No book on Canadian fighter pilots would be complete without a detailed history of Billy Bishop, a Canadian and British Empire hero of Word War I. Bashow masterfully relates Bishop's colorful history, which includes some of his not-so-well-known behavior. He also documents the last moments of Baron Manfred von Richthofen, whose last engagement involved an attack on a Canadian (Lt Wilfred May) while von Richthofen, in turn, was under attack by Lt Roy Brown, May's former schoolmate and current squadron mate. Evidently, yon Richthofen was shot down by Sgt C. B. Popkin of the Australian army: however, Bashow puts a fighter pilot's perspective on his death by saying that the German ace violated his own rules by chasing Lieutenant May.

Knights of the Air is about more than the exploits of individual Canadian airmen. Bashow uniquely covers the Somme offensive from the perspective of the aviator and relates air fighting to the important ground battles. His research is thorough and complete, even to the point of documenting the incomplete record keeping of German flying squadrons. He also discusses how this deficiency created some permanent holes in the history of air warfare in World War I.

Canadian fighter pilots made a substantial contribution during the war. Bashow's record of the exploits of these daring, adventurous young men complements All the Fine Young Eagles (Toronto: Stoddart Publishing, 1996), his book on the history of Canadian fighter pilots in World War II. Both books are good reads for any airman. Clearly, the legacy of Canada's first fighter pilots is still alive in the writings of Dave Bashow.