Enduring Courage: Ace Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker and the Dawn of the Age of Speed

Description

Early in the twentieth century, two new American super figures—the racecar driver and the flying ace—would become the embodiment of American skilled manhood, and no individual did more to create and intensify these new roles than Eddie Rickenbacker. Over and over he would defy death in racecar and airplane as America would come to know him better than the current President. ENDURING COURAGE chronicles his improbable rise, overcoming the specter of his father's violent death, a debilitating handicap, and, later, accusations of being a German spy. Not only would he become a world-renowned racecar driver, but America's ace of aces in WWI as well, shooting down more enemy planes than anyone and receiving the Medal of Honor. He and his comrades created a new kind of warfare, making up maneuvers on the fly while battling The Red Baron and his deadly squadron, pushing their machines beyond the edge of destruction without parachutes or radios.