Product Description
He was a wide-eyed teenager when he left his Minnesota home in 1943 to learn to fly. By the end of World War II, he was a battle-worn Marine bomber pilot who'd survived more than a hundred missions in the Pacific. With stunning eloquence and breathtaking clarity, Samuel Hynes recalls those extraordinary years: the madness of war and the horror of death, the friendships forged in cockpits and gin mills, the wives and sweethearts left at home, and the wonder of flying-that exquisite harmony between pilot and machine aloft in the insubstantial air. More than a combat tale, this is the story of one man's remarkable rite of passage in that timeless world of innocence gone to war. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Hardly the best of the genre
Hynes portrayal seems realistic for what he went through - but what he went through is not that interesting. He came into aviation relatively late in the war, and did not get overseas until early 1945.
I have read a lot of this genre for research on the development of flying concepts over 80 years (stay tuned for my book!). His writing is better than most, but the material itself is, as another reviewer said, mostly Catch-22, and domestic training Catch 22 at that.

Pilot?
The people who gush over this book have probably not ever been involved in military aviation.Not only does Hynes openly refer to enlisted men (the backbone of the Corps) with a typical 2nd Lieutenant's disdain, he openly puts them in danger on numerous occasions with only his own ego at stake. He never really demonstrates professionalism in his flying, either in the act or his attitude.He seems more fixated on drinking than on developing his questionable flying skills. But, afterall, he was only a 20 year old, and a rather immature one at that as witness his nonchalance about getting married, and rare mention of his wife or what she must have gone through over his antics.As myself a veteran of 10 years of Marine Aviation, I can relate to a lot of it.When Hynes describes the quarters at Memphis, I've live in them myself.My attitude, however, turned from amusement to disgust as I progressed through the book.

very sweet, too short
well written, a realistic portrayal of parts of the war that we really don't think that much about,

my only substantial criticism is that it is an awfully short book for the price.

A new favorite book!
I didn't discover this book until around 2003, I think it was. I'd just read Hynes' other memoir, The Growing Seasons, and wanted to know what happened next. I ordered Flights of Passage and absolutely loved it! I've read it a couple more times since then and even wrote to Sam asking him what happened next? More story, please! He did tell me that he was reactivated briefly by the USMC during the Korean War, but never got to Korea. Said he thinks he may have been the only active duty marine at that time working on a dissertation in English Lit. Sam showed up as one of the principals on Ken Burns' PBS special, The War. His presence and his part of the narration added a special kind of added "class" to the production. He tells me he's been working most recently on a book about aviators from the First World War. Hope he gets it done soon. I know I'll read it. Sam Hynes makes good writing look easy. - Tim Bazzett, author of Soldier Boy and Love, War & Polio

"Good Wars" Still Kill
Watching planes fly over his Minneapolis home, young Samuel Hynes never imagined himself flying in one, let alone being a pilot. He never saw an ocean, yet before he turned 21, he would be flying and fighting over the largest of them. World War II was a transforming conflict in many ways. For Hynes, it was his ticket to a larger world.

Not that he seems too happy for the experience. Yes, Hynes writes with humor, and some nostalgia, about his experiences fighting in the Pacific Theater with the Marines air wing in the last year of the war. Yet, when he describes his feelings about his return to civilian life as "the end of something that had been good, perhaps like the breaking up of a marriage," it feels odd and wrong.

Hynes didn't see a lot of combat, but he saw a lot of waste, deadly waste, pilots in training killed attempting maneuvers, or else later on, lost at sea because they were lost in the clouds. There are attacks on a Japanese-held island tucked too deep behind Allied lines to threaten anyone. There's no glory in Samuel Hynes' war; even the deaths of Japanese foes are related with bitter resignation.

Hynes writes of his and his comrades' struggle less in terms of victory than simple survival, doing what the military asks them and no more. Hynes mentions the film classics "Wings" and "Dawn Patrol," but there's more here of Joseph Heller's "Catch-22," where the carnage of World War II is played as a sick joke. Even the humor has that same acidic quality. When one pilot is lost at sea, only to be rescued, his comrades disguise their relief by pretending to have gotten rid of his belongings when he returns.

