Fast Eddie

He was the kind of man who made danger look like routine. Eddie Rickenbacker grew up on the rough streets of Columbus, Ohio, fixing engines and outrunning bad luck. By the time America entered World War I, he was already famous as “Fast Eddie,” a race car driver who understood speed better than fear. When he climbed into a SPAD fighter with the 94th “Hat in the Ring” Squadron, he became the nation’s most decorated ace, claiming twenty-six victories and the Medal of Honor. But his legend didn’t stop when the shooting did. Rickenbacker built cars, ran the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and later turned Eastern Air Lines into an aviation powerhouse. He survived plane crashes, a month adrift in the Pacific, and every test life threw at him. This is the story of America’s original iron man — Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, the man who refused to quit.