When modern readers think of Hermann Goring, what probably comes to mind is the overweight drug addict and convicted war criminal who cheated the hangman's noose at Nuremberg by committing suicide just hours before he was due to be hanged. Next up might be the image of his powerful German air force in the Second World War---the Luftwaffe---bombing defenseless European cities and towns in the early part of the war, until it was defeated by the British Royal Air Force in the epic Battle of Britain in 1940. Next might come Goring the debauched art collector who pirated captured collections all over Nazi Europe during the Occupation years. All of these images are correct, but here we see another Hermann Goring: the slim, dashing fighter pilot and combat ace of an earlier struggle, the Great War, or World War I of 1914-18, which he began as an infantry officer fighting the French Army in the 1914 Battle of the Frontiers. During a hospitalization, his friend Bruno Lorzer convinced him to become an aerial observer-photographer, photographing the mighty French fortress of Verdun. He did, and began these never-before-seen personal photo albums of men and aircraft at war: up close.

Over the last 70 years, in countless books and essays, Hermann Goring has been defined by his crimes and excess during the Third Reich and the Second World War. But his activities as a young career military officer in World War I have invariably been glossed over – until now. 'Hermann Goring – Fighter Ace' is the first in-depth look at Goring’s role as a military flyer and air combat leader from 1914 through the end of The Great War, and how those experiences shaped the personality that came to the world’s attention in 1939

Originally published: New York: Simon and Schuster, 1962.

This volume reveals Hermann Goering's full role in forcing the Allies of World War I to back down repeatedly as he and Hitler bloodlessly occupied Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Memel during 1938-39. In addition, the Luftwaffe's vaunted Legion Kondor helped win the Spanish Civil War, with air experience gained.

When modern readers think of Hermann Goering, what probably comes to mind is the overweight drug addict and convicted war criminal who cheated the hangman's noose at Nuremberg by committing suicide just hours before he was due to die. Or perhaps there is the image of his powerful German air force in the Second World War – the Luftwaffe – bombing defenceless European cities and towns in the early part of the war, until it was defeated by the Royal Air Force in the epic Battle of Britain. Perhaps the reader might think of Goering the debauched art collector who pirated captured collections all over Nazi Europe during the Occupation years. All of these images are correct, but here we see another Hermann Goering: the slim, dashing fighter pilot and combat ace of an earlier struggle, the Great War of 1914-18, which he began as an infantry officer fighting the French Army in the 1914 Battle of the Frontiers. During a hospitalization, his friend Bruno Lorzer convinced him to become an aerial observer-photographer, photographing the mighty French fortress of Verdun. He did, and began these never-before-seen personal photo albums of men and aircraft at war: up close. This remarkable book – the first of an intimate series of photographic diaries – is an unique photographic record of the early years of this notorious figure. Illustrations: 348 black-and-white photographs