Enduring Courage: Ace Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker and the Dawn of the Age of Speed
*Starred Review* Once upon a time, aviator Eddie Rickenbacker was the most famous man in America, the kind of hero that songs were written about and schoolchildren dreamed of emulating. In this entertaining biography, historian Ross (War on the Run, 2009) returns to the dawn of the twentieth century, when cars and aircraft burst onto the scene. Aviation aficionados and war buffs will expect Ross to focus on Rickenbacker’s WWI flying-ace achievements; instead, he takes a long look at the aviator’s early success in the automotive field as both a brilliant mechanic (“Put simply, engines have always talked to me,” Rickenbacker explained) and a daring race-car driver. Drawing heavily on his subject’s interviews and writings, while also noting areas of his personal life that Rickenbacker publicly fabricated (most notably his father’s life and death), Ross peppers the text with quotes that place readers right alongside the ace through nearly every moment of his life. Obviously this is exciting material to work with—after all, Rickenbacker was a man who drove in the first Indy 500 and dueled with the Red Baron’s flying circus—but Ross is never fawning in this thoroughly enjoyable and downright rollicking read. --Colleen Mondor