The book is three-fourths over before Hynes reaches the only real battle he participated in, Okinawa. As he hops from post to post stateside, the narrative sometimes gets dull. But the overall tone of "Flights Of Passage is what makes it worth reading. With most war books, the focus is naturally on battles, or individuals who made some difference in the conflict. Hynes, a self-described small cog in giant machine, writes of the other side of war, its boredom, pettiness, infidelity, and creeping ennui. Danger, too, and tragedy, but in such small doses one can never be ready for them, not ready enough.

While his style is dispassionate and nonjudgmental, I get the feeling Hynes didn't care much for what he saw of the war. It's not that he was a bad Marine, just not a warrior.

His best sections involve the spurts of battle he did see, his impressions of flying the different combat planes of the era. Corsairs were prized as beauties but prone to spinning out during landing approaches, while the Hellfighters were "all muscle and no guts."

Hynes spends a lot of time on his comrades, but except for one hotshot he gets close to named Joe, none really stick out, not even Hynes. Carefully written, at times beautifully, the book avoids any non-factual embellishments that might make it more readable but less true, the kind that other memoirists would defend as compensation for fading memory. The result is a flat, dry read, but one you trust to tell it like it was.

I'm glad for the service Hynes gave his country, more perhaps than Hynes himself. But his book makes clear why wars, even when fought for the most noble of purposes, leave scars and a sense of loss that outweighs any triumph, however worthy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

The Real Story of the Aviator.
Written from a test pilot's perspective, this is the real story of an unusual man who was a magician with lots of money. Hughes was a true pioneeer in aviation, constantly on the newsreels. He had a fascination with planes, even those which could float on water.There is a picture of the Hercules after it was brought of storage in 1980.

The pictures of so many airplanes brought the story so much better than words could do and Hughes contribution to the war effort.He was truly the Aviator of all time, better then the celebrated Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh.I'm glad he had Bruce Burk at his side to aid in this quest.

After he changed TWA to TransWorld Airlines, he ran into conflict with PanAm president who told him in the Coconut Grove, where a lot of the personal interaction took place, that no airline should have a monopoly on international travel.

There were scandals with the women, though he appeared to enjoy touching planes more than women. He "interviewed" many young starlets under contract to him. He was clear at the end that aviation was the great love of his life. He was dubbed as capricious and eccentric, but mainly he was afraid of people -- paranoid, thinking there were spies in his midst to learn his secrets.

If he loved any woman, it was Kate Hepburn who left him for Spencer Tracy, He visited her family in Conn. but felt alienated, and she tried to dominate him. He wanted to control Ava Gardner and asked her to marry him. Both women appeared in his delusion to prepare for the Senate hearing.He was alo involved with Rita Hayworth and Terry Moore, who claimed to be his wife when he died. The senator accused him of producing a dirty movie and making airplanes which don't fly.

At the hearing, it was promoted that the whole world will see what he has become. The Hercules (later dubbed the Spruce Goose) became Howard's folly, the sixty-ton white elephant with a wing span the length of a football field. It was meant to fly 200 tons of army equipment. When he successfully got that plane out of the water, it proved his ability to overcome his tarnished reputation. The senator charged Hughes with defrauding the government for accepting millions of dollars for spy planes he never delivered.

George Marrett wrote CHEATING DEATH: COMBAT AIR RESCUE IN VIETNAM AND LAOS in 2003.This is the real story of Howard Hughes contribution to aviation, his first and last love.

Tells the aviation side of Hughes - the bad pilot side
Well written and well documented book tells about Hughes life from the aviation perspective. Although it probably wasn't the author's primary intent, I was shocked to read how bad a pilot Hughes was with questionable flying ability and certainly flawed judgement. By 1948, Hughes had had 9 major head injuries with at least 5 of them in an aircraft (which may explain his erratic behavior in his later years). A must read for flying buffs.

Good, unique inside view
This was the first Hughes book I've read, although I've chased down several more since. It's probably impossible to write a full bio of Howard Huges, given the extra large size of his life and all of his accomplishments... and the extra deep depths of his fall.

George Marrett has probably realized that, and limits the bio to some of the larger events of Hughes life, centered around aviation. He does a great job there, with inside stories (from extensive interviews of Hughes contemporaries) that are fascionating, and inspiring (for Hughes accomplishments - which were many and unique).

Don't buy this book expected to see the full story of Hughes life... or a more detailed view of The Aviator movie (which apparently took more than a few liberties). Buy it to more fully understand Hughes great aviation contributions... and the times in which he lived.

Fortunately, the book stays classy to the end, and avoids the tabloid view of Hughes life (and his end). We can get that type of view elsewhere.. if we want to waste our time. For now lets focus on the great persona of Hughes, and the the fascinating times in which he made his greatest contributions.

A good book but not a great book...
This is a good book and it reads pretty well.The story often deviates from Hughes (especially in the second half) to go into stories about many of the pilots and engineers that worked with Hughes.This isn't unreasonable because these are the people that the author had access too and they also have interesting lives.However, I feel that this distracts from the Hughes story and I suspect is done to fill in the many gaps when no one knew what Hughes was actually doing.If you are interested in the aviator side of Hughes I feel its worth the purchase.

take it to the movies!
Oh gosh, this is a good read. Buy it! Take it with you when you go to see Leonardo playing Howard on the big screen, so you can keep the airplanes straight and also remind yourself that, for all his genius, Howard Hughes was a rather shabby pilot. (A ***** stick, as they say in the Air Force.)

To save money on aeronautical charts, he flew with the road maps handed out free by oil companies. He ignored air-traffic controllers, filed misleading flight plans, identified himself with the name of his co-pilot, flew under visual rules in bad weather, and cut off the pilot ahead of him in the pattern. Even as a passenger, George Marrett writes, Hughes could turn a routine flight into a debacle. His big ambition was to outshine Lindberg.

Of course Howard Hughes was more than an aviator: he made movies, ran an airline, designed the half-cup bra, founded aerospace companies, made billions, and was the country's most famous hypochondriac. But those are incidentals as for a fellow pilot like George Marrett, who flew a rescue Skyraider in Vietnam and wrote about it in Cheating Death, and who afterward became a test pilot for Hughes Aircraft. By concentrating on the aviation side of his former boss, Marrett has written a short, readable, and fascinating biography. In his hands, Howard Hughes turns out to have been a lot more interesting than Charles Lindbergh, though he never came close to him as an aviator.

-- Dan Ford ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: World War, 1914-1918; History / Military / Aviation; ... Read more

Product Description
In 1950, when Frank E. Petersen left Topeka to see the world, he never dreamed that the next thirty-years would fly him from seaman recruit to the heights of command as a Marine Corps three-star general. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Great book and Great story, must read.
This book should be required reading on college campuses thru-out America. My opinion. I was fortunate enough to meet the General also on the "rock" in '83. I was busy working in the pharmacy(Hospital Corpsman) at the flight-line clinic and turn around to see this tall General standing there. He ask me for some aspirins for his bad hip. I guess he'd just finished flying. I have never forgot that meeting. I could see how he could succeed against any odds, he had a presence that could not be denied. Truly an American treasure.

A book you can't put down!
Into the Tigers Jaw is a very impressive account of Lt. General Frank Petersen's life in the Marine Corps. J Alfred Phelps does a splendid job here depicting the determination and perserverance of a highly decorated Marine who paved the way for today's generation of Black Marine Officers. Petersen's strong will and devotion to duty enabled him to succeed in a organization at a time when Black American's represented such a minute percentage of the ranks in the Armed Forces. There is never a dull moment in this book, it grips your attention from beginning to end.
I borrowed the book from the library, after reading it I bought it, and today it's part of my private library.

What a roll model he is.
As a black Marine (1961-1965) I found the book to answer a lot of myquestions, and to help me understand what was going on in my world at thetime. That's because I had a very good relationship with the others membersof my team who were all white. The only person I had a problem with was myLt. and I know he just didn't like black folk. His book said the thingsthat needed to be said, he told the truth about the times and what he hadto do to overcome things. I felt that in many ways his story was mine,although I only spent 4 years in the corps. Again thanks for your work.Once a Marine always a Marine.

