THE MANY DEATHS OF THE READ BARON - a review

As a newcomer to the Forum I decided to check the archive for discussion of
a great new book I just finished reading. It appears I am the first to share my
impressions of this new Canadian publication. I look forward to some feedback.


I had known, since the mid-90s, of Frank McGuire's intention to contribute
something original to the Von Richthofen corpus, but his recent publication
still caught me by surprise. I read a few draft chapters in 1996 and marvelled
then at the thoroughness of his research. But I wondered if he would find a
publisher willing to work to his exacting requirements. This is an author-driven
book and the organisation of his material is scholarly and exhaustive. And as
McGuire treads the risky path of analysing all that had gone before, (sometimes
damning established authorities), he had to find a publisher and a page
compositor whom he could trust with his own voluminous margin and
source notes. Bunker To Bunker Publishing has done an admirable job.
Find them at <bunkertobunker.com> Calgary, Alberta.

THE MANY DEATHS OF THE RED BARON : The Richthofen Controversy 1918-2000,
is not only aptly named - the book delivers. In twelve chapters the author escorts
the reader through the entire sequence of the Red Baron history - from the creation
of the legend during wartime, through the conflicting claims of participants which
first peaked in the 1930s and then on to successive waves of interest created by
WW1 aviation scholars and enthusiasts in the 1960s and the 1990s. McGuire writes
from an interesting vantage point and backgound. A former Canadian Army historian,
he began contacting many of the surviving participants some 50 years ago, and generously shared his findings with other writers. Now he is in position to critique the ebb and flow of the historical furor which he contributed to since publishing his first
article in 1963.

This book is exceedingly fair to all claimants to the killing of the German Ace. At times
I found myself wondering why McGuire would include even patently absurd claims
many airmen or Australian soldiers who crept in and out of the story over the years. There was always an answer to my objection because McGuire shows clearly how the bogus often became entangled with the verifiable. Many writers built reputation by dismissing or disproving a shaky claim or theory, only to spin some new mythical fable. Much of this turf war for dominance of the Richthofen story takes place in the specialist aviation press or in the journals of the various aviation historical societies,
but in the 90s it spread to cable TV. McGuire covers the influence of documentary programs as well.

As a Canadian I have always wanted to believe that Roy Brown fired the killing
bullet into Von Richthofen. McGuire is too careful to completely close that door, but
the evidence is presented in a firm, lawful fashion. He lets the guilty hang themselves by
patiently revealing how several claiments fine tuned their "eyewitness" tales as
new claimants emerged. Roy Brown was no less guilty of polishing the apple than
other key players. This was my first exposure to several original documents, photos
and exhibits,(over a hundred appear) even though I had read much over the years. Rather than being coy I will admit that McGuire's book has convinced me, at last, that Sgt. Popkin's A.A. mounted Vickers gun fired the fatal round.

I always detest when someone recommends I buy a book but doesn't tell me where
to get it. THE MANY DEATHS OF THE RED BARON can be ordered from the publisher's
website <orders@bunkertobunker.com> It is Cdn$29.95 and postage extra.

If you are a bibliophile like me, who has to put a book into storage in order to shelve a
new book, you probably are very careful with new purchases. Buy this book! You
will recognize its value in your first hour of reading.

Ronald Jack
Burnaby, British Columbia