Eddie Rickenbacker

"Mr. Lewis' research, 15 years of it, is meticulous, showing the beauty of how fact-based reality can top fiction for excitement, irony and tragedy. Mr. Lewis has painted a balanced, complete picture of an extremely complex man. It's obvious the author has a love for his subject, but this is not hagiography: All aspects of Rickenbacker's personality are laid on the table."—Washington Times

"Lewis is comprehensive about his subject."—Booklist

"A riveting read—certainly the best telling of the Rickenbacker story we are ever likely to have."—Airways

"Makes for an avid story not just of Rickenbacker and his world, but of an evolving transportation industry."—California Bookwatch

"Lewis provides readers with the definitive biography of this extraordinary man."—Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"This book will give a whole new generation of readers insights into a truly unique American character."—The Western Front Association

"Lewis's intent is to replace Rickenbacker's self-promoting, ghost-written autobiographies with a reliable scholarly life."—Journal of American History

"Lewis has given us an unabashedly individual and heroic story from the heart of our era's passion for motorized speed."—Technology and Culture

"[Lewis] has compiled the definitive biography of Eddie Rickenbacker, an often forgotten American hero and entrepreneur. Exhaustively researched and well written, Lewis's study chronicles the life and achievements of Rickenbacker from his humble beginnings as the son of Swiss immigrants through his rise to heroic military veteran and founding father of American auto racing and airline travel."—H-War, H-Net Reviews

"Lewis gives us the definitive biography of Eddie Rickenbacker, the first great American Ace of Aces, providing a fascinating view of the first half-century of American aviation as experienced by one of its most important pioneers."—Thomas Crouch, Senior Curator, Aeronautics, National Air and Space Museum

"Lewis takes you to the Pacific Ocean and sits you right next to Eddie Rickenbacker in a yellow raft. For the next twenty-four days without food or water, Eddie and a B-17 crew of seven will fight for their lives. This harrowing story of survival is the heart and soul of this masterpiece and will surely place it on every bestseller list."—Dan Clemons, Rickenbacker collector and historian

"A superb achievement by a master historian. Professor Lewis strips away the many myths that have grown up around Rickenbacker to reveal an even more fascinating flawed American hero."—William M. Leary, E. Merton Coulter Professor of History, Emeritus, University of Georgia

"This long overdue and vitally needed biography of one of America's greatest heroes is brilliantly done. Only the superb research of author W. David Lewis, combined with his intricate knowledge of aviation history, could produce such a monumental work, setting new standards for military biographies. Every library, every scholar, and most particularly, every aviation buff, should have a copy."—Colonel Walter J. Boyne, former director, National Air and Space Museum