A long distant flier of the first airplanes: Strong and Independent Woman Out of Aftrica
351467
An amazing story about a very capable skilled independent-minded woman who was able to amazing things like train and ride horses in Africa and fly the first airplanes, because she grew up truly not knowing that the rest of society limited women to do.  There should be more books written about women who made their mark in the world.
2529476
This book was OK.  I learned about Lindbergh's life and his flight history.  I had no idea his wife was an early female pilot.
1059047
Interesting history of aviation and Kansas. No doubt Mrs Beech was one amazing person and the glimpses of what it must have been like should be an interesting read for young women.
3444267
Very interesting book!  I could tell the author had to limit the content because of the wealth of information she found. Having witnessed this era first hand, it was very enlightening to get so much history about the courageous women who stepped up to the plate to support their families and aviation/the space program.
3929723
Rebecca Wallick launches this incredible book at her fathers retirement party. After a distinguished career of thirty-five years as a Boeing test pilot, Lew Wallick is being honored.  It is an appropriate place to start her fascinating narrative of the many incredible and often near-death experiences that he experienced as a test pilot with the Boeing company.  He was in the pilots seat as Boeing launched many of their new jet passenger planes and Rebecca has reserved a seat alongside him for each of us.  It is an incredible trip as we experience the excitement of test flying new aircraft as well as meeting many fascinating people who are exploring the possibilities of the planes.  Buckle-up your seatbelts and join in the fascinating journey!

Rebecca has generously illustrated the book with incredible photos from her private collection as well as historic photos from the Boeing archives.  She has also included a glossary which enables the reader to research and understand the technical aspects of flight.  You, too, will soon be flying as an expert!

Perhaps the greatest reward of reading the book comes from an observation of a person who led a family life that was enriched by the principles he practiced in the cockpit and in his relationship with all who knew him.  Learn of his unique ability to get first-time water skiers up and planing.  He fosters and encourages Rebeccas love of dogs, horses, and even encourages her relationship over several years with a misplaced harbor seal in their lake.  Fly with them as they travel to Canadian lakes to enjoy their love of fishing!

Perhaps the most poignant memory of the book comes from Rebeccas sharing of a very personal dream which occurred after her fathers death.  Be prepared for one more brush with a Boeing aircraft!
517371
My aunt was among the 20 adventurous ever-changing young single women who traveled in a Model-T Touring Ca to 44 states, Mexico and Canada in the 1930's and 1940's. Author John Butte skillfully weaves together the challenges of driving on difficult roads with their encounters with Henry Ford. The book contains period photos along with excerpts from diaries, letters and small town newspapers. This is an original book that captures that period in US History through the lives of these young women.
3073488
I came to Phoebe's story, not through birding, but as a woman.  In the 1950s, when women were relegated to the household, it was amazing to read about a woman who not only broke out of that mold, but would travel the world following her passion!  And, to have done it with a diagnosis of terminal cancer is even more unbelievable.  What an adventure of a read and an inspiration to all women to follow their dreams.
91347
A fascinating account of the almost unimaginable exploits of the Soviet all-women night dive-bomber squadrons on the Eastern Front in WWII.  Personal interviews made decades later with the surviving women pilots, navigators and ground crews decribe in detail their flying skills, bravery, daring, ingenuity, sacrifices and incredible perseverance under the most austere and hazardous conditions in sucessfully harassing and attacking German ground forces.  The author, a former U.S. WASP pilot in WWII herself, is able to provide a pilot's viewpoint to the background of the formation of these unique all-women squadrons, as well as draw out interesting and little known facts.  The history of these women's exploits are almost unknown today in the West and should erase all doubt about the abilities of women in aerial or any other type of combat.  Additional editing of somewhat repetitious accounts could have been made for brevity, but were probably retained so that each women's story was as fully told as possible.  A must read for any student of WWII aviation history!
3461200
A fictionalized story that includes some of the wonderful women who flew military planes during WWII. They were not recognized as military pilots until many years later, when some benefits were finally awarded to the remaining women.  I am proud to be able to tell about some of these pilots in the book, ARIZONA GOES TO WAR. WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) were hired to fly planes from the factories to military bases, as well as 'target towing', where the male military pilots practiced shooting.
There is more in this novel, but the story of the WASP is entertainingly intertwined with the main plot.

Diane Burke Fessler, author, NO TIME FOR FEAR, VOICES OF AMERICAN MILITARY NURSES IN WORLD WAR II
731983
Wonderful reading for any aviation-interested person.  The book is well-written. Mrs. Mock is truly an unsung hero.  She was successful in her round-the-world adventure with much less support than many other aviators.
1671201
What a well documented book, written by an intelligent and spirited woman who had the foresight to write it all down and build a scrapbook of her experiences!  Millers love of flying drove her to get her pilot's license when women just didn't become pilots--and went on to join the British ATA, newly formed as a women's civilian support group to ferry planes for the military during World War II. Flying without instruments and without radios, often flying planes with no training other than a page or two of written facts about the plane, took amazing courage and skill. By the end of the war she had flown more than a hundred different single and multi engine planes.  Very well written and full of pictures  of the planes she flew and other ATA pilots she served with, I was sorry to see her story come to an end. I enjoyed the comparison she included between the British  ATA and the  American women's pilot groups and was pleased to learn that the ATA was finally recognized and honored for their services by the British government. The book, written originally for her father and lay in a closet foe years, is a gift by a gifted individual and would be enjoyed by men and women alike.
4745819
This is a really wonderful adventure book that is based on a true story about two famous women in history,  Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt. It tells the story of a special night when Amelia Earhart took the First  Lady of the United States flying in an airliner over Washington, D.C. The  illustrations, in mostly black and white, are elegant and add to the  wonderful look of this book. Let your imagination soar, and fly with Amelia  and Eleanor on a starry night!
301004
As someone who has taught children for over 12 years, not counting the many more I spent raising my own, biographies - good biographies - are among the best books one can read to young ones or provide them with the opportunity for them to read it themselves, if they are able. Who says you cannot own the sky? Bessie Coleman was a young African-American woman had to go to France to earn her pilot's licence, the first African-American woman to do so. Most people in the US believed that neither women nor African Americans had the intelligence to fly an aeroplane. Bessie proved them wrong! She amazed crowds all over the world with here outstanding stunt flying. She was an inspiration for children and adults of all "races." She died in a crash, when her aircraft malfunctioned during a particularly dangerous stunt. Maybe the aircraft hit the ground, but Bessie did not; her soul went straight to heaven. Her story is told beautifully in a superb children's book, "Nobody Owns the Sky," by Reeve Lindbergh, the gifted daughter of none other than Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. (My former students may remember the book, when I brought it in last year as part of my surreptitious observation of Black History Month.)  The story narrates her life beautifully; Ms. Coleman's death is told in a way that is sympathetic to the young audience for whom this book is intended, neither whitewashing what happened nor making her death something scary.  Ms. Lindbergh's style of rhymes works for me; Jane Yolen used it well in her biography of Katherine Wