The Big Show: The Classic Account of WWII Aerial Combat (Pierre Clostermann's Air War Collection Book 1) Kindle Edition

I found this book mainly because it is one of the recommendations of the chuck's guide for spitfire. The DCS Spitfire model is a very faithful recreation of the legendary plane, and this book is an accurate account of the battles. When these two combined, you get a unique experience of how it was like being a fighter pilot who defended freedom.Here is what I did to enjoy this book: Have the DCS Spitfire installed, which is an Mk IX, and the Normandy map, as well as the Big Show Campain. Then I spent quite some time practicing with taking off and landing. (The trick is not to push the throttle too quickly, because the engine torque will cause the plane swing to the left, and due to the low speed at that time, there is no way to counter the movement even though the right rudder paddle is slammed to the bottom. So, increasing the throttle slowly but steadily until reaching 8, while dancing on the paddle.) Meanwhile, read the book. After getting the hang of the taking off and landing, then I tried the Big Show campaign. For the first mission, I flew over the channel, encountered about 20 190s. I picked one of the Huns, shooting it up while suddenly saw bullet traces around me. Immediately I break to the port because Jerries wouldn't be able to follow.While turning, I saw three big-nosed 190s on my six. Because Spitfire is good at defending then attach. I quickly got on an Fw-190's tail, put bullets into his fuselage until black smoke bursting out. When I looked at my left-wing, there were many bullet holes all over, and the aileron was vibrating. Realizing there wasn't much gas in the tank, by pressing a button to check the gauge, I turned around to return to base. But the compass was spinning, and the other one got stuck. Must be the damage caused by the 190 who hit me. So I just followed the party back to England but ran out of gas when reaching shore, had to belly landing on a small patch of field. Mission report said I got two 190s and survived.Had Pierre Closterman not written this book, the bravery and sacrifice of those who fought against tyranny would be forgotten.

What a pleasure to have a new edition of this marvelously evocative book available! This is the first time that it has been presented in its entirety and the additions only increase the book's value as a window into the world of the combat aviator.The book was originally written shortly after the war and as a result there is an immediacy about it that is, at times, electrifying. It was an international best seller and deservedly so, highlighting the career of a fighter pilot who started flying combat on Spitfires and ended up in Tempests. For many years it was the only book that dealt with combat action in the Tempest, a beautiful and powerful warplane introduced late in the war to combat the V1 and the new German jets. The original edition has some minor errors in it, but the descriptions of the missions were just outstanding! The swirl of the dogfights, the dives into flak, dealing with zero visibility weather, the victories recounted in detail, the losses of friends recalled with a warrior's stoicism, this fine book set a standard that has only been approached by other works.As V. M. Yeates WINGED VICTORY was the finest First World War fighter pilot book, THE BIG SHOW is the second war's. Yeates told his story as a novel based on his experiences as a Sopwith Camel pilot on the Western Front, but the latter book, while reading like a novel, has the extra advantage of being true.Pierre Clostermann wrote two other books, but his first book was his finest and cannot be recommended highly enough. To read it is to find in its pages what it was like for young men to fly and fight in the hostile skies of Europe in what has come to be known as "the good war."

I enjoyed this true account of aerial combat. Much more hazardous were the attacks of ground targets. The author tells the hard truth of war.

Well, Pierre Clostermann’s Big Show is a masterpiece. Extremely well written, the Frenchman flying Spits and Tempests with the RAF deserves to live after so many fights and brushes with death. He faithfully represents all those who did not live. I hasten to add that he doesn’t allow us to get into close relationships with his fellow fliers and he isn’t maudlin either. Just matter of fact.The flying is terrific. The battles, epic. So many small shows to comprise the big show. Somehow Clostermann managed to express the long duration of the war with sortie after sortie after sortie. The book wasn’t tiring but the endlessness of the fight seemed to be. Then, then it was over. Just like that. Then what? Oh my. Such a fine book.

I could not put this book down. It continued to break my heart in every chapter. My dad survived WW2 as a belly gunner in a B-24. Like this guy, lucky to end the war alive. It will keep you on the edge of your seat from page 1, and break your heart on the last page.

When I bought The Big Show, I wasn't sure what I was getting. After all, the pilot wasn't even in the Battle of Britain. Nevertheless, the author crammed lifetimes worth of dog fights and air time over western Europe from 1942 until the end of the war in Europe. He recounts the many raids and air strikes on German air bases, missile sites, trains, and more. I knew that Allied infantry were worn to the bone by the end of the war, but I didn't realize how depleted Allied air forces were as well.It's fatiguing just reading about how many death-defying missions he participated in. Each time, flak took more and more of his attention. That, and the severe stress of fighitng and watching his fellow pilots die took a little more out of him every day. I appreciated how he nevertheless continued to answer the call day after day.It's a great read.

Excelente livro! Leitura obrigatória para os amantes da Aviação, especialmente à da Segunda Guerra Mundial. Com uma escrita simples e bastante envolvente, que prende o leitor do começo ao fim.

This book really shows the cost of the Second World War right until the end and even after.This well written account which was published only six years after the events relates the grit and determination shown in the face of the grim German resistance. How these men carried on dispute the odds is a testament of that special generation who eighty years on we should remember and thank.It is an easily readable book and its information about how the various aircraft handled and behaved including their weaknesses made for an intriguing read.

Es una muy buena edición, la textura de la portada y la calidad del papel. Viene en inglés y a veces es complejo entenderle a la primera por la terminología militar o la jerga que usan entre los pilotos, pero se llega a entender por el contexto. Los capítulos son cortos pero te atrapa con la forma en cómo los narra el piloto. Para los fanáticos de la 2a Guerra Mundial es un referente obligado.

I've read a fair share of pilot biographies from both sides of the war, some are full of bravado and a touch of conceit. Clostermann's book isn't the "tally ho" and "we were awesome" accounting of the Allied side of the air war in Europe but rather an honest and detailed look into all aspects of squadron life, from being the new guy to flying a Spitfire for the first time, what it was like to ride the train when moving between bases, the internal politics as well as the external politics, and what it was like to lose friends and reach a breaking point. I remember reading elsewhere that the Typhoon and Tempest were not pilot-friendly for a myriad of reasons, this book spells it out in horrifying detail. Glad Clostermann survived the war and was able to share this with us.

The book itself is great but this copy a terrible translation, not only is it full of typos but also translation errors.Aviation terms are incorrectly translated from French to English.