Eddie Rickenbacker: An American Hero in the Twentieth Century

Eddie Rickenbacker epitomized the American spirit in the twentieth century. Daring, skilled, and rugged—moving fast and defying death—he drove race cars in the early days of the automobile, then flew canvas—over—wooden—frame aeroplanes in the Great War, downing twenty—six enemy flyers and emerging at war's end as the nation's ace of aces. Only Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing and the much—decorated Sgt. Alvin York emerged from that struggle as equally lauded American heroes.

Failing as an...