A Literary And Historic Masterpiece
It's one thing to hear about how great someone is; it's something totally different to have met that person and to KNOW how great that person is.Lt. Gen. Petersen was my Wing Commander while I was stationed in Okinawa(Headquarters, G-3) during my '83-'84 tour of "The Rock."Thoughwe chatted briefly on a few occasions after his afternoon workouts (yes, heran daily with that bad hip), he helped me forge an extremely strong senseof duty and honor, and he has been a very positive influence in my lifethat carries on even today.What's great about the book is that it grabsyou and dives right in, taking you on a spellbinding trip that explores theheart and soul of a true battle-hardened, no-nonsense warrior.It couldalso serve as a seminal work on the history of race relations in themilitary over the past 50 years.Readers will be thrilled, fascinated, andeven brought to tears as they become one with the words which flow so wellthat it's almost as if General Petersen has a direct link to your brain. There is high drama on all fronts, whether it's in the cockpit of an F-4Phantom sustaining 37mm anti-aircraft fire, or in the military courtroomshowcasing some of the world's most notorious people.The story of Lt.Gen. Petersen's personal life and his career in the Corps will be veryinspirational and highly motivating for anyone who reads it.What elsewould you expect from a Marine?

Semper Fidelis.

Absolutely Fantastic Book!
INTO THE TIGER'S JAW has been an inspiration to my students and to me.In Lt. General Petersen we met a courageous man who was not afraid to stand up for what he felt was just and honorable---a man of integrity who overcameobstacles that would have defeated a lesser man.We felt shame at theinjustices that he often endured and pride in his accomplishments. Thankyou General Petersen and J. Alfred Phelps for this magnificent book and forintroducing us to another American hero and role model. ... Read more

Product Description

In 1942, with war raging on two fronts and military pilots in short supply, the U.S. Army Air Force enlisted a handful of skilled female aviators to deliver military planes from factories to air bases--expanding the successful program to include more than one thousand women. These superb pilots flew every aircraft in the U.S. Army Air Force--including B-26s when men were afraid to--logging more than siz million miles in all kinds of weather. yet when World War II ended, their wartime heroism was left unheralded.

In 1961, with the dawn of the space age, a handful of top female pilots took part in a new program termed "Women in Space." Subjected to the same rigorous tests as the Mercury astronauts, thirteen women--top-notch pilots--were admitted to the program. Once again women had reason to dream...that at least oneof them would be the first of their sex in space. The matter went as far as Congress, where dramatic hearings included testimony from astronauts John Glenn and Scott Carpenter. But their hopes were dashed. These skilled aviators had the "right stuff" at the wrong time, and again women were denied their place in history. This is their story, one of courage, ferocity, adn patriotism.

As Haynsworth and Toomey explain, female aviators in the U.S. earnedtheir way as "barnstormers" in the first two decades of the 20thcentury, performing airborne stunts for the enthralled masses atcounty fairs and exhibitions. When America's role in World War IIdeepened after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, enterprising women pilotspushed for and finally found work as Women's Airforce Service Pilots,delivering military planes for combat around the country andoverseas. Finally, women demanded and, after much disappointment,gained a role in the U.S. aerospace program. Although the authors'desire for completeness sometimes leads to digression, these terrific,adventurous women are well worth knowing. Read and be inspired!--Maria Dolan ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

More a hagiography than a history
This book seems more intent on making a case that women were overlooked as pilots rather than on telling their story. None of the women come to life; rather than presenting fresh information, this book recycles anecdotes and headlines into a narrative. The listing of the names and backgrounds of the women who participated in the WASPs and in the astronaut training program resembles nothing as much as a litany of saints, with no fleshing out of them as real people. And the author applies today's standards retroactively and asks"why" rather than explains the reasons for the prevailing attitude of the times, and in one MAJOR instance the author presents discredited information as truth.

Jackie Cochran was not an orphan, and she grew up with her biological family; she invented the story of being an orphan for Life Magazine. And she didn't pick the name "Cochran" at random; Cochran was the name of her first husband. This error is made all the more egregious by the way the author makes the mystery of Jackie's origin a lynchpin of her story, stating that the letter informing her who her parents were remained sealed until her husband's death, whereupon it was burned! The author obviously did no original research, but simply repeated the standard story.

There is a real story about women aviators in the 20th century, but this isn't where to look to find it. What must have really happened is faintly visible between the lines, despite the author's attempts to simplify the story and give it a soft golden glow. These women deserve better.

From WASPS To MERCURY
Hainsworth and Toomey have done an excellent job in creating an overviewof women as pilots and the special challenges they met in WWII through theMercury Astronaut testing program. Their research is sound, the writing iseasy to digest. They do credit to two groups of women who have been oftenkept from the history books.

a good book
This is a good book.I liked the people in it and the stories were interesting.There was a lot of stuff here I never knew before.

