So I finished Pierre Clostermann's The Big Show a few weeks ago, and meant to write a report on it. Unfortunately time and my lack of writing skills got in the way.
I figured I'd just give some incoherent ramblings for your reading pleasure.
First off, I want to say that this is a wonderful book. Clostermann is a master of descriptive writing. I found myself madly turning pages as he dove us into the melee in "Le Grand Charles". I could vividly see the "yellow nosed" 190's as they flashed by his cockpit. I could also see the smoldering body of his squadmate as he burned in his wrecked aircraft. Unfortunately I can't really convey the depth to which Clostermann described his war. From the color of the sky to the smell of the ocean, to the sound of the cannons as they contacted aluminum, every harrowing encounter is unfolded before the mind's eye.
He also told of some things that I found a bit disturbing on a different level. And I shall now go into "my opinion" mode.
I think that Clostermann was directly responsible for getting some of his peers killed. He had a nasty tendency to leave his wingman blowing in the wind. In my opinion Clostermann was an egomaniac, who's lust for the kill caused him to forget about the well being of his comrades. I also feel that perhaps some of his claims were inflated quite a bit. It seemed that numerous engagements started with at least 40 Germans 3000 feet above him. Of course, I didn't mind so much as I realized that not only is he a descriptive writer, but he is a Frenchman as well. To me, this is the ultimate combination for the use of dramatic license.
Anyway, I probably should have written this when it was more fresh in my mind, but I didn't. Any and all discussion is welcome.
I'm currently reading General Patton's War As I Knew It. Bastogne is over, on to the Rhine...
