The Big Show

The Classic Account of WWII Aerial Combat

De: Pierre Clostermann

Narrado por: Julian Elfer

Pierre Clostermann DFC was one of the oustanding Allied aces of the Second World War. A Frenchman who flew with the RAF, he survived over 420 operational sorties, shooting down scores of enemy aircraft while friends and comrades lost their lives in the deadly skies above Europe.

The Big Show, his extraordinary account of the war, has been described as the greatest pilot's memoir of WWII.

©1948, 2008 Flammmarion (P)2020 Tantor

Finally in Audible

My father gave me a tattered copy of this book in the mid 1990’s. I’ve read it 4 times and at last, listened via Audible. The narrator sounds exactly as I imagined when I read the book.

The best fighter pilot memoir ever. Enjoy!

detail

this is one of the most detailed accounts of ww2 aerial combat. clearly due to the authors diligence in keeping a written daily journal. Few ww2 accounts provide this level of detail. Excellent

The details!

Wow! The absolute best aerial WWII story delivery, period. I’ve now listened to it intently twice, and plan on doing the same again. If you’re a fan of WWII aerial battles, then this must be on your list.

fantastic

amazing book especially if you like ww2 aircraft stuff otlr just ww2 in general, this guy is very descriptive and good at painting a picture in your head

The savagery they endured daily

As a retired Fighter Pilot, I was amazed at how much combat they encountered and as often as they did and how much they pushed their equipment and the weather. How much they pushed themselves.

Amazing firsthand narrative

Moment a moment, the writer describes the daily risks encountered in seeking to destroy a foe, while facing outcomes that included injury, defeat and imprisonment or complete annihilation by the opponent, and injury or death by mechanical failure, misjudgment, or sheer bad luck. Training, teammates, ground crew and improvements in planes and weaponry helped him survive on this knife edge, in extreme duress. Survival was not likely among fighter pilots. Pilots saw the loss of comrades daily. and for one to survive and record his daily experiences so well is quite remarkable.

Simply one of the best all time books on air combat ever written.

I was stoked to see The Big Show was coming out on Audible. I’ve probably read this book 6-7 times in my life. I’m half way through it and have to say, hearing it told is even more exciting and intense then reading it. The reader does a great job. If you love dog fights and flying you HAVE to get this one. Trust me. You will not regret it.

Classic account of a WW2 fighter pilot-all action

Loved this book! After a brief introduction, almost every chapter was an account of another mission.

This book provides a different view of the fighter pilot's war from most accounts. For one, Clostermann was French, which provides a unique perspective on the war, he flew not only Spitfires but also Tempests, and he describes a ton of different mission types (fighter combat, train strafing, V1 site attacks...).

I learned a ton. For example, I thought that the Luftwaffe was pretty much gone by 1945. But, Clostermann was still involved in a lot of air to air combat right up to the end. In addition, it's kind of shocking to hear how many losses there were in Tempest squadrons.

Anyhow, this book is considered a classic and if you're into WW2 aviation, you really should check it out!

The brilliant visual descriptions.

Great account of events and well written. I enjoyed the flow and the action of the story.

One of the best war books I ever read/heard.

This book was gripping, moving and lyrical. I really felt like I had gone through the war with the author. I felt the enthusiasm and excitement of the early days. Then I felt the increasing tension, dread and sadness of the last days of the war as the author’s squadron was relentlessly thrown into combat against a still potent Luftwaffe. Excellent book.