Daughters delivers verve, wit, and spellbinding history
I picked up this book on a friend's recommendation and with fewexpectations.I had had no interest in aviation, am a tremulous airplanepassenger, and when my fourth grade class assembled to watch the histoicmoon landing, I had more interest in one small boy next to me than I did inone small step for man.Not anymore.Haynsworth's and Toomey's grippingnarrative style and rigorous scholarship provide what few history books do,page-turning excitement. This book conveys the miraculous wonder thatspectators must have experienced at early barn-storming events: breathlessamazement at mankind flying high and fast beyond the clouds and straightinto the impossible.From contraptions of wood and wire, barelyrecognizable as planes, to 6.2 million pound machines hurtling through theair at speeds of 6,000 miles an hour, Amelia Earhart's Daughters presentsthe great scope of the history of women in aviation. Walk, run, hell, flyto your nearest bookstore and pick up this book, you'll be glad you did andgrateful to these pioneer women aviators and the authors for letting youshare the ride.

Makes Me Feel A Mile-High
The stories of women innovators always excite, but the story told byHaynsworth and Toomey is inspirational.More than a feel-good book,however, this book ranks as the best historical text I've read since"The Rape of Europa."Amelia Earhart's Daughters should make itsway into all high-school reading lists.The stories of these unknownangels are vital components of the story of women in the 20th Century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Extremely factual about VPB Patrol Bombing Squadrons
As a member of VPB22 my squadron relieved VPB21 on our tour in the South Pacific.This book is extremely accurate, and brings back the memories of my experiences which were very much the same. Namely, the planes which we flew until they finally went down, including my own which went down off the island of Yap,(Feb 1944)and our experiences of being on an airplane fighting the rage of a mighty Typhoon.-----Thanks Don Sweet, extremely accurate and well written ------Bob Willig VPB22 (44-45)

A compelling narrative about the men of VPB-21
This fantastic book recalls the acts of bravery seldom told by those involved.Included are a list of crewmembers, early squadron history from 1944-1945.This book has aircraft, crew, and other pictures of VPB-21. ... Read more

Product Description
Here is the brief but intense life of Bessie Coleman, America's first African American woman aviator. Born in 1892 in Atlanta, Texas, she became known as "Queen Bess", a barnstormer and flying-circus performer who defied the strictures of race, sex, and society in pursuit of a dream. 30 duotone photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent Biography
I have been working on a project involving Bessie Coleman, the first African American pilot in the U.S. Doris Rich's book was the best of the lot. Bessie did not leave a copious paper-trail with mounds of letters to others, but Rich has managed to track down specifics about many of the details of her life. Her account of Bessie's death in 1926 here in Jacksonville, Fla., is the most complete of any available books.

As with many people, Bessie's dreams were bigger than her pocketbook.

Howard Denson
North Florida Writers
Jacksonville, FL

Not a keeper
An interesting subject: black, woman, early aviatrix, but the writing is mediocre. Much of the book is conjecture given the scarcity of primary resources. For the same reason it is not a vivid biography. The book could have been condensed into a chapter length article without losing anything.

I'm glad that I read it but sorry that I bought it.

An Inspiring look at a very determined woman
As far as I know, this is the only adult biography of Bessie Coleman, the pioneer African-American aviatrix. Rich notes that she was hampered by a lack of personal material, but has none the less produced a fascinating biography. Coleman, a woman of modest background, overcame barriers of wealth, race and gender. A national celebrity, especially among Blacks, she was even able to attract the attention of white Americans. Through her airshows and lectures, and against a great deal of hostility, she was a tireless campaigner for equality for both sex and gender.Mae Jemison, the first African-American female astronaut has written an afterword.For some reason, this is after the notes and bibliography, but before the index.

There are a variety of biographies of Coleman aimed at various ages of children.While reading this, I also read Bessie Coleman; first Black Woman Pilot by Connie Plantz.This is of course the most detailed and contains a considerable amount of historical and contextual information. Both this and Plantz's book are lavishly illustrated, happily with a number of different pictures, and I recommend both to anyone interested in visual information.

