Product Description
Great collection of stories and biographies of famous fliers filled with Adventure, Danger and Discovery. Many of these had never been printed anywhere before or since with Authors including Christopher Bick, J Emerson Carson, Marvin L De Vries, Lawrence M Guyer, John R Hoyt, David N Johnson, Burr Leyson, (Cmdr) Harold Blaine Miller & Dupont Miller, Richard N Nance, Richards Parker, Noel Sainsbury, Taylor V Shaver, John B Stanley, Robb White and Raoul Whitfield ... Read more

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The name of Neville Duke is well known in aviation circles, not only as a wartime pilot, but also as a peacetime test pilot with the Hawker Aviation Company. This is the story of his career. Duke started the war as a young fighter pilot with the crack 92 Squadron at RAF Biggin Hill, was posted to the Western Desert in 1941, flying the Tomahawks. He was awarded the DSO at the end of the Tunisian Campaign, and then given command of 145 Spitfire Squadron in Italy. Leading this unit in the summer of 1944 he brought his score to 28 and received a second bar to his DFC. He became an RAF test pilot towards the end of the war, and later became Chief Test Pilot at Hawkers, where he worked on the development of the Hawker Hunter. ... Read more

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Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Amelia Book
Owning a book that was written by Amelia herself is fantastic!I would not have known this book existed without Amazon.Great read!

Should've Based The Movie On This
Unlike Earhart's other works, 20 Hours, 40 Minutes and Last Flight, which focus on flight details and aircraft specifications,this one is about HER and her life and her love of flying.Amelia began her life in Kansas and she became a nurse, a car mechanic, a social worker, a photgrapher, and even an airline vice president before she became America's aviation sweetheart.In this book she tells about those occupations and the impacts they had on her life and choices.She also tells a funny tale here and there like the time she was sledding and barely missed a head on collision with a horse, going between its legs as luck would have it.Another funny tale (that also involves a horse) is when she had one as a passenger!

I got bored, however, when Earhart started about the weather bureau and went on a bit too much about the autogiro (helicopter today).The last quarter saves it from becoming a four star book tho.When today someone says the words "women in aviation" we immediately think about Amelia.Amelia generously hands out the credit tho.In the last quarter, Earhart talks about numerous women and their accomplishments in aviation including but not limited to Ruth Nichols, Elinor Smith, Bobby Trout, Anne Lindbergh, Phoebe Omlie, and even a historical great, Ruth Law.There is also a chapter devoted to the early days of hot air ballooning and the ladies involved.

This is a must read for any and all aviation buffs.I will be reading it again.

Good Book
This book is a very good as an advertisement for women to become aviators, but not good as a biography of Amelia Earhart. Though, it has some biographical information that is not the books purpose so a lot of the book is about aviation and women aviators in general. This book is great to see how aviation and women were viewed in the 1920s and 1930s however. It also has a great scene showing the everyday persons reaction to the end of World War II from Earhart's first hand experience.

a must read
we often do not have the chance to hear a person from our past but this book is a lyrical transcription of miss amelia earhart putnam. these are her words and observations and she lets us into her protected world to glimpse her passion. i recommend this book for anyone and everyone, the young child who seeks self esteem for the rough years of adolescence, the young adult trying to make their own way and even the well seasoned, this is a story of trimuph, something we are lacking in todays tabloid world.

"A Fun Read About America's Flying Sweetheart, AE"
"The Fun of It:Random Records of My Own Flying and of Women in Aviation", by Amelia Earhart - Brewer, Warren & Putnam, NY 1932.HC - 213 pages, a list of Aviation Books By Women, and includes 31 B & W photographs, (many full-page and of good quality).8 1/2" x 5 1/2"

Dedicated "To the Ninety Nines", this is the 2nd of 3 books Amelia wrote, the 1st being "20 Hrs. 40 Min." after her 1928 Atlantic crossing, whilst the 3rd was "Last Flight" in 1937 on her failed attempt to circumnavigate the globe at the equator.

Herein, AE writes largely a discursive autobiography, reveals her visions of the past, present and future for aviation, impels a strong calling for feminism/equalism of working sexes, ending with a final section about her 1932 solo flight across the Atlantic.AE is quick to point out much of her acclaim is/was due to contribution of others - that, as a girl or woman, she received a luxurience of acclaim, and reveals a modesty not often admitted by others.There is, thoughtfully, and purposefully, only minor mention of her husband George Putnam.AE provides a modest 'tour de force' on the history of flying: -- from balloons, dirigibles, to flying at time of Wright Bros., Dec. 17, 1903 and up to the early 1930's with speculation about supersonic stratoshperic flight, space ships, rocket engines, giant airlines, etc. and discussion of her flights in autogyros which predated heliocopters.

