The Star of Africa

The Star of Africa plunges you into the blistering cockpit of Hans-Joachim Marseille, the Luftwaffe's most dazzling maverick. Against the backdrop of North Africa's sun-scorched skies, Marseille carved his legend: 158 confirmed victories; a string of near-impossible dogfights won by instinct and raw courage; and the coveted Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds.
But Marseille's genius did not come at the cost of his conscience. Refusing to swallow the Nazi doctrine around him, he spun forbidden jazz through his radio, befriended a South African POW, and lived by an honor code that led him to guide crippled Allied fighters safely to the desert floor, sometimes risking anti-aircraft fire to slip them notices of their downed comrades. Through interviews with fellow pilots and German officers who watched him grow from undisciplined renegade to the "Star of Africa," Colin D. Heaton paints a vivid portrait of a man whose soaring heroism and tragic end-caused not by enemy fire but by mechanical fate-reshaped the morale of an entire fighter wing and left an indelible mark on aviation history.

COLIN D. HEATON earned BA and MA degrees in history as well as an MPhil degree in Europeans Studies, and he has taught history, academic writing, military history, and sociology in various universities. He has been interviewing military veterans, pilots in particular, for three decades. He has published 11 books in five languages and over 30 articles, many derived from his interviews. His articles have appeared in periodicals such as Military History, Aviation History, World War II, and Vietnam Magazine.