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Terror of the Autumn Skies: The True Story of Frank Luke, America's Rogue Ace of World War I
An accurate, thoroughly researched, and riveting tale of a World War I American fighter ace. Frank Luke, Jr., was an unlikely pilot. In the Great War, when fliers were still "knights of the air," Luke was an ungallant loner, a kid from Arizona who collected tarantulas, shot buzzards, and boxed miners. But during two torrid weeks in September 1918, he was the deadliest man on the Western Front. In only ten missions, he destroyed fourteen heavily-defended German balloons and four airplanes, a rampage unequaled even by the dreaded von Richtofen, and the second highest American tally of the entire war. Cocksure and constantly reprimanded, Luke was actually under arrest on the day of his final flight, but he stole a plane to join the fatal action that won him the first Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to a pilot. Blaine Pardoe retraces and refreshes Frank Luke's story through recently discovered correspondence. What emerges is a portrait of a life out of an "Old West" that was, by the late Teens, colliding with modernity. Frantic, short, and splendid, the life of Frank Luke, Jr. dramatizes the tragic intervention of an American spirit in the war that devastated Europe. 30 black-and-white illustrations
320 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2008
61 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
About the author
Blaine Lee Pardoe
94 books117 followersBlaine Pardoe is a New York Times Bestselling and award winning author of numerous books in the science fiction, military non-fiction, true crime, paranormal, and business management genre's. He has appeared on a number of national television and radio shows to speak about his books. Pardoe has been a featured speaker at the US National Archives, the United States Navy Museum, and the New York Military Affairs Symposium. He was awarded the State History Award in 2011 by the Historical Society of Michigan and is a silver medal winner from the Military Writers Society of America in 2010. In 2013 he was awarded the Harritt Quimby Award as part of the induction ceremony at the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame. Mr. Pardoe is also a member of the League of WWI Aviation Historians.
His books have even been mentioned on the floor of the U.S. Congress. His works have been printed in six languages and he is recognized world-wide for his historical and fiction works. He can be followed via Twitter (bpardoe870)
His books have even been mentioned on the floor of the U.S. Congress. His works have been printed in six languages and he is recognized world-wide for his historical and fiction works. He can be followed via Twitter (bpardoe870)
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
June 10, 2020
This is a fantastic story about a larger-than-life figure - Frank Luke - who blazed a blinding trail across the skies of the Western Front for little more than a fortnight in September 1918 as a fighter ace with the 27th Aero Squadron, exacting a deadly toll on German aircraft before fate caught up with him in the vicinity of Dun-sur-Meuse behind enemy lines.
July 11, 2017
I love aviation history and was excited when this showed up on BookBubs. I commend the author for his exhaustive research and high esteem for the subject of the book, but I found the writing style to be a little tiring and overdramatic. One moment the book reads like a tedious textbook of facts and figures; the next like a pulp fiction boys novel from the thirties, overly dramatic and full of repetitive cheesy metaphors and similes such as "diving on the "Sausage" (or "Drachen" in the same sentence)," "stitching it with bullets from both machine guns (as opposed to only one?)," "causing sickening black smoke," or "flying off into the western horizon where all pilots and their lovers go." Oy. These may not be bad if used once or twice, but they and others like it were used over and over again. I ended up just skimming through the final three or four chapters just to get through it. I learned some new things about the life of Frank Luke, Jr., but the book was written in a way that often sounded simply like hero worship. I give it three stars for all the research and details, but just can't rate it any higher due to the style. A more rigorous editing job could have made this book better.
May 15, 2012
There was an age when heroism meant something, something more than appearing on a reality TV show, a time when a person had to do something heroic to be a hero. American air ace Frank Luke was a true American hero and "Terror of the Autumn Skies" tells his story.
In the early days of aviation the planes were fragile sturctures made of cloth, glue and wire, with unreliable engines, where it was a full time job for the pilot just to keep the craft in the air. There were few gauges in the open cockpits, the pilots were exposed to the elements and the aircraft could actually collapse from structural failure during normal use.
The great war began in 1914 when aviation was less than a decade old and it was quickly seen that airplanes could play a valuable role in warfare. At first pilots dueled in the air with pistols and rifles but soon a way was found to mount machine guns in the planes and the real killing began. Above the gore filled trenches valiant airmen, called knights of the air, stalked each other, trying to knock each other out of the sky.
As dangerous as air combat was, "balloon busting" was even more so. In order to see what the enemy was doing, both sides sent up hydrogen filled balloons with baskets occupied with observers to watch troop movements and direct artillery fire. The balloons were tethered to the ground with winches in place to yank them quickly out of the air when a threat appeared. Since the balloons were expensive, a hundred thousand dollars or more each, antiaircraft batteries were clustered around them and fighter planes lingered nearby to fight off any threat.
America entered the war in the waning months of fighting and immediately needed fighter pilots for combat duty. In Arizona, just recently a made a state, Frank Luke, a young Catholic man of German descent, who had just become engaged to be married, signed up to fly for his country. Luke reached the front in 1917 and, probably because no one else wanted to do the job, decided to make it his personal duty to bring down as many enemy balloons as possible. In just forty-four days at the front, Luke lost both of his wingmen, shot down eighteen balloons and aircraft, and was shot down and killed himself. The effort made him the second ranking American ace of the war and won him a posthumous award of the Medal of Honor. In typically western American style though, Luke was always a disciplinary problem for his commanders. In fact, he had disobeyed orders when taking off on what would be his last mission.
"Terror of the Autumn Skies" was excellent, a real insight into who Frank Luke was and what he did. It was very well researched and debunked a few Frank Luke myths such as the one that, when he crashed his plane, he had a western style shootout with German troops. He was most probably hit by a richochet off his engine and struck in the lung with what would surely be a fatal wound. I would recommend this book highly, a great read.
In the early days of aviation the planes were fragile sturctures made of cloth, glue and wire, with unreliable engines, where it was a full time job for the pilot just to keep the craft in the air. There were few gauges in the open cockpits, the pilots were exposed to the elements and the aircraft could actually collapse from structural failure during normal use.
The great war began in 1914 when aviation was less than a decade old and it was quickly seen that airplanes could play a valuable role in warfare. At first pilots dueled in the air with pistols and rifles but soon a way was found to mount machine guns in the planes and the real killing began. Above the gore filled trenches valiant airmen, called knights of the air, stalked each other, trying to knock each other out of the sky.
As dangerous as air combat was, "balloon busting" was even more so. In order to see what the enemy was doing, both sides sent up hydrogen filled balloons with baskets occupied with observers to watch troop movements and direct artillery fire. The balloons were tethered to the ground with winches in place to yank them quickly out of the air when a threat appeared. Since the balloons were expensive, a hundred thousand dollars or more each, antiaircraft batteries were clustered around them and fighter planes lingered nearby to fight off any threat.
America entered the war in the waning months of fighting and immediately needed fighter pilots for combat duty. In Arizona, just recently a made a state, Frank Luke, a young Catholic man of German descent, who had just become engaged to be married, signed up to fly for his country. Luke reached the front in 1917 and, probably because no one else wanted to do the job, decided to make it his personal duty to bring down as many enemy balloons as possible. In just forty-four days at the front, Luke lost both of his wingmen, shot down eighteen balloons and aircraft, and was shot down and killed himself. The effort made him the second ranking American ace of the war and won him a posthumous award of the Medal of Honor. In typically western American style though, Luke was always a disciplinary problem for his commanders. In fact, he had disobeyed orders when taking off on what would be his last mission.
"Terror of the Autumn Skies" was excellent, a real insight into who Frank Luke was and what he did. It was very well researched and debunked a few Frank Luke myths such as the one that, when he crashed his plane, he had a western style shootout with German troops. He was most probably hit by a richochet off his engine and struck in the lung with what would surely be a fatal wound. I would recommend this book highly, a great read.
April 21, 2013
The first aviators in combat have always fascinated me. Something about the daring and in many cases chivalry of this opening chapter captures the imagine. I see a parallel to the knights of legend. In reality it was a harrowing and bloody business.
Frank Luke, Jr. was not only a hero but a symbol of this daring and deadly endeavor. Luke's personality made him unique in many regards and his independence and risk taking approach led him to become Ace of Ace's before leading him to his demise.
Blaine Pardoe does a very engaging and balanced presentation of the hero and his times. As Luke was the first aviator to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, Pardoe pieces together the reality of his last battle and seems to separate the fact from the fiction that surrounded it. There is no doubt he deserved the honor for his record of bravery during the war on balance
Frank Luke, Jr. was not only a hero but a symbol of this daring and deadly endeavor. Luke's personality made him unique in many regards and his independence and risk taking approach led him to become Ace of Ace's before leading him to his demise.
Blaine Pardoe does a very engaging and balanced presentation of the hero and his times. As Luke was the first aviator to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, Pardoe pieces together the reality of his last battle and seems to separate the fact from the fiction that surrounded it. There is no doubt he deserved the honor for his record of bravery during the war on balance
June 17, 2023
I enjoyed this book very much. The story was well told and is a fast engaging read. It tells the story of America's initial entry into the WWI air war through the biography of the short life of Lt. Frank Luke. He was a daredevil pilot and ace who flouted the rules and in doing so may have lost his life. Unlike many stories of dogfights, Luke made his mark shooting down German observation balloons. this book describes the importance of this act and the dangr behind it. According to his contemporary, Eddie Rickenbacker, Frank Luke was one of America's greatest aces. The author goes to great lengths to separate fact from fiction about the life and deaht of this true American hero.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in WWI tactics and the battles that occurred. It is a great read.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in WWI tactics and the battles that occurred. It is a great read.
March 10, 2009
What a well put together book. The author uses first source material to lay out the life and few days of glory of Frank Luke. He debunks a few of the myths but does it gently, you have no doubt that the author really likes Luke, which makes the book more believable. For those of you who don't know who Frank Luke was he was for 10 days the worlds premier air ace averaging close to two kills a day. His specialty was balloon busting, more dangerous than going head to head with another plane. At his accelerated pace it was only a matter of time before he was killed and it came quickly.
September 8, 2017
Besides Waldo Pepper, Rickenbacker, Richthofen and Brown are the only pilot names that come to mind from World War I. So, learning about America's very first Ace of Aces, who was also the first aviator to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, was a great discovery for me as a pilot and a history buff. Luke's missions against German observation balloons also revealed aspects of the air war over the trenches I had never known.
March 28, 2016
The story was captivating. I listened to it on audio and it made for an enjoyable trip to Portland. I got into the life of Frank Luke and there are prolific details about flying a WW1 airplane. The story had so many rich details, it is still so vivid for me. An excellent read and highly recommended on audio.
May 3, 2023
Nicely written and narrated biography of Frank Luke Jr. (May 19, 1897-September 29, 1918), once internationally famous but now to many people today a fairly obscure World War I American fighter pilot. Though many people have heard of the justly famous Eddie Rickenbacker, who eventually surpassed Luke’s record of aerial victories, Luke was the for a time the top fighter ace, an ace of aces, with 18 confirmed kills, and was the first American airmen to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. At one time he was quite famous, with a statue in front of the Arizona state capitol and Luke Air Force Base in Arizona named for him.
The book covers Luke’s short but interesting life, from his rough and tumble childhood in Arizona where he boxed, worked in a copper mine, and engaged in all sort of shenanigans as a child, his enlistment in the U.S. Signal Corps as an aviator, his training in Texas and California, meeting, dating, and proposing to his fiancé, and his deployment to France as part of the 27th Aero Squadron, including life in France, and his combat career, where he shot down 14 German observation balloons and 4 German aircraft, before he himself was killed by antiaircraft fire, ending his life in the French village of Murvaux.
I was surprised how little time Luke was actually a combat aviator, with his entire military career from enlistment to his death barely a year and his combat victories from flying a mere 10 sorties over 8 days.
The author also gives a great feel for Luke's personality, I really liked that.
The book gives a great deal of excellent information on World War I combat aviation, from the construction of aircraft to how they were flown to how pilots trained to the particulars of the various types of planes Luke flew (the author noting the advantages and disadvantages of the Nieuport 28 versus the later SPAD XIII) to whether or not pilots had parachutes and why they might have been. I was surprised at how difficult a target a German observation balloon was, as I had always assumed a fairly easy target, but one of the highlights of the book was the author showing how incredibly dangerous a target they were.
I was surprised listening to the audiobook that about two hours of the narration took place after Luke’s death. In that span the author covered the controversies of what exactly happened with his death and how his body was handled, how his fate was confirmed, the eventual resting place of his body, efforts to get him the Congressional Medal of Honor, how in other ways Luke was honored posthumously, the fate of various individuals in the history such as Luke’s fiancé, Rickenbacker, and Luke’s squadron commander Captain Alfred A. Grant, the story of the bodies of Luke’s wingman (who were also shot down, such as Joseph Frank Wehner), various later pop culture homages to Luke, and a great deal of time is spent critiquing the various historical accounts and biographies of Luke, the author nothing their many inadvertent and deliberate inaccuracies and the legacy of these inaccuracies.
The book covers Luke’s short but interesting life, from his rough and tumble childhood in Arizona where he boxed, worked in a copper mine, and engaged in all sort of shenanigans as a child, his enlistment in the U.S. Signal Corps as an aviator, his training in Texas and California, meeting, dating, and proposing to his fiancé, and his deployment to France as part of the 27th Aero Squadron, including life in France, and his combat career, where he shot down 14 German observation balloons and 4 German aircraft, before he himself was killed by antiaircraft fire, ending his life in the French village of Murvaux.
I was surprised how little time Luke was actually a combat aviator, with his entire military career from enlistment to his death barely a year and his combat victories from flying a mere 10 sorties over 8 days.
The author also gives a great feel for Luke's personality, I really liked that.
The book gives a great deal of excellent information on World War I combat aviation, from the construction of aircraft to how they were flown to how pilots trained to the particulars of the various types of planes Luke flew (the author noting the advantages and disadvantages of the Nieuport 28 versus the later SPAD XIII) to whether or not pilots had parachutes and why they might have been. I was surprised at how difficult a target a German observation balloon was, as I had always assumed a fairly easy target, but one of the highlights of the book was the author showing how incredibly dangerous a target they were.
I was surprised listening to the audiobook that about two hours of the narration took place after Luke’s death. In that span the author covered the controversies of what exactly happened with his death and how his body was handled, how his fate was confirmed, the eventual resting place of his body, efforts to get him the Congressional Medal of Honor, how in other ways Luke was honored posthumously, the fate of various individuals in the history such as Luke’s fiancé, Rickenbacker, and Luke’s squadron commander Captain Alfred A. Grant, the story of the bodies of Luke’s wingman (who were also shot down, such as Joseph Frank Wehner), various later pop culture homages to Luke, and a great deal of time is spent critiquing the various historical accounts and biographies of Luke, the author nothing their many inadvertent and deliberate inaccuracies and the legacy of these inaccuracies.
February 28, 2016
Interesting history became a little tedious in the epilogue. Way too many typos in the Kindle versions. Had very vivid, motion dreams after some evenings of reading about dogfights.
February 17, 2022
Author Blaine Pardoe brings us a refreshed version of Frank Luke He’s very short life in this 2008-published account as a result of then-recently released letters and other documentation. The swashbuckling Luke, cast as a loner and nonconformist was constantly chided by peers and vilified by his CO, Grant, for doing things his own way in the air—breaking formation to chase German aircraft, feigning getting lost, and being generally unavailable when needed. In these pioneering days of military aviation when the aircraft were becoming the new instrument of death, Luke would stand out, destroying 14 heavily defended balloons and 4 German aircraft during only 10 missions in a span of two weeks! These two weeks during the fall/autumn of 1918 would include the Battle of St Mihiel, and Luke’s ferocious, unbridled combat spirit would make him deadly than the famous Baron con Richthofen, and the number two American ace behind Eddie Rickenbacker. His undisciplined ways would cause him to be under arrest on his final flight when he stole an aircraft to Jon the action over France on Sept 29th—a mission that would earn him the Congressional Medal of Honor, and the first to be bestowed upon a pilot.
October 8, 2020
Excellent!
What a great book. The story is fascinating. It read more like a novel than a text. I live in the Phoenix area and have always wondered about the name of Like Air Force Base. His story reminds me of the Alvin York story, also from WWI. I couldn't put this down. His description of the Spad VII airplane, and what it to to fly one , is very enlightening.
What a great book. The story is fascinating. It read more like a novel than a text. I live in the Phoenix area and have always wondered about the name of Like Air Force Base. His story reminds me of the Alvin York story, also from WWI. I couldn't put this down. His description of the Spad VII airplane, and what it to to fly one , is very enlightening.
October 19, 2020
I enjoyed this book. It detailed the life and actions of Frank Luke very well. I am new to historical bio’s so there seemed to be lots of incidental info - but I guess this is just representative of the genre. There were a few typos in the text. I would have liked a little more detail into the actions and details of what pilots went through while actually flying the plane and in combat.
November 4, 2020
Luke had the right stuff
Frank Luke, the Balloon Buster, was a larger than life, fearless flying warrior that occasionally adhered to regulations and orders. This well documented book tells his story.
Frank Luke, the Balloon Buster, was a larger than life, fearless flying warrior that occasionally adhered to regulations and orders. This well documented book tells his story.
February 3, 2025
Really interesting story. Writing was not great. Very dry and often repetitive. Listened to audiobook and it was like listening to AI. There were so many mispronunciations of well known
places and words.
places and words.
December 28, 2017
a solid 3.5....I liked it!!!
September 8, 2020
"The U.S. Army did not employ parachutes for fear that they would bail out and cost the Army the price of an aircraft."
June 30, 2021
Read as an audiobook. The book was interesting and I enjoyed it but the narrator was a little monotone. Not enough to take away from the book but noticable.
September 19, 2021
Monotonous
November 29, 2021
Audio Book: Many Good Fellows mentioned in this book. I appreciate the author's efforts to clear up the fiction that has been written about Frank Luke in the past. This is a great book.
June 16, 2024
Good read, but not really a page turner.
November 19, 2025
Great story, but was not a fan of the way it was written.
July 31, 2011
The ultimate biography of WWI ace Frank Luke Jr.
June 12, 2012
The writing is a little dry.
January 8, 2015
It was an interesting read, but nothing compelling.
December 31, 2014
What a great story. I highly recommend this book to all.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews