Don Gentile's Book "One Man Air Force"
Thu Aug 30, 2007 9:03 pm
Anyone ever heard of it? My Father in law has had this book forever. Folded up in the cover was a preflight sheet from one of his planes that he had flown in. Capt. Gentile had written the plane up for oil on the glass, it looks like.
the inside of the book, in great shape. Do you think there would be copywright issues if I scanned the whole thing?
the inside of the book, in great shape. Do you think there would be copywright issues if I scanned the whole thing?
Thu Aug 30, 2007 11:51 pm
A rare book. hang on to that one!
Fri Aug 31, 2007 2:46 am
whoa !......
that's a true gem..... keep it safe !
Martin..... (the envious)
that's a true gem..... keep it safe !
Martin..... (the envious)
Fri Aug 31, 2007 4:28 am
Holy Crap! 
That's a rare book even without 2 
signatures.
How much do ya want for it?
Dave
That's a rare book even without 2 signatures.
How much do ya want for it?
Dave
Re: Don Gentile's Book "One Man Air Force"
Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:28 am
banndit wrote:. . . Anyone ever heard of it?
Great stuff, and real treasures! I've got quite a few unpublished Gentile photos myself, but I'm saving them for the book I'll probably never write - but at least for the cover art and other illustration needs I do have an artist on 24-hour standby who'll work for free!
As a former museum conservator, I highly recommend you check out these sites for proper storage materials:
Light Impressions:
http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com/s ... neShopping
Gaylord:
http://www.gaylord.com/archival_supplies.htm
Both sites have information as to the proper materials to use for paper, photo, etc.
That book was largely written by Ira Wolfert, a well-known journalist who spent several weeks rooming with Gentile at Debden during the "height" of Don's fame. The book was published in several versions, including the small hardback you (and I
) have. I also have a larger softcover, which has a slightly different set of photos, but the text is the same. A children's version was also published. I've seen it, but don't own a copy.
Don's sister Edith (seen in another post of yours recently) is still alive, and I'm proud to say that she has one of my "One-Man Air Force" prints prominently displayed on her wall. I had the opportunity to show her my photo album from my Debden trip ... including how Shangri-La's parking spot looks today. A pic of us together is on this page of my site:
http://wademeyersart.tripod.com/id27.html
If you're interested in Gentile, you may find this article interesting:
http://wademeyersart.tripod.com/id40.html
Wade
Last edited by Chicoartist on Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:09 am, edited 2 times in total.
Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:39 am
Thanks for the tips, Wade, and the articles. I will show them to my FIL this weekend.
B
B
Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:00 am
I too have an autographed copy.
I found it at a used book store in Dayton where I paid $100 for it in 1993.
Back then I was assigned to AFMC HQ and went to the USAFM archieves where Dave Menard allowed me to examine the Gentile records.
There I compared the signatures and they matched.
The book is so rare the NMUSAF doesn't seem to have one.
Anybody have a guess to the value?
I found it at a used book store in Dayton where I paid $100 for it in 1993.
Back then I was assigned to AFMC HQ and went to the USAFM archieves where Dave Menard allowed me to examine the Gentile records.
There I compared the signatures and they matched.
The book is so rare the NMUSAF doesn't seem to have one.
Anybody have a guess to the value?
Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:14 am
JBoyle wrote:Anybody have a guess to the value?
collector's value somewhere in the low 4-digit $ region.....
Martin