What we find in AE's writing is her directed appeal to encourage women's involvement in each and every phaase of aviation (mechanics, pilotage, meteorology, sales, production, and design): -- AE promotes aviation as an important industry still in its infancy for cargo, mail, transportation and 'for the fun of it'.AE is a skilled writer, making good analogies for her adiences/readers to follow concepts in a book largely free of error, written before 'spell-checker', etc.It is non-technical and should make for a wide reading audience. ... Read more

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Traces the life of the pilot who became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. ... Read more

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Colonel William C. Bentley Jr. was a member of the small elite group of U.S. Army Air Corps officers who formed the genesis for the development of what we now know as the U.S. Air Force. He was not only rated as a Command Pilot and was a test pilot on the B-17, but he was a doctrinal visionary in airlanding tactics and serving as an advocate for servicemembers higher education. Colonel Bentley commanded the Paratroop Task Force during Operation Torch; the longest and first airborne mission in American military history. He was the first graduate of the University of Maryland's off campus degree completion program. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A legacy
By BFA President Woody Bentley

It is hard to be neutral when reviewing the biography of your father, written by your son.You strive to be impartial, but that is not always possible.However, this work will be of interest to anyone interested in military history, the transition of early aviation to a modern Air Force, and how fates can thwart a man destined for more than he achieved.The author has done an honest job with a great deal of careful research and review of the written record.He uncovers a story that even the man/s own children did not fully know.

This is the story of a scion of the Old South, brought up among all of its glories in Richmond, VA in the early 20th Century.He lived in the midst of Confederate Veterans, hearing their stories and seeing The War from their perspective.He attended three Virginia schools, each with its own history of youth going off in Confederate grey.Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA has little to record his presence there except for his name on two years of student lists, and listings in clubs and activities.A standout athlete in his later teenage years, there is no record of any sports at Episcopal.His attendance at the storied Virginia Military Institute, of the Battle of New Market Fame, lasts barely a semester, with questions surrounding his departure.He also attends the University of Richmond where he becomes a Virginia swimming and diving champion.

But adventure drives him to learn to fly, a part of the fringe of the early aviation history.It takes him two trips to graduate and earn his wings from the Army Air Corps at Kelly Field, Texas.He joins the early Air Corps, flying and serving with the famous names of WWII including Hap Arnold, Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Dooey Spaatz, and Curtis E. Lemay.A tour in Hawaii flying fighters leads to his marriage to the privileged daughter of the manager of the largest sugar plantation in Hawaii, a marriage that caused his superiors to make some comment in his effective reports in a vague way about family troubles; in reality Barbara Greene Bentley's mental illness. This would never be allowed in the modern military.Transferred to Langley Field, VA, he helped test fly the early B17s, becoming the only known pilot in history to fly one upside down and live to tell the tale.He and later General Lemay both flew in flights of B17s to South America, an effort to show the ability to project the new American air power around the world.

As the rumbles of WWII approached, then Major Bentley and his family were in Rome, Italy, where he was the Air Attaché.Asked to leave Rome by the Italians in retaliation for the American removal of an Italian Admiral from Washington, DC, the family moved to Portugal, where then Lt. Col. Bentley was involved in activities in German occupied French Morocco.Returning to the United States in 1942, the Col. Bentley was transferred to England to General Eisenhower's staff to plan and participate in Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. He conceived, planned and commanded the longest airborne invasion in history, from England to near Oran (the subject of a pending book by Major Bentley and Col Robert Swetzer USA - Retired).Later wounded while serving with the British Eighth Army, Col. Bentley returned home to recover.By 1944, afraid he would miss the rest of the war; he was transferred to the 10th Army as the Air Liaison Officer for the invasion of Okinawa.He flew Generals Buckner, Geiger, and Stilwell over the combat areas.He entered Japan in time to see and photograph the destruction wrought by the atom bomb.Returning to the US to attend the Air War College, he participated in the creation of the separate blue suit U.S. Air Force. By this time, his early colleagues who had served in the European Command in WWII had one or more stars and were the rising leaders of the new Air Force.Sent to Germany, to Hqs. United States Air Forces Europe, he served under his former compatriots.Offered a chance in 1955 to join General Lemay on the staff of the new Strategic Air Command, a sure path to a star, he refused out of loyalty to another Commander, General Cannon, a personal friend.Finally achieving the status of Wing Commander in the mid-50s, he dealt with the integration of the military, something a scion of the Old South had never expected.Finally, he had apparent run-ins with former compatriots and retired, ill with cancer and bitter.

