Falcons of France

By Charles Nordhoff

This early work by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. It tells the story of an enthusiastic, young American and his time as a pilot during World War I. This is a fascinating work and highly recommended for anyone interested in military history. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork

• Language: English
• Publisher: Husband Press
• Release date: Apr 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781447482192

Reviews for Falcons of France

[masseylibrary · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fictionalized story of an enthusiastic, young American and his time as a pilot during World War I. This book (authors of Mutiny on the Bounty trilogy), was written in 1929 and reprinted in 2013. Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall were pilots in the Lafayette Flying Corps and wrote this fictionalized work based on their experiences in WWI. It is very well-written and gives 21st century readers a “you are there” look at the lives of fighter pilots in the early days of aerial combat. Most of the pilots are fictional, with the exception of Charles Nungesser and Raoul Lufbery.

[gmillar_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a young man's adventure story wrapped around some facts pertinent to the aviator's side of the first world war. There was a gentlemanly side to that war that clove to the aviation side of the conflict (unlike the trench and "gas" use aspects). Mr. Hall points that out and deals fairly gently with the horrors of combat by oblique reference rather than by the blatant reality preferred by 21st Century storytellers. I appreciated that. I read it only because it was co-written by James Norman Hall and Charles Nordhoff. I like their style and fell upon them a long time ago through the "Bounty Trilogy" that they produced in the 1930s. I like them so much that I am collecting their works. There was something missing for me in this one, however, and that was a deeper appreciation of the aircraft and tactics used in those days. I suspect that is dealt with in their "History of the Lafayette Flying Corps" and I'm off now to see if I can find a copy of that somewhere.