Rickenbacker: An Autobiography

Here is the long-awaited story of one of the most exciting American heroes of this century. It begins with Captain Rickenbacker's earliest memories as a boy in Columbus, Ohio, and proceeds through a fantastic series of incidents and adventures up to the present time. A legend in his own lifetime, Rickenbacker was one of the earliest racing-car drivers on the national circuit, competing against all the greats of that sport's infancy and eventually owning and running the Indianapolis Speedway for twenty years. His enthusiasm for speed, for mechanical perfection and for victory became focused on aviation. And, during World War I, he joined up, was sent to France with General Pershing's American Expititionary Forces, and finally worked his way into the Air Service. He battled in the skies with Baron Manfred von Richtofen's Flying Circus, flew the most perilous missions, downed 26 enemy aircraft, became America's Ace of Aces-- earning nineteen decorations for bravery in action and was unuversally known as "Captain Eddie."