Major Bentley does an excellent job in analyzing the career and thinking of a man who should have had every opportunity for flag rank possibly even the position of Chief of Staff of the Air Force.Loved by his officers and men, he was found difficult to work with by State Department officials and some fellow senior officers.His wife's occasional serious turns and hospitalizations, no doubt played a role.But his love affair with this wife, and hers with him, was by far the most important thing to him, more important perhaps than his career, and unfortunately, as described by the author, his children.He never lived to see grandchildren.Major Bentley clearly shows how a man clearly touched by greatness, never achieved his full potential in his profession in a time of dynamic opportunity, partly by chance and partly by character and personal choices.This is truly an amazing story of an American hero.
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Product Description
For the first time nearly seventy of Wilbur and Orville Wright's published writings are brought together in a single, annotated reference. Spanning the decades from the brothers' turn-of-the-century experiments with gliders until Orville's death in 1948, the articles describe the design of their aircraft, early test flights, and camp life at Kitty Hawk. Because Wilbur's sudden death in 1912 ended any hope that the Wrights would produce a book of their own, the articles collected in this volume are their only published words. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

ReconstructingHistory
If you are studying Wright Fliers for the first time, or are an avid consumer of aviation history, this book will do wonders for your understandings of the Wright Brothers and their time in history.If you have already read Kelly, McFarland, and Crouch, you will find a new and revitalized interest.
Jakab and Young combine their talents and knowledge of aviation history to weave a few new bits of enlightening knowledge.Their explanations and corrections, that they cite, show that they have put a great deal of time into "getting a few things straight".They do a really nice job of tactfully showing the errors in other publications, giving credit where credit is due and help to put things in a proper light.You will enjoy the ride. ... Read more

Product Description
The fascinating story of the world’s first women aviators

 Details the careers of more than thirty pioneer women aviators who predated Amelia Earhart

 Examines aviation in France, Russia, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States during the first two decades of flight

 Includes rare photographs

BEFORE AMELIA is the remarkable story of the world’s women pioneer aviators who braved the skies during the early days of flight. While most books have only examined the women aviators of a single country, Eileen Lebow looks at an international spectrum of pilots and their influence on each other. The story begins with Raymonde de Laroche, a French woman, who became the first licensed female pilot in 1909. De Laroche, Lydia Zvereva, Melli Beese, Hilda Hewlitt, Harriet Quimby, and the other women pilots profiled here rose above contemporary gender stereotypes and proved their ability to fly the temperamental heavier-than-air contraptions of the day.

Lebow provides excellent descriptions of the dangers and challenges of early flight. Crashes and broken bones were common, and many of the pioneers lost their lives. But these women were adventurers at heart. In an era when women’s professional options were severely limited and the mere sight of ladies wearing pants caused a sensation, these women succeeded as pilots, flight instructors, airplane designers, stunt performers, and promoters. This book fills a large void in the history of the first two decades of flight. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The earliest days of the very first flying machines
Before Amelia: Women Pilots In The Early Days Of Aviation by Eileen F. Lebow offers the reader an engaging glimpse into the earliest days of the very first flying machines, and the dozens of female pilots who made aviation history before the famous Amelia Earhart. Starting with Raymonde de Laroche, a French woman who became the first licensed female pilot in 1910, and profiling numerous other international female pilots, Before Amelia is a welcome contribution to both Women Studies and Aviation History reference collections and supplemental reading lists. ... Read more

Product Description
Glenn Curtiss beat even the Wright brothers (who sued him bitterly) to get pilotís license No. 1 in America. He teamed with Alexander Graham Bell, helped develop the moving wing part known as the aileron, introduced tricycle landing gear, made the first airplane sales, and turned aeronautics into a multimillion dollar business. His innovations ranged from the Curtiss Pusher to the hydroaeroplane, the flying boat, and the Curtiss Jenny. Curtiss, his engines, and his airplanes dominated the world of early aviation on this side of the Atlantic.ÝÝGlenn H. Curtiss: Aviation Pioneer charts Curtissís breakneck course across two continents, North America and Europe, setting speed and distance records, experimenting with military applications, always striving for a safer, faster airplane. Fostering both water flyers and shipboard landing, he became the Father of Naval Aviation. But even the skies were not wide enough for the busy brain of Curtiss. Glenn H. Curtiss: Aviation Pioneer also tracks his dizzying ride from a village bicycle shop to record-smashing motorcycle races, futuristic travel trailers, and city building in the Florida land boom.ÝÝ ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Teaching the Wrights to Fly
Edward Chalmers Huffaker made the first powered (though unmanned) flight while Alexander Graham Bell stood beside him, and he was the first physicist to apply the Bernoulli principle to airplane wing lift. This well-researched history of Huffaker's life and his uneasy relationship with Wilbur and Orville at Kitty Hawk chronicles his key role in the development of aviation. The Unwelcome Assistant is a compelling and enlightening book. ... Read more

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Nicknamed "Father Goose" because of his many thousands of hours piloting the Grumman JRF Goose, Captain Bodding's career began in the age of the Curtiss Jenny and lasted through Alaska Airlines' Jets. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fantastic Read
Not only was this a great story about the history of aviation in Alaska, it was also a touching story about a man's life in the Territory of Alaska. I enjoyed reading about his adventures as well as hearing about his family and their lives.

