Black Tulip: The Life and Myth of Erich Hartmann, the World's Top Fighter Ace

"Black Tulip does much to fill in the backstory of the greatest fighter ace." — Flight Journal

Black Tulip is the dramatic story of history's top fighter ace, Luftwaffe pilot Erich Hartmann. It's also the story of how his service under Hitler was simplified and elevated to Western mythology during the Cold War.

Over 1,404 wartime missions, Hartmann claimed a staggering 352 airborne kills, and his career contains all the dramas you would expect. There were the frostbitten fighter sweeps over t...