the book as a whole is much more nuanced than this might suggest, as it also explores - if only briefly - other characters, Chamay’s inventive but slightly hare-brained mechanic Babarin and forgetful armourer Susotte, his commander, the formal Captain Jourdan, and a lover, Denise, Kupper’s relationship with his wife Marie via her letters, his stolid batman Private Pilger, and the wily scrounger Feldwebel Groos. There is also a sequence involving a ham from Kempinsky’s, a gift to Kupper from Marie that is coveted by all at the front and manages to pass through several hands.
Gann outlines the vicissitudes of a Great War fighter pilot, always on the lookout, never able to let his guard down, the rigours of open cockpit aerial warfare, swathed in warm clothing, the cramp induced by the controls.
There is also a brief account of the catastrophic Nivelle offensive of 1917, of the French units which fought in it, and died, the calamity which led to mutiny and refusal to undertake any more offensive operations.
Later in the book we find that Kupper thought he was performing a mercy on Raymonde, saving him from a fiery death, though of course Chamay never gets to know this.
The final encounter, to which the book was always leading up, unfolds in a way which is a touch unexpected.
I have long held in interest in the aerial aspect of the Great War having read the histories They Fought for the Sky by Quentin Reynolds and The Friendless Sky by Alexander Mckee in my youth. Though fiction, In the Company of Eagles is as good an introduction to the subject as any.
Pedant’s corner:- The cover illustration isn’t quite spot on. There are two [red] Fokker Triplanes depicted on the wraparound cover but none appears in the text – though an attack by new [black] RNAS Sopwith Triplanes on Kupper’s airfield does. In addition I believe only Manfred von Richthofen flew a red-coloured Fokker Triplane.
While that is the bare bones of the plot the book as a whole is much more nuanced than this might suggest, as it also explores - if only briefly - other characters, Chamay’s inventive but slightly hare-brained mechanic Babarin and forgetful armourer Susotte, his commander, the formal Captain Jourdan, and a lover, Denise, Kupper’s relationship with his wife Marie via her letters, his stolid batman Private Pilger, and the wily scrounger Feldwebel Groos. There is also a sequence involving a ham from Kempinsky’s, a gift to Kupper from Marie that is coveted by all at the front and manages to pass through several hands.
Gann outlines the vicissitudes of a Great War fighter pilot, always on the lookout, never able to let his guard down, the rigours of open cockpit aerial warfare, swathed in warm clothing, the cramp induced by the controls.
There is also a brief account of the catastrophic Nivelle offensive of 1917, of the French units which fought in it, and died, the calamity which led to mutiny and refusal to undertake any more offensive operations.
Later in the book we find that Kupper thought he was performing a mercy on Raymonde, saving him from a fiery death, though of course Chamay never gets to know this.
The final encounter, to which the book was always leading up, unfolds in a way which is a touch unexpected.
I have long held in interest in the aerial aspect of the Great War having read the histories They Fought for the Sky by Quentin Reynolds and The Friendless Sky by Alexander Mckee in my youth. Though fiction, In the Company of Eagles is as good an introduction to the subject as any.
Pedant’s corner:- The cover illustration isn’t quite spot on. There are two [red] Fokker Triplanes depicted on the wraparound cover but none appears in the text – though an attack by new [black] RNAS Sopwith Triplanes on Kupper’s airfield does. In addition I believe only Manfred von Richthofen flew a red-coloured Fokker Triplane.
July 31, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I first read it a long time ago as a teenager and remembered loving it then and some of the very descriptive scenes have stuck fondly in my memory. The writing is first class, the characters are mesmerising and complex and as mentioned the descriptions of flying first class.
This is a story of revenge, a hunter and his prey. The action takes place during the Great War, with two pilots locked in battle as much with themselves as the enemy. A French Ace stalks a noted German Ace looking to avenge the 'murder' of his best friend. However the 'murder and the German Ace are perhaps not everything the avenger believes.
It is a work of fiction and though well researched there are a couple of historical inconsistencies, for example the confusion of Fokker Dr 1's and Sopwith Triplanes, and a premature death of Richthofe, however, these take away nothing from the story.
It's in the descriptions of flying and the complex characters that this book really shines and make this one of the finest books I've read in my life. The last ten pages had me in goosebumps and every hair on end!
This is a story of revenge, a hunter and his prey. The action takes place during the Great War, with two pilots locked in battle as much with themselves as the enemy. A French Ace stalks a noted German Ace looking to avenge the 'murder' of his best friend. However the 'murder and the German Ace are perhaps not everything the avenger believes.
It is a work of fiction and though well researched there are a couple of historical inconsistencies, for example the confusion of Fokker Dr 1's and Sopwith Triplanes, and a premature death of Richthofe, however, these take away nothing from the story.
It's in the descriptions of flying and the complex characters that this book really shines and make this one of the finest books I've read in my life. The last ten pages had me in goosebumps and every hair on end!