The book has copious notes, a lengthy bibliography and an index.
... Read more

Product Description
90 color plates & 8 x 11 & Exquisite color photos of more than 800 Navy aviation patches make this a must for the collector or anyone interested in military decorations. Includes patches for Top Gun units, Fighter and Attack squadrons, Aggressor squadrons, and aircraft carriers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good Book, Could Have Been Much Better
Good Book, Could Have Been Much Better

This is a very good book, however it could have been so much better.The photos or images of the patches are very small.It would have been a better effort had the publisher spent the money publishing in a larger format and added more pages so that the the images could have been published at their actual size. ... Read more

Product Description
Life the adventure and romance of the early days of flight with Will Turner, pioneer aviator, in Chris Davey's exciting novel The Aviator's Apprentice. The adventure continues with the second book in the series, Turner's Flight.

Patrick O'Brian wrote wonderfully crafted novels of the sea — now, in that same tradition, Chris Davey has written a series of novels for aviation enthusiasts and anyone who loves adventure, history, and romance. Lucky Press is proud to present the continuing series of fictional pilot Will Turner and his exploits from the dawn of aviation to contemporary times. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Wow!
What a fantastic book!Incredibly real characters, action, history filled pages!I loved every page!Mr. Davey created a group of characters that I honestly haven't seen in too long.His book is filled with likable people (and of course some that aren't likable) that made the world take flight while I read it!Does that make sense?I mean to say that reading his book made the world around seem better-ya know?Great, happy, AND well developed characters.I got what I always want out of this book.I got a week of pure pleasure being lost in it's pages!That's all I ask of fiction- take me away to a better place!Let me see things and experience things I 've never felt before.Davey does this perfectly with this, and his second book.If you're not interested in aviation, don't worry.This is still a great story worth reading.If you do love the history of aviation like I, then be prepared for some great facts and insight.Bravo Davey!Keep the books coming!

Incorporates historical as well as fictional characters
Will Turner is in his early twenties and desperate to fly in Chris Davey's The Aviator's Apprentice. The century is young and aviation is just beginning. Will is in Florida, hoping to make a name as a pilot and aviation engineer. When Europe is plunged into World War I, he is commissioned in the Royal Flying Corps where his ability and bravery are tested to the limit. The first in a planted series to be called "Will Turner's Flight Logs", The Aviator's Apprentice is a tightly woven and highly recommended novel that incorporates historical as well as fictional characters in an authentically backgrounded and detailed adventure story set in the early years of aviation.

"Will Turner is in his early twenties and desperate to fly..
...in Chris Davey's "The Aviator's Apprentice."The century is young and aviation is just beginning.Will is in Florida, hoping to make a name as a pilot and aviation engineer.When Europe is plunged into World War I, he is commissioned in the Royal Flying Corps where his ability and bravery are tested to the limit.

The first in a planned series to be called "Will Turner's Flight Logs", "The Aviator's Apprentice is a tightly woven and highly recommended novel that incorporates historical as well as fictional characters in an authentically backgrounded and detailed adventure story set in the early years of aviation."

I would fly anywhere with Will Turner!
Johnny Depp, where are you?This book must be made into a movie, and Johhny Depp would be the most incredible Will Turner.The Aviator's Apprentice had me "soaring" with interest!It is exceptionally thorough, never boring, and I can't wait to see what happens to Will Turner in the next book.

I would fly anywhere with Will Turner!
Johnny Depp, where are you?This book must be made into a movie, and Johhny Depp would be the most incredible Will Turner.The Aviator's Apprentice had me "soaring" with interest!It is exceptionally thorough, never boring, and I can't wait to see what happens to Will Turner in the next book. ... Read more

