Skip to content

The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War Hardcover - 2014

by Hynes, Samuel


From the publisher

The Unsubstantial Air is the gripping story of the Americans who fought and died in the aerial battles of World War I. Much more than a traditional military history, it is an account of the excitement of becoming a pilot and flying in combat over the Western Front, told through the words and voices of the aviators themselves.

A World War II pilot himself, the memoirist and critic Samuel Hynes revives the ad-venturous young men who inspired his own generation to take to the sky. The volunteer fliers were often privileged-the sorts of college athletes and Ivy League students who might appear in an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, and sometimes did. Others were country boys from the farms and ranches of the West. Hynes follows them from the flying clubs of Harvard, Princeton, and Yale and the grass airfields of Texas and Canada to training grounds in Europe and on to the front, where they learned how to fight a war in the air. And to the bars and clubs of Paris and London, where they unwound and discovered another kind of excitement, another challenge. He shows how East Coast aristocrats like Teddy Roosevelt's son Quentin and Arizona roughnecks like Frank Luke the Balloon Buster all dreamed of chivalric single combat in the sky, and how they came to know both the beauty of flight and the constant presence of death.

By drawing on letters sent home, diaries kept, and memoirs published in the years that followed, Hynes brings to life the emotions, anxieties, and triumphs of the young pilots. They gasp in wonder at the world seen from a plane, struggle to keep their hands from freezing in open- air cockpits, party with actresses and aristocrats, rest at Voltaire's castle, and search for their friends' bodies on the battlefield. Their romantic war becomes more than that-a harsh but often thrilling reality. Weaving together their testimonies, The Unsubstantial Air is a moving portrait of a generation coming of age under new and extreme circumstances.

Details

  • Title The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War
  • Author Hynes, Samuel
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition 1st Edition
  • Pages 336
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York
  • Date 2014-10
  • ISBN 9780374278007

About the author

Samuel Hynes is the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature Emeritus at Princeton University and the author of a celebrated memoir of serving as a marine pilot in World War II, Flights of Passage. His book on soldiers' accounts of twentieth-century wars, The Soldiers' Tale, won a Robert F. Kennedy Award. He was a featured commentator on Ken Burns's documentary The War. He is also the author of several works of literary criticism, including The Auden Generation and The Edwardian Turn of Mind, and a memoir, The Growing Seasons. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Back to Top

More Copies for Sale

The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War

by Hynes, Samuel

  • Used
Condition
UsedGood
ISBN 13
9780374278007
ISBN 10
0374278008
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Annandale, New Jersey, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$2.99
$3.99 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
UsedGood. The dust jacket has minor damage or small tear. Fast shipping and order satisfaction guaranteed. A portion of your purchase benefits Non-Profit Organizations, First Aid and Fire Stations!
Item Price
$2.99
$3.99 shipping to USA
The Unsubstantial Air
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Unsubstantial Air

by Hynes, Samuel

  • Used
Condition
Used - Good
ISBN 13
9780374278007
ISBN 10
0374278008
Quantity Available
2
Seller
Reno, Nevada, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$5.00
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Used - Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
Item Price
$5.00
FREE shipping to USA
The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War

by Hynes, Samuel

  • Used
Condition
Used - Good
ISBN 13
9780374278007
ISBN 10
0374278008
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Frederick, Maryland, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$5.10
$3.99 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Used - Good. Good condition. Good dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains.
Item Price
$5.10
$3.99 shipping to USA
The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War

by Hynes, Samuel

  • Used
Condition
Used - Very Good
ISBN 13
9780374278007
ISBN 10
0374278008
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Frederick, Maryland, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$5.10
$3.99 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Used - Very Good. Very Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain a few markings such as an owner’s name, short gifter’s inscription or light stamp.
Item Price
$5.10
$3.99 shipping to USA
The Unsubstantial Air
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Unsubstantial Air

by Hynes, Samuel

  • Used
Condition
Used - Very Good
ISBN 13
9780374278007
ISBN 10
0374278008
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Mishawaka, Indiana, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$5.86
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Used - Very Good. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects.
Item Price
$5.86
FREE shipping to USA
The Unsubstantial Air
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Unsubstantial Air

by Hynes, Samuel

  • Used
Condition
Used - Good
ISBN 13
9780374278007
ISBN 10
0374278008
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Mishawaka, Indiana, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.81
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Used - Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
Item Price
$6.81
FREE shipping to USA
The Unsubstantial Air
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Unsubstantial Air

by Hynes, Samuel

  • Used
Condition
Used - Very Good
ISBN 13
9780374278007
ISBN 10
0374278008
Quantity Available
2
Seller
Mishawaka, Indiana, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.81
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Used - Very Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects.
Item Price
$6.81
FREE shipping to USA
The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War

The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War

by Hynes, Samuel

  • Used
  • very good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Very Good
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 13
9780374278007
ISBN 10
0374278008
Quantity Available
2
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.88
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2014. Hardcover. Very Good. Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
$6.88
FREE shipping to USA
The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War

by Hynes, Samuel

  • Used
  • very good
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Used - Very Good
Edition
First Edition
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 13
9780374278007
ISBN 10
0374278008
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.99
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014-10-21. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 6x1x9. Hardcover with DJ. Pages are clean and unmarked. Covers show very minor shelf wear. Binding is tight, hinges strong. Dust jacket shows light edge wear. Contains a remainder mark.; 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! Ships same or next business day!
Item Price
$6.99
FREE shipping to USA
The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War

by Hynes, Samuel

  • Used
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used: Good
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 13
9780374278007
ISBN 10
0374278008
Quantity Available
1
Seller
HOUSTON, Texas, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$8.94
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014-10-21. Hardcover. Used: Good.
Item Price
$8.94
FREE shipping to USA