• Terror of the Autumn Skies

  • The True Story of Frank Luke, America's Rogue Ace of World War I
  • By: Blaine Pardoe
  • Narrated by: John McLain
  • Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (245 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Terror of the Autumn Skies  By  cover art

Terror of the Autumn Skies

By: Blaine Pardoe
Narrated by: John McLain
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.95

Buy for $24.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Editorial reviews

Great War fighter pilot Frank Luke flew a scant 10 missions before his final stand behind enemy lines, but the brazen ace would go to his grave the second most victorious US Airman of World War I. Luke's two-week rampage through the western front skies capped a life marked by struggle and delinquency, from his beginnings as a miner and bare-knuckle boxer, to his near arrest for being AWOL on the penultimate day of his life. Husky-voiced performer John McClain captures Luke's fearless, tough-guy public demeanor, while nevertheless revealing the human sympathies of a young man with hopes, dreams, and an unyielding devotion to his family, comrades, and country.

Publisher's summary

Frank Luke, Jr., was an unlikely pilot. In the Great War, when fliers were still "knights of the air", Luke was an ungallant loner, a kid from Arizona who collected tarantulas, shot buzzards, and boxed miners. But during two torrid weeks in September 1918, he was the deadliest man on the Western Front. In only 10 missions, he destroyed 14 heavily defended German balloons and four airplanes, a rampage unequalled even by the dreaded von Richtofen, and the second highest American tally of the entire war. Cocksure and constantly reprimanded, Luke was actually under arrest on the day of his final flight, but he stole a plane to join the fatal action that won him the first Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to a pilot.

Blaine Pardoe retraces and refreshes Frank Luke's story through recently discovered correspondence. What emerges is a portrait of a life out of an "Old West" that was, by the late Teens, colliding with modernity. Frantic, short, and splendid, the life of Frank Luke, Jr. dramatizes the tragic intervention of an American spirit in the war that devastated Europe.

©2011 Blaine L. Pardoe (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Terror of the Autumn Skies

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    159
  • 4 Stars
    68
  • 3 Stars
    16
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    138
  • 4 Stars
    56
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    164
  • 4 Stars
    42
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Terror of the Autumn skies

Very well researched, I like all the facts the back ground of Luke's strengths and weaknesses and his single mindedness to finish what he started to do.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very good but not totally outstanding

Well researched and well presented. I liked the book and it was worth the cost, but I cannot say it was over the top like some of the books I have listened to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Solid read!

A hero that was unknown to me before reading. Well written & allowed us to capture a glance into the life of a hero. Seeing what he overcame on a personal level with his piers was to me the greater story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Remarkable

A Fascinating and balanced account. Well worth the read. Truth is often stranger than fiction!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Immaculately researched history

What I liked about this book, the best was towards the end,k. He actually compared his book to other books, and explain the differences, and some of the errors contained in the history of a true hero, Frank Luke.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

Great story filled with history. Felt like I was there in the action A great job of narrating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very nice recount of a historic aviator

A very good recount of Frank, Luke Junior, and his life in the army air corps

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fine research held back by unpolished writing

Highly sympathetic bio, written in an unpolished style that adds to the overarching “aw shucks” feel of the book. Many imaginary conversations are inserted, giving the feel of a work of fiction. However, the author pulls from numerous sources to provide background info on his subject. Access to German war records lends humanity to the enemy.

The author analyzes and compares multiple versions of Luke’s life as presented in various sources written over many years, discrediting those that have been embellished into fiction. Despite his thorough sourcing efforts, the author’s writing includes errors of terminology, grammar, and usage. In short, fine research is held back by unpolished writing. And he stretches the metaphor of dead pilots “flying west” much farther than needed.

Reader frequently has trouble with pronunciation — for example, in WWI Germans were referred to as “bosch,” the French word for cows, which is pronounced “bahsh,” not “boosh.” Additionally, he has the annoying habit of assuming contrived accents for every quotation cited. Finally, it’s very slow reading — suggest speed 1.4 or higher.

Many thanks to Audible for making this volume available free of charge.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating story of an American flyer in WWI

I had heard of Frank Luke Jr. but I had no idea what a colorful life this brave young man lived. The author rigorously researched and eloquently told Luke’s short life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Just another Tragic story of Ww1

Over all i enjoyed the book, learned about a brave young man who died heroically, but it was one small tragedy in a time full of tragedy. A life never got to be completely fulfilled. Now main complaints are the way the narrator said some fo the names annoyed me. Then when every lime about a pilot dying was something about them flying off into the sunset

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!