Weston Birch (Bert) Hall carved out his place in history with an
almost devilish delight. Much of what has been written about him,
including his own two autobiographies, has proven over the years to
be more fiction than reality. He was labelled numerous times in his
career: rogue, scoundrel, card cheat, forger, human cannonball,
World War 1 pilot, criminal, bigamist, deserter, filmmaker, author,
soldier of fortune, hero, Chinese General, arms smuggler, Foreign
Legionnaire, salesman, aerial racer, aviation pioneer, father, and
entrepreneur. Oddly enough, these titles were all true. Bert Hall's
fantastic life and status as the bad boy of the Lafayette
Escadrille have often eclipsed the truth. Turning to primary
sources in archives around the world, many that have been
overlooked for decades, this book makes the first attempt to
reconstruct the life of Bert Hall. For the first time aficionados
of World War 1 aviation and aviation history will get a glimpse
into the life of a man who lived in extraordinary times and took
advantage of them. While Bert's autobiographies were penned mostly
to create a myth around his life, they often were based on kernels
of truth. This book finds those kernels and paints the real-life
picture of an amazing man who lived in incredible times. As the
elder man of the Lafayette Escadrille, Bert was basically run out
of the squadron by his colleagues. That should have been the end of
his story. In reality, it was just the beginning. In an age where
the world was fascinated by aviators, Bert became a real-life comic
book character - a mercenary of the skies! Within two years, the
Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron or rogues, playboys and misfits
has claimed an incredible 900 kills and produced 72 aces!
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
