- Hardcover
- Used
Seller: World of Books Inc, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.World of Books Inc
AbeBooks seller since March 23, 2026
Condition: Used - Very good
£ 6.59
Quantity: 2 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Fifty years ago Eddie Rickenbacker was a household name. This wild, funny, highly original novel brings him back to life, simultaneously elevating him to the realm of myth and portraying him with all his flaws. A pioneer in the world of automobiles and autoracing, America's World War I flying ace, a major influence on both the aircraft industry and aircraft design, founder of a major airline, he made front-page news across the country during World War I by surviving in a life raft in the Pacific for twenty-one days.The novel is told in a multitude of voices ranging from Alfred Sloan of General Motors to novelist John Dos Passos and General Billy Mitchell to Rickenbacker's wife and mother -- and, of course, the voice of Eddie himself. But most startling of all is the voice of God, a detached observer who comments frequently and ironically on Rickenbacker's life and machinations.
Seller Inventory # CIN0688166903VG
- Title
- Fast Eddie
- Author
- R O'connell
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers Inc
- Publication year
- 1999
- Condition
- Very Good
- Binding
- Hardback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0688166903
- ISBN 13
- 9780688166908
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From the Author
I first came across Eddie Rickenbacker when I was asked to write a magzine piece on him. In doing research I ran across his autobiography. The thing might have been ghosted by Horatio Alger, it was that simon pure and full of elevating lessons. But beneath the sanitized profile Rickenbacker chose to present to the world, I sensed there was an unexpergated Eddie who chased women, never drank anything under 80 proof, and beat the hell out of anybody who got in his way. He was the soul of insincerity -- Sergeant Bilko writ large, and that was funny. So I decided to write a novel about his life, a story that presented the Mythic Eddie and in the process got at why he once had been one of the three or four most admired men in America...a Hawaiian shirt of a man, pulled up so high by his own bootstraps that he confused axoxia with transcendental zoot. Even without my rhetorical flourishes, he lived a hell of a life. So far the critics seem to agree.
"An engagingly offbeat debut novel by an iconiclastic military historin." Publishers Weekly
"A delightful, pie-in-the-sky fictional oral biography...soaring tragicomic celebration of guts and glory which sums up the best and the worst of the American Century."--Kirkus Review
"...uproarious fictional biography...a peer of Thomas Berger's Little Big Man." Booklist
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
World of Books Inc
Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since March 23, 2026
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 4 to 12 business days | 3 to 6 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 0.00 | £ 8.19 |
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Store description
Founded in 2002, World of Books is a leading online destination for buying and selling both preloved and new books, committed to making sustainable reading accessible to all. With a mission to help people read more and waste less, World of Books offers a huge range of affordable, high-quality books — giving both new and preloved titles a second life. The company also operates World of Books – Sell Your Books, an easy-to-use platform that allows customers to trade in unwanted books for cash, helping to keep books in circulation while promoting sustainability. As a Certified B Corp, World of Books is driven by a vision to become the world’s largest and most sustainable dedicated online bookstore. The company measures its success through the positive environmental impact it creates, the value it provides to customers, and its ability to operate profitably while supporting its sustainable mission …
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Second Hand - All GenreSeller's business information
SBYB, Inc.
900 Knell Road
Montgomery, IL U.S.A. 60538
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