United States Air Service in WWI - Reading List

Above all, we wish to recommend Charlie Woolley's "First to the Front". It is this book which provides some of the best and most intimate detail of the men while they were in Saints, France from July to September 1, 1918 (and is also the source of the two left hand photos in the banner of this website). It was Charlie's book which was shown to the Mayors of Saints, Touquin and Mauperthuis which made this project to commemorate the pilots moving forward. Everett R. Cook's book of his memoirs is also fascinating. We plan to update this page as soon as possible with precise links to where you can buy their books. But they are generally available at www.alibris.com and www.amazon.com.

Jon Guttman has a new book out on the 1st Pursuit Group (from Osprey Books). Details to follow as we learn more.

"America's Royalty: All the Presidents' Children", Sandra L. Quinn-Musgrove, Sanford Kanter

"A Military Atlas of the First World War", Arthur Banks, Pen & Sword Books, Ltd., 2001

"Billy Mitchell, Stormy Petrel of the Air", Roger G. Miller, Office of Air Force History, Washington, D. C. 2004

"Fighters at War: The story of air-to-air combat", Mike Spick, Barnes & Noble Books, New York, 1997

"Fighting the Flying Circus", Capt. Edward V. Rickenbacker, J. B. Lippencott Company, 1919. Online version courtesy of Google Books (http://books.google.com).

"Illustrated History of World War I in The Air", Stanley Ulanof, Arco, New York, 1971

"Knights of the Air", Ezra Bowen and the Editors of Time Life Books, Time Life Books, 1980

"The Canvas Falcon: The Story of the Men and Planes of World War I", Stephen Longstreet, The World Publishing Company, 1970

"The Franco-Prussian War: 1870-1871", Stephen Badsey, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2003

"The History of the U.S. Air Force", David A. Anderton, Crescent Books, New York, 1981

"Quentin Roosevelt, A Sketch with Letters" Edited by Kermit Roosevelt, New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1921 Online version courtesy of Google Books (http://books.google.com).

"The Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social and Military History, Volume 2, E-L", Spencer C. Tucker, Editor, ABC-CLIO, Inc., Santa Barbara, 2005

"The First Air War, 1914-1918", Lee Kennett, The Free Press, New York, 1991

"The Illustrated Red Baron", Peter Kilduff, Arms and Armour, London, 1999

"Theodore Roosevelt and His Time Shown in His Own Letters", Joseph Bucklin Bishop, New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1920, Online version courtesy of Google Books (http://books.google.com).

"Village France" Janet Tabinski, David Applefield, AA Publishing, Online version courtesy of Google Books (http://books.google.com).

"War Wings" by Phillip W. Stewart

"Wings of Honor", James J. Sloan. Thank you to Mr. George Hocutt, founding member of Cross and Cockade for pointing out that we had omitted this amazing book from our reading list. He says that "this is the best book written on American aviators in WW1."

"World War I: A Visual Encyclopedia", General Editor: Simon Forty, PRC Publishing Ltd., 2002

"World War I", Peter I. Bosco Revised by Antoinette Bosco, part of America at War John S. Bowman, General Editor, New York, 2003





Over the Front - the World War I aviation magazine