October 8, 2020
One of my absolute favorites as a young teen. I re-read several times since and still find it great.
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2/26/15
Still an amazing story of war, revenge, and the toll of war on those who fought it. It is also about the myth of the glorious men in their lanes during the First World War. The characters are realistic and cover a broad range of interests. Some men live for the war or the romantic idea of war. Others live so they can return to life. Some men look after their interests and others are simply happy to be out of the slaughter of trenches.
Probably four stars if I read it for the first time today, but it has sayed with me for almost forty years now.
___________________________________________
2/26/15
Still an amazing story of war, revenge, and the toll of war on those who fought it. It is also about the myth of the glorious men in their lanes during the First World War. The characters are realistic and cover a broad range of interests. Some men live for the war or the romantic idea of war. Others live so they can return to life. Some men look after their interests and others are simply happy to be out of the slaughter of trenches.
Probably four stars if I read it for the first time today, but it has sayed with me for almost forty years now.
February 23, 2018
Excellent story, with only a few minor glitches about when certain aircraft appeared in the war. I felt like I was actually next to the two main characters and got to know both of them personally. This all led up to the most exciting conclusion you could ask for.
April 14, 2020
I found Gann’s writing style distracting and hard to follow. As a result, I felt the book was lackluster in execution and left much to be desired in capturing my attention. The ending, however, was a unmistakeable nod to the frivolity of war and the hollowness of revenge.
July 12, 2025
Ernie Gann was considered by many to be a masterful pilot. He was, in my opinion a masterful story teller. I've read all of his fiction save one, and that one is high on my list of to be read books.
January 12, 2020
Classic aviation novel.
March 12, 2020
World War I drama about French fighter group. Short book but not too down considering all of the death and destruction.
October 4, 2020
Entirely predictable.
June 16, 2015
As a boy my one of my favorite hobbies was to build model airplanes, in particular World War I fighter planes. I would hang these minature bi-planes and tri-planes from the ceiling of my bedroom to imitate their legendary dogfights in the sky's over Germany and France. I read about the exploits of the great aces like The Red Baron Von Richtofen. The exploits of such heroic flyers, German as well their foes in the air war, seemed so romantic and even gallant, like knights in a kind of modern chivalric combat. Earnest Gann's clasic novel, "In the Company of Eagles," somehow doesn't disabuse that boyhood feeling of nobility about the actions of those WWI pilots. Yet at the same time he masterfully gives a deeper understanding of the harsher realities, the ambiguity of real
human beings suffering what life as a pilot in those days required. It's quite an experience to have a chance feel yourself in the boots of those airmen. And such is the skill of this author that you do.
human beings suffering what life as a pilot in those days required. It's quite an experience to have a chance feel yourself in the boots of those airmen. And such is the skill of this author that you do.
October 16, 2010
In the company of eagles is the story of two ww1 aviators. One a German ace and the other a young French pilot out for revenge over the death of his friend at the hands of the German. The book alternates between each character's story chapter by chapter an is full of technical details about the planes, weapons and tactics of ww1 pilots. This is very well written and made me identify with both characters neither of them is a Villan. Kupper the war weary German ace and Chamay the hot headed French pilot out for vengeance are both likable and some of the aerial fighting is very tense. Sometimes I wasn't sure where it was going but I kept wanting to turn pages to find out.
August 28, 2011
I really enjoyed this novel. It had a darker feel about it and really expressed the wear and tear to these pilots. It also gave a small insight to the men fighting and how they viewed the war. How most on the German side saw that their Fatherland would most likely lose the Great War. It had a great pace and the ending was something that you don't see all that often.
February 11, 2012
I bought this on impulse at a used bookstore because I thought a story about WWI aviators might be kind of cool. I wasn't ready for the depth of character and the detail Gann brought to the story. This is a remarkable little book that is well worth your time. Highly recommended for those who have an interest in WWI, early aviation, or simply a fine book.
June 30, 2016
I read this when I was a kid ... and have read it many times since. For all I know it's just an average novel, but I think it's terrific and it spawned in me a love of WWI aviation that lingers to this day. Highly recommended if you have any interest at all in the period or subject or aviation in general.
January 14, 2013
A very, very long time since I read this book. (When I was 17 or so. As I said, very, very long time ago ;-)
It was one of the first combat aviation books I have ever read. And as far as I remember - if my dwindling memory serves me well - it did actually get to me.
It was one of the first combat aviation books I have ever read. And as far as I remember - if my dwindling memory serves me well - it did actually get to me.
May 16, 2011
An old favorite, so am re-reading it.
February 21, 2026
Decent light read. First third of the book weak, picks up steam as the book progresses. The story of the often nicked ham, which has nothing to do with the plot, is memorable.
June 19, 2013
If you like WW1 aviation, read this!
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October 2, 2008A Gan
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