{"product_id":"hostile-skies-a-combat-history-of-the-american-air-service-in-world-war-i-james-j-hudson","title":"Hostile Skies: A Combat History of the American Air Service in World War I, James J. Hudson","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHostile Skies: A Combat History of the American Air Service in World War I, James J. Hudson — First Edition\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublication:\u003c\/b\u003e Syracuse, New York, Syracuse University Press, 1968\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormatting:\u003c\/b\u003e 8vo, pp. [ix], 338.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Report\u003c\/b\u003e Very Good. This copy presents tightly and squarely in its original binding, with the boards retaining their structural integrity and showing minimal signs of handling. The spine is firm, and the hinges remain perfectly sound without any play or weakness. Internally, the text block is bright and entirely free of foxing or off-setting, with only some expected, light dust-toning to the top edge of the pages. The original photographic dust jacket remains highly attractive and unclipped, suffering only from a fractional touch of rubbing and faint creasing to the extreme head of the spine and panel edges, devoid of any significant tears or loss.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCatalogue Note\u003c\/b\u003e This is the true first edition. Bound in hardcover and accompanied by its original, evocative photographic dust jacket, the volume is wonderfully free of any obtrusive secondary binding characteristics or ex-library markings. While there are no notable provenance indicators such as bookplates or binders' stamps present, the impressive preservation of the dust jacket elevates this copy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrue first printings of this title from 1968 in such sharp, complete condition have become increasingly uncommon on the open market, as many extant copies have either lost their fragile wrappers over the decades or succumbed to heavy institutional wear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eHostile Skies\u003c\/i\u003e stands as a definitive and gripping scholarly account of the American Air Service's baptism by fire during the First World War. Authored by James J. Hudson, who himself flew 191 combat missions as a fighter pilot in the Second World War, the narrative masterfully chronicles the rapid evolution of the service from an ill-equipped, disorganised detachment into a highly lethal fighting force. Blending rigorous statistical research with the visceral, high-stakes realities of open-cockpit dogfighting, Hudson traces the exploits and harrowing challenges faced by the first American aces, offering an unparalleled, cockpit-level perspective on the birth of modern aerial warfare.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadhursts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54507604967763,"sku":"4944","price":52.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/1469\/6787\/files\/20260730_234328.jpg?v=1786015387","url":"https:\/\/broadhurstsbooks.com\/products\/hostile-skies-a-combat-history-of-the-american-air-service-in-world-war-i-james-j-hudson","provider":"Broadhursts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}