[Aviation] Rickenbacker, Capt. Edward V. Fighting the Flying Circus

New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, (1919). First edition. 8vo. viii, (4), 371 pp. Inscribed by Rickenbacker on verso of original front free endpaper, presumably to the founder of General Motors, William C. Durant, "May the flight of time / Bring only / Happiness Friends and Prosperity / Capt. E.V. Rickenbacker / 1920-1921". Illustrated with frontispiece portrait of Rickenbacker. Presumably rebound for Durant in full brown faux-leather, brown leather cover onlays, with Durant's name stamped in gilt at bottom of front board; top edge gilt, other edges trimmed; patterned endpapers; in slip case.

A handsome first edition of fighter pilot and Medal of Honor recipient Eddie Rickenbacker's World War I memoir. Inscribed by Rickenbacker presumably to the cofounder of General Motors, William "Billy" C. Durant (1861-1947), likely to commemorate their short-lived work together on the GM vehicle, the Sheridan. The Sheridan was GM's first car designed and manufactured from the ground up, and was marketed as a bridge between their various marques, Chevrolet, Buick, and Cadillac, etc. Production on the vehicle began in 1920, and in 1921 Rickenbacker was hired by GM to promote the vehicle. He became a vice president of the Sheridan Motor Car Company and its sales manager in California, during which time he likely worked with Durant's son, the racecar driver Russell Clifford Durant (1890-1937). At the time the younger Durant was vice president of sales in California for Chevrolet. Following the elder Durant's firing from GM toward the end of 1921 the Sheridan project was scrapped, and of the 800 cars produced, only two are known to survive.

The younger Durant was married to the former vaudeville performer Adelaide Frost, an old friend of Rickenbacker's from his years on the racecar circuit. The two had met at a party hosted by Russell, but they drifted apart due to the outbreak of WWI that would soon make Rickenbacker a hero and a household name. Adelaide and Russell's marriage was strained, with reports of abuse by the younger Durant. Following the intervention of the elder Durant, who was fond of Adelaide and provided her with the financial stability to live independently away from her husband, the two divorced in 1922. Shortly after, Adelaide and Rickenbacker reacquainted, and in September, 1922, they married.