Exciting
I have read many WWII autobiographies. This one I could not put down. Here is a focused, determined, athletic German pilot. Rudel was not a natural flyer. He flunked out! Practice and perserverence made him a natural. He flew Stukas and it is amazing that he survived in them for the entire war period - when they were not as highly regarded as they were at the start of the war. Here is a man who was fearless. He lost part of a leg and still insisted on flying when it had not healed - a bloody stump. His motivation was not political - it was duty to save the fatherland. This is a book I will read a second time. Hitler gave him his final medal - especially designed with diamonds. After the War, Colonel Rudel was in business and led adventurous hiking tours, played excellent tennis, etc.
