Lords of the Sky audiobook

A good history book, not limited to fighter aircraft. It also records more than any average person would need to know about fighter, and other, aircraft. The author is very knowledgeable, writes clear and concise prose and has a great sense of history himself. You can sure hear the fighter pilot in him. My grandkids picked out this book for me, as a Christmas book. It was a good read!

This book covers a lot of territory, from WW1 to Iraq in 2003. Lots of interesting stories and facts of different planes, their development and the pilots that flew them. Hampton even includes a lot about the matching ground wars to keep all the fighting in context. Not overly in depth because it covers so large a time span but a great primer to interest one one more in depth books.

Engaging history of fighter pilots. Interesting take on how wars are waged, won and lost from the standpoint of fighter aircraft and pilots.

Dan Hampton takes on a big subject by authoring a one volume history of air fighters from WWI to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He provides "you were there" descriptions of representative combat flying in all eras and the gives the history of aircraft development and how fighters played a role in the different wars. Hampton provides some interesting details about the characteristics of the various best known planes without getting too technical for general readers. He also explains the evolution of tactics as plane designs advanced. The flying careers of many of the famous aces from the wars are included. You can tell Hampton has a lot of passion for these planes and the men (and in a few cases USSR women) who flew them.Although, not a youth level book, the topic may attract many teens with an interest in this subject. Parents should be aware that the language can be rough in spots as the author realistically portrays the fighter pilot experience in combat.

Excellent book on the history of fighter pilots and aerial combat from World War I to the modern day of the 1991 Gulf War and the war in Iraq in 2003. This book goes in detail of the fighter pilots who became aces to the type of aircraft used and weaponry. A great book for those who are interested in air combat.

Being the kind of guy who can spend hours at places like The National Museum of The United States Air Force I loved this book. It is handy to do Internet searches on the planes mentioned in the book to get a better feel for them. I really enjoyed the descriptions of action in this book. Overall a really good read.

A great history of air combat, managing to be both encyclopedic and flowing. Col. Hampton's extensive research clearly shows. For anyone interested in the military or in aviation, this is a great read.

Bien escrito, entretenido de leer, entra en historias menos conocidas y esquiva las más conocidas. Ni una palabra de Saburo Sakai pero habla de Boelcke, Marseille y Livia Litvak. Bien ahí.

Dan Hampton compiles a lot of different accounts of fighter pilots, of all nations, from the invention of flight to modern day. In between the accounts, there is a lot of background information and historical context. Since I’m a aviation enthusiast, I thought it was a great book. There are some complaints I have with it though.What I liked: The book switches back and forth from narrating battles, to providing historical or technical context, and it does it very well. The accounts it provides are very detailed, as well entertaining. The author cites many sources and knows what he’s talking about, as he was a fighter pilot himself. What I didn’t like: One should know before reading this, that this isn’t a ‘comprehensive history of aerial combat’. This book focuses on the pilots who flew their planes, and then the planes, tactics, and wars. the author focuses on one or two pilots from each conflict (except for WWI and II, where he talks about a lot more pilots). So it sometimes feels lacking. There is sometimes too much context, and not enough aerial combat. When talking about the invasion of Poland in 1939, and the Yom Kippur war of 1973, it seems that the author writes more about the politics of the war and not enough about the flying. Lastly, the main thing I disliked about this book was that it did not meet my expectations. I judged the book by its cover, literally. The cover shows a US Navy F4U Corsair shooting down a Japanese A6M Zero. Since the F4U and the F6F Hellcat had a combined 7000+ enemy kills between them, I thought they would have more time dedicated to them. Also, during the battle of the Philippine sea, over 400 Japanese planes were shot down in what became known as the “great Mariana’s turkey shoot”. You’d think that these big battles and planes would be worthy enough to have a section dedicated to them, but you’d be wrong. The pacific theater of the war was what interested me going into this book, and I was disappointed. The pacific theater isn’t mentioned much after 1942, and the F6F And F4U are only an afterthought in later chapters. I realize this isn’t a problem with the book, just with my expectations. Personally I’d give this book 3.5 stars, but I don’t think it deserves 3 stars, so I gave it 4. I liked this book, and I’d recommend it to any aviation or military history enthusiast. Just be warned, if you’re looking for the Air battles of the Pacific theater, you won’t find them here.

One feels blessed to come across good books and then there are some of those books that leave an afterglow after you have read them. Lords of the sky is one of those books. The book charts out the history of air combat across nine decades. From fragile open cockpit and fabric covered airplanes to jet powered fighters capable of supersonic speed, from aerial gunnery to weapons that stagger the limits of imagination, the narrative is seeped with stories of men, on the ground and off the ground. It was through their trials and success that a journey of biblical proportions has been covered since the day of first air combat. This is the story of evolution, of change the way we make war and yet one thing remains the same...fighting spirit of the fighter pilot.Superb read..highly recommended for all aviation enthusiasts and a must for all engaged in the profession of arms academically or otherwise.

Si te gusta la historia militar y en concreto la de los pilotos de caza, este libro es muy, muy recomendable. Está escrito por un propio piloto de caza (Dan Hampton, veterano de la Guerra del Golfo y de la Guerra de Irak), y sorprende lo bien que escribe. Hampton repasa la historia de las máquinas y de los hombres que las pilotaron (también de algunas mujeres, como las pilotos soviéticas de la Segunda Guerra Mundial), explicando el entrenamiento, las tácticas, los avances tecnológicos y los principales protagonistas en conflictos como las dos Guerras Mundiales, la Guerra Civil Española, Corea, Vietnam, las Guerra del Yom Kippur o las guerras de los EE.UU en el Golfo Pérsico. Hay que destacar el detalle dedicado a la Primera Guerra Mundial, hasta tal punto que "Lords of the sky" sirve también como breve historia de la PGM.

Excellent research and compilation by the author. A wonderful read not only about the legendary aviators but it also gives a clear insight into the political and geographical scenario of the nations in conflict since the last century. For me, initially it was bit dragging specially the initial chapters of great war because of the too much unnecessary information written down..Similarly, in the combat portion over Iraq, one gets lost and couldn't carry on with the author... However, most portions were interesting...

Fantastic read that covers 90 decades of fighter aviation and the conflicts that defined and shaped it. Helps if you are a pilot but engaging for any military aviation enthusiast. Maybe too in depth if you only have a passing interest, but very brief in other regards such as the personal stories of the aces and heros that played pivotal roles at various points in history. Still, great primer with actuate technical descriptions without being boring. Highly recommend!

Dan Hampton does a great job of capturing the history of fighter pilots from the beginning of aerial combat through the present day. I loved how he incorporated particular pilot stories from history and with the broader context of what was happening in the corresponding ground and/or sea battles. Well researched, Lt. Colonel Hampton also has the advantage of having flown combat missions himself. Can't wait to read his book 'Viper Pilot'.

Incredible review of especially early flying history. Highly recommend. Pretty knowledgeable about topic yet found out many things I did not know.

Interesting with an explanation of the events details and technology of the time

Nice straightforward progression of combat aviation.