Product Description
The Airplane Boys among the Clouds - or, Young Aviators in a Wreck is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by John Luther Langworthy is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of John Luther Langworthy then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Product Description
Inventors, hermits and frontiersmen haveall roamed the fields and forests of JeffersonCounty, Pennsylvania, to leave their marks onwhat was once dense wilderness. Local journalistRandon W. Bartley introduces his readers to thelikes of Judge Heath, who helped fugitive slavesescape from jail; Earl Sandt, Brookville's daringaviator; and local Civil War heroine Kate Scott, whom readers will cometo see in a new light. The fascinating history of Jefferson County is toldthrough tales of mine disasters, prognosticating rodents, prohibition battles,early forms of baseball and a man who thought he could cheat the devil.With humor and wit, Bartley brings together a collection of vignettes thattracks the evolution of Jefferson County from a frontier outpost to a bustlingmodern community. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
For the first time in eighty-five years, the famous Sanke postcards of World War I Imperial German Aviators have been reproduced. Clear, large scale copies of all known and highly collectible Sanke personality photo postcards produced during World War I are now available, carefully replicated, and included all under one cover in this deluxe volume. Over 270 different cards of 132 individual aviators are included in this ground-breaking edition. Boelcke, Immelmann, the Richthofen brothers, Udet, and Gring are just a few of the famed aces and Pour le M rite flyers photographed by Postkarten-Vertrieb Willi Sanke. Each postcard is given full page coverage, accompanied by a brief history of each man, together with his victories and highest attained award. A bibliography is included for the reader desiring to further research the lives of Germanys unusual, heralded, and greatest heroes of the First War. This book is a must for the student of uniforms as it depicts the amazing variety worn by the flyers of the Luftstreitkrfte 1914-1918, and also shows them wearing the multitude of awards and decorations presented to Germanys airborne heroes. Both private and museum collections have been combed to provide this book with the finest possible coverage ever compiled on the work of Willi Sanke and his talented photographers. This is an excellent companion volume to Schiffer??s recently published Aviation Awards of Imperial Germany, Volume VII by the late Neal OConnor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Photo Reference
Picture postcards were very popular in Germany before WWI and when new and daring aerial activities caught the attention of the public, the fertile marketing mind of Willi Sanke wasn't far behind.He started with airships and airplanes but with his publication of the photo postcards of Germany's first two great airmen (Boelcke & Immelmann), a new and popular market was born.Every school boy rushed to buy these cards (as American boys bought baseball cards) and Sanke hurried to publish more postcards of "Unser Kampfflieger" (Our Fighting Flyers).Over the years these Sanke Cards have become very expensive collector items and this book offers you a chance to have most of the cards for fraction of the cost of originals.

This large format book has over 270 photos of 132 WWI German aviators.Each postcard is given a full page with a very brief history (birth, death, units, awards, victories).If you want detailed information on these aces you will have to look elsewhere.But if you want to put a face to a name, look at their uniforms and decorations in large clear photographs, then buy this book.
... Read more

Product Description
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. A biography of the pilot who was the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic and who was later lost at sea, attempting to fly around the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Fabulous!
THese Childhood of Famous American books are well worth the money.My kids love them and have learned so much by reading them aloud with me and on their own.A great way to introduce TRUE history in a childrens story form.

on-time delivery
Ordered this as Christmas gift.It arrived in time, at a good price.We know the book is a great kids' book.

too many adult issues for the super young
I read several other books from this series aloud to my five year old but had to stop halfway through this one.Amelia had a bit of a difficult life with her father's alcoholism, parent's divorce, occasional poverty and ultimate loss at sea.There are other allusions to people dying in plane crashes.The books about Neal Armstrong, John Glenn and the Wright Brothers from this series were more appropriate for a five year old.

Amelia Earhart-Young Aviator
Amelia Earhart was a very courageous young pilot, and she helped inspire young women to fly.In the book, Amelia Earhart: Young Aviator, byBeatrice Gormley, in the Childhood of Famous Americans series, the authordescribes Amelia Earhart as extraordinarily brave.This book tells almosteverything a person would want to know about Amelia Earhart.

Amelia flewher plane until she wanted to retire.Before she retired, though, shewanted to make one last record-breaking flight.She planned to fly aroundthe entire world, making stops only to refuel her plane.Near one of theislands she was supposed to land at, she mysteriously disappeared into thefog.No one knows what happened to her.We don't even know where shelies.We just know of her great achievements. ... Read more

Product Description
The six pioneers profiled here were promising graduates of the Wright Brothers' School of Aviation, which flourished in Ohio from 1910 to 1916. These airmen fairly represent their 113 fellow alumni in their all-consuming love of flying.

The pilots are Arthur L. Welsh, a Russian immigrant who rose to become Orville Wright's chief instructor; Howard Warfield Gill, heir to an international tea dynasty; Archibald Freeman, whose flour-bag bombing of Boston Harbor won him attention as an early exponent of the supremacy of air power; Grover Cleveland Bergdoll, whose promise as a pilot quickly soured; George A. Gray, whose marriage resulted in an extraordinary husband and wife exhibition team; and Howard Max Rinehart, aerial mercenary, international racing competitor, Wright test pilot, South American explorer, and co-owner of one of America's premier charter services. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A must-read for aviation buffs
John Carver Edwards breathes life into half a dozen long-forgotten flyers. These were not the inventors, but the early practitioners who helped make flying a reality throughout America.
Edwards paints these flawed heroes with all their warts. Each had his flaws, many lost heir lives because of them. They are, nevertheless, individually compelling and collectively fascinating. This is a look into their lives and American life as if existed almost a century ago.
In these pages you fly from Dayton to the Mexican Revolution to bootlegging to barnstorming.
This is a must-read for anyone interested in the early days of flying or in pre-Prohibition America.

A seminal work of superb scholarship
While the brothers Wilber and Orville Wright are famous for being responsible for the first manned airflight at Kittyhawk, what is not so well known is that afterwards they established the first aviator flight training school in the country. The Wright Brothers' School of Aviation was very active in Ohio from 1910 to 1916, training 113 men who shared their love of flying. The history of that flight school and the profiling of six of its graduates is the subject of "Orville's Aviators: Outstanding Alumni of the Wright Flying School, 1910-1916" by John Carver Edwards (University Archivist, University of Georgia). Here are the fascinating personal stories of Arthur L. Welsh (a Russian immigrant who rose to become Orville Wright's chief instructor); Howard Warfield Gill (heir to an international tea dynasty); Archibald Freeman (who flour-bag bombing of Boston Harbor resulted in his becoming an early exponent of the supremacy of air power in war); Grover Cleveland Bergdoll (whose promise as a pilot ultimately went unfulfilled); George A. Gray (whose wife joined him to become an aerial exhibition team); and Howard Max Rinehart (aerial mercenary, international racing competitor, Wright Brothers test pilot, South American explorer, and co-owner of one of America's premier air charter services). Informed and informative, deftly written and superbly documented, "Orville's Aviators" is a seminal work of superb scholarship and highly recommended for personal reading lists as well as academic and community library Aviation History reference collections. ... Read more

Product Description
See CD and other materials being sent in the next day or two. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Mysterious Aviator
It is great to have so many of the Nevil Shute titles (maybe all of them) available via these quality reprints.This is my second order of a reprint of a Shute book and I am very pleased.I had a problem with my first order (a wrinkled page not discovered until much later) and the publisher took care of it - good for them!There are many Shute fans out there and even though original copies of his titles are much desired, it is nice to be able to obtain them easily through this publisher. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Not what I expected
I didn't learn that much from this book. I was hoping for some tips to make me more efficient. Instead, it was a rehash of the same old stuff. Maybe I need a commercial single pilot operations guide...

Not a total waste, but certainly not a winner. ... Read more

Product Description
At a time when the Anglo-American relationship was riddled with suspicion and competition, Lowell Yerex, a British subject who lived in America, had the misfortune of becoming entangled in it as he attempted to create a commercial airline empire in Central America. His experiences—rife with adventure, romance, and intrigue—made him a legend in air history and now provide a dramatic chapter in U.S.–British relations, as well as the history of Central America.

To understand Yerex’s remarkable career, Erik Benson focuses on the uniqueness of the entrepreneur’s background, one that enabled him to empathize with both Great Britain and the United States and to foster working relationships with these rivals. Yerex’s dealings with the two countries shed new light on the development of aviation in the 1930s and 1940s, at a time when Pan American ruled the skies of the western hemisphere, when revolutions and coups rocked governments, and when fortunes waited to be made and lost.

Aviator of Fortune offers a detailed look at the life of Lowell Yerex: his successes and failures. Benson shows him as a tragic hero, influenced by fate and by his own ambitious desires. Today, his remains an important story, one that offers worthwhile reading for historians, aviation enthusiasts, and adventure seekers. ... Read more

Product Description
Strong of wing and sound of engine, the Golden Eagle sped on through the clear, warm air, the rushing sensation of her flight sending the wind in a cooling stream against the faces of the occupants of her chassis. From time to time, Ben scanned the vast flats of ocean below them with the glasses, but for some time nothing appeared in the field of the binoculars to warrant them in changing their course. Seen from above, the mucilaginous character imparted to the Sargasso Sea by the vast acreage of flowing seaweed, inextricably entangled, was clearly perceptible, even though from the deck of a ship the shallow layer of water that overlies the seaweed imparts the blue hue of open water to it and makes its treacherous character. ... Read more