I espically loved the book because much of it took place in my home town and I grew up watching Bud and his partners fly in and out of our area in the 1940's. A must read for anyone that enjoys antique airplanes.

Awesome Book!
You have to get this book and read it. This book is about my grandfather Gerald "Bud" Bodding and his life growing up in Alaska and becoming a well known pilot thoughout Alaska. This captures life as it was back in southeast Alaska before there was any commercialized airlines. I read this book in two days, it was so facinating! I remember growing up, staying the night at my grandpa's house and hearing all these stories of his career. Reading the book is like actually hearing my grandpa tell me the stories all over again. I would recommend this book to everyone, after you read it please pass it on to someone you know. Love you Gramps!!! ... Read more

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Danielle's Famous Book Review
This book is very good book it accesses you to very useful information. I enjoyed learning about women that concored scace and flight! ... Read more

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FROM ONE OF THE NATION’S FIRST ROTOR PILOTS, A BLAZING ACCOUNT OF HIS MOST TOP SECRET, DANGEROUS MISSIONS

Richard Kirkland would never have imagined that anything could compare to tangling with Zeros in life-and-death dogfights over the South Pacific—but that was before he traded his fighter-pilot wings for rotors. It was a move he never regretted, and the riveting experiences he chronicles in War Pilot provide ample reason why. From the first primitive Sikorsky and the sophisticated choppers of Vietnam to flying medevac choppers and saving countless soldiers from certain death in Korea, Kirkland’s firsthand accounts of pilots under fire provide a gripping portrait of not just one American hero, but the many courageous others with whom he flew. . . . ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

A very good read and interesting man as well
I was lucky enough to get a copy of this book at the Reno Air Races several years ago,when Mr. Kirkland was promoting his book there. The book itself is a good read; good enough that when I saw that he had a second book out I ordered it promptly.

I'll admit to being a little biased: the P-38 has always been my favorite plane of the era and being able to talk to a real life veteran and pilot of "The Forked Tailed Devil" was a fantastic experience.

An ace indeed
Tales of a War Pilot is about pilot Richard Kirkland who took me to islands near Japan. He flew treacherous rescue missions for the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (M.A.S.H.)in North Korea. The book includes stories like "Escape from the Stone Age" where a good friend of LT. Kirkland makes a critical mistake and is forced to bail out and survive alligators, malaria, and cannibals. Another memorable story,"Mystery of the MagnificentBeast," involved a huge Convair B-36 that disappears on Valentines Day with an A-bomb in its bay.

I very much liked the book. It was filled with tragedies and successes that kept me on the edge of my seat. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in airplanes and WW2 or anyone who is an Air Force fanatic like me.

This is not a history or true memoir
The billing for this book is very misleading especially the Smithsonian History of Avaiation Series title.It is historical fiction and not truly a memoir or a personal account. I don't doubt that the piece is generally accurate. Once fiction is injected, however, the reader never knows what is true and what is not. Nothing is mentioned in the description here or on the book jacket that this is the case. I wish I had my money back.

Tales of a War Pilot
This story is very interesting and gives a lot of insight on the conduct of the air war in the Pacific in WWII.The author, Richard C. Kirkland, was a pilot very early in his life, age 20 or around that age. He is assigned to some very noteworthy units, one the famous Black Sheep Squadronwhere he was acquainted with Mjajor Richard Bong, the noted ace.He wasalso fortunate to fly with Lindberg, the Lone Eagle who first flew theAtlantic alone. He flew the P-38 and other aircraft and was a very goodpilot apparently. The story is not strictly his however, he tells a coupleof tales about pilots that he has heard about who have survived stressfulsituations.They are all interesting, but they are not his story. AfterWWII he serves in the newly formed Air Force and he is picked to transitioninto helicopters and this is a fine story of his exploits as one of thefirst chopper pilots in Korea and one of the first to airlift casualtiesfrom battle in a helicopter. This part of his book is superb. I gave thisthree stars because his tales of WWII in some instances seem contrived. Maybe it is just that he has waited too long to write this, and he does notremember clearly what he writes about. All in all it is a great read of aircombat fromfirst hand experience.

brisk adventure in tales amazingly recalled from 1 mans life
This easy but captivating read of short stories from a military pilot's accumulated and varied experiences gives the reader an incredible insight into our past world of war and aviation. Probably never again to beduplicated, the military flying career of the author left me aghast at thebreadth of poignant events and weighty situations faced by this one flyerin his long military career. I definitely yearned for more tales, moreinsight and more learning about the life of this man - which was spentsignificantly in the air! This is a winning first publication for Kirkland.I wish him many more. ... Read more