Richthofen: A True History of the Red Baron

by William E. Burrows

Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron," has proven to be the most durable of modern war heroes. Besides being World War I's highest-scoring ace, he was a Wagnerian hero for the German in two world wars, has had one of his country's new jet squadron's named for him, and is the unseen anti-hero of the universally popular Peanuts comic strip.

Mr. Burrows believes that the analysis of he Red Baron's mystique cannot be left to aviation buffs alone. The young Prussian's thirst for fame, compulsion for hunting, apparent indifference to women, relationship with his mother, and obedience to Prussian tradition were all part of forces that made him the ace of aces. Beyond these strong forces, however, lay the shadowy put pervasive propaganda machine, an official apparatus which was obliged to inflate Germany's heroes in an attempt to keep a war-weary population's mind off empty stomachs and the clear Communist threat to the Kaiser's weakening regime. The war could not be won, and Richthofen knew it.

Berlin and its propagandists gave Richthofen the fame he sought. Command and the coveted Blue Max medal were his. But in the end he choked on his fame and the adulation that followed in its train. Sadly, he was to be as useful to the Fatherland dead as he had been alive.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Aviation, World War I, War, Military History

269 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1969

Reviews

[Read1000books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just 100 years ago (for perspective, when your grandparents were probably alive), every soldier, most people in England, and possibly many in America knew this name (which had nothing to do with pizza or a cartoon beagle). In my boyhood I read everything I could find about von Richthofen, and more recently have perused many of the newer books about him. But this particular one by Burrows is, in my opinion, still the best. Written in 1969, the author even interviewed one the Baron's surviving fellow pilots who knew him. If you are an aviation enthusiast or military buff, why haven't you read this book?? He was the greatest fighter pilot of the First World War, a true legend in his own time. And every Allied pilot knew one thing: if a solid red Albatross or Fokker triplane got on your tail, you most likely weren't coming back.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible bio of this almost mythical War hero. Very recommended

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a history buff, of sorts, and I thoroughly admire Manfred von Richthofen- I had read a number of books about him, including his own autobiography, before I picked up this book, so I can't say how great it is as an introduction to the famous ace. That said, I still managed to enjoy reading this bio. Burrows can compose a neat turn of phrase and his research is solid. I dock one star due to the extra 3 chapters at the end of the book which discussed the German Air Force post-Richthofen. They were too summative and the writing had a cold sort of feel, in addition to being boring and completely unnessesary. I felt it was a very inadequate way to round out the story. This book- a biography, no less- is about one man, the Red Baron, not the whole Luftwaffe! In addition, Burrows seemed somewhat contemptous of Richthofen in a number of places, but this was balanced by some very nice, almost wistful introspections about Manfred's personal thoughts that I truly enjoyed reading. It's not perfect, but it's a worthwhile book I did not regret reading.

[Graysen Grins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, simple, and informative what else do I need in a book.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Serviceable, well-written book about the legendary figure from the Great War. I counted off a star for the 50 pages of obvious padding at the end that didn't add a thing to the overall story.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Red Baron has been very interesting to me since I played the 1990 video game titled The Red Baron. This book was decent. I guess my main complaint is that for a figure as fascinating as Richthofen, the book should've been better. I wish that the book had more maps, which would've made a lot of the stories/action easier to understand (I read a library book and the maps on the inside covers were not visible). It just would've been nice if every few chapters there was a map of where he was flying and what layout of the front was like at the time. The author tended to get a little bogged down in listing kills. I would prefer to have read more stories that would give me more insight into his character than listing what he shot and when. The book is still interesting and worth reading. The ending would be improved if you took off about 40 pages of irrelevant anecdotes.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron) who started out in the cavalry which was of no use in World War I because of the endless miles of trenches and barbed wire. So Richthofen took to the skies. With his hunting skills and the tactics of his mentor, Oswald Boelcke, Richthofen went on to become the ace of aces. After 80 confirmed kills, the Pour Le Merite recipient was shot down in the Somme river valley.

[Relstuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seems to be a decent biography and it appears the author did his research before writing. He mentions that some original material was destroyed in WWII. The final chapters deal with the legacy of the Baron and how his memory and actions were used during and after the war. If not for the war it is possible Richthofen never would have flown a plane. The war gave him the opportunity to fly and develop the skills that made him the famed warrior. He was a hunter before he every flew for the first time and he used his knowedge of hunting hone his arial hunting skills.

It is always interesting to note the genuine respect arial enemies had for each other. Frequently their relations were starkly different from the infantry in the trenches.


"The tendancy to compensate for ones deficiencies by sinking them in to the glorious achievements of more furtunate mortals may be an ever-present feature of social life." - Sidney Hook


This book was published in 1969. Significant perhaps because of the social distain to heroes and war during the Vietnam conflict that was taking place at the time. However, there have been anti war movements constantly during the last 100 years and they do not always effect all history or literature publshed in their time periods but certainly may. In this case the back cover talkes about how the German war department looked for someone they could glorify to keep up moral with the war effort going poorly and they selected Richtofen. It is possible to overglorify war or those that do heroic things during war. It is highly possible that the Baron would not have had the legendary status he has retained for so long had he not died during the conflict and been remembered as a martyr.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book. I appreciated the photographs, although the photo of Richthofen's dead body that that one collector had said he had (but wasn't published) has since come out. I suppose it's a little morbid of me to note though. Also interesting was the photo of the tomb on the other side of the Berlin Wall, which is obviously no more.

There isn't really a whole lot of information on Richthofen as an individual, perhaps because he lived a relatively simple life, or perhaps because of the all letters, souvenirs, etc., stolen from him family. The writing in the book was fairly breezy, I felt, and facts could have been sourced better. It was particularly interesting to see how Richthofen was put through the propaganda machine during WWI and WWII. The later chapters were very much "hindsight is 20/20," especially in relation to future Nazis. This is probably the best biography I've to come across of the famous aviator, as they seem to particularly thin on the ground.