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Luke’s story is
one of the most well-known of WWI – his meteoric combat career; his balloon-busting prowess; the unpopularity with his
comrades, the pending court-martial; the final dramatic flight; the stand… yet through dogged persistence and diligence
over many years, Stephen Skinner has expanded our knowledge of Luke to a level unlikely to be matched, let alone eclipsed.
He does this over 18 absorbing chapters. Tracing Luke’s family origins, entry into the war, astonishing combat career
– packed with narrative with so much engrossing detail, every facet of Luke’s life so meticulously examined, it
would have crippled a lesser writer’s ability to present a readable, flowing story. But Stephen Skinner is well up to
the task and your reviewer became firmly engrossed from the very first pages. That this project has been a personal “labour
of love” by its author quickly becomes clear; for future writers aspiring to record WWI aviation history, they could
do little better than set THE STAND as their benchmark. The photo content is as generous as it is surprising; images of Frank Luke are few and far
between but Stephen has not only unearthed several new ones, but supplied chapter and verse on those iconic plates we know
so well, providing the story behind them and the photographers concerned. There are scores of other graphic examples, and
with aerial views of combat zones, various balloon and aircraft wrecks, relevant sites then and now, and all those various
personalities that touched Luke’s life – and death – it’s a visual feast from start to finish. Luke’s final moments are examined
in extreme depth and it’s a compelling analysis that Mr. Skinner provides. Your reviewer was slightly less enamored
however when the narrative strays temporarily into those areas that can never be verified; Luke’s thoughts and actions
in his last moments make for a gripping read but sit awkwardly with all the preceding, carefully-sourced material. That said,
it does little to detract from the whole. There are numerous appendices, including a learned contribution from Alan Toelle
on Luke’s SPADs accompanied by the usual exquisite colour plates, inexplicably poorly reproduced by Schiffer in this
instance. Exhaustive would
be an appropriate way to describe THE STAND. Mere brief reviews like this can barely do it justice; my advice is for readers
to invest in a copy and judge for themselves. It is possibly one of the best books of its kind produced in the last few years.
- Windsock Worldwide magazine,
Vol 25 No 3, May/June 2009 "The
final word on the subject" When
Stephen Skinner asked me to read a pre-publication manuscript of his long-awaited book and report on it, I was surprised and
delighted to be given such a privilege. It is a rare occurrence in the field of World War I aviation literature when a new
book can truthfully be called ‘definitive’ or ‘the final word on the subject,’ though such claims
are often made. In this writer’s opinion, THE STAND can claim both those titles when it comes to the fabled
and controversial last mission of Frank Luke Jr., the legendary Arizona Balloon Buster. Stephen’s exhaustive and meticulous
research has fully solved the mystery of what actually happened on that fateful evening of 29 September 1918 in the skies
and fields around the village of Murvaux. There is much more
to this book than the tale of Luke’s final flight, however. The author has painted a complete and complex portrait of
the enigma that was Frank Luke with revealing insight into the ace’s social background, upbringing and character. For
decades Stephen pored through family and school records, yellowed newspaper accounts, letters and diaries of Luke’s
acquaintances, and military archives from both sides. He interviewed U.S. Air Service veterans who were contemporaries of
the Balloon Buster, and the descendants of those residents of Murvaux who witnessed Luke’s actions on his final sortie.
As both an avid and well-informed aviation historian and a seasoned journalist, Stephen cast a critical and discerning eye
on every bit of information and clue that he uncovered. He actually "walked the walk" as he pored over maps and
trod the ground where Luke lived and died. Leaving no stone unturned (literally), Stephen conducted unprecedented archaeological
digs in the Murvaux area. Upon completion of this book readers will once and for all understand what made the “towheaded
kid” from Arizona tick, how he accomplished his incredible string of aerial victories, and how he met his end. Stephen correctly and graciously pays tribute to the work conducted by earlier
researchers. Norman S. Hall’s The Balloon Buster, written in 1931, has long been the standard work on Luke,
and Skinner’s investigations confirmed much of the accuracy of Hall’s research. However, THE STAND is
not a derivative work in any way. In carefully crafted and enthralling style, the book takes the reader through Luke’s
short but eventful life and unravels all the conflicting evidence about his death. It is the tale of a rebellious and brash
airman who grew up in a West that was still pretty wild, who left his Arizona home to carve out his fame in the newest and
most untested arena of warfare. Many rare archival photos augment the book’s value. Respected historian Alan D. Toelle contributed beautiful and precisely accurate color profiles of Luke’s aircraft.
THE STAND is gripping biography, precise military
history, and fascinating detective story all in one. This book will come as a surprise and a delight to both died-in-the-wool
World War I aviation historians and the reader with a general interest in the topic. It immediately makes every other Luke
book and article obsolete, if not unnecessary. You’re in for a real treat. -
Osprey books author Greg VanWyngarden * * * *
Frank Luke's short life captured all the elements of
a Greek tragedy - a self-made, headstrong, talented individual battling an enemy and his own superiors, accomplishing stunning
feats of combat until his inevitable fall. Small wonder that he's one of America's best-remembered aviation heroes. All too
often, though, legends like his become corrupted by propagandists and well-meaning interpreters polishing them up - leaving
them vulnerable to subsequent exposes and revisionist interpretations. Luke's story hasn't escaped this. Enter THE STAND. Stephen Skinner spent over ten years researching source material,
interviewing relatives of Luke and others with whom he had contact, and making repeated visits to Murvaux, France, where Luke
met his end. Combing through sources as diverse as newspaper interviews and cartridge casings, Skinner has reconstructed Luke's
life from birth to the day of his death, and in the process resolved many of the conflicting interpretations of the story. This is really two accounts in one - the first, a detailed
reconstruction of Luke's life, with special emphasis on his last days, and the second, an account of the process by which
Skinner carried it out. It is not derivative history - the author has relied heavily on original material, some from previously
untapped sources, and interpreted it with great care and careful skepticism. The result is a reconstruction of Luke's story
that will probably never be outdone. THE STAND affirms parts of the Luke myth and debunks others. I'm not going to tell you
which - buy the book and find out. -
Over The Front magazine * * * * "Drop everything else and read it from start to finish"
"An outstanding book"
**** "Five
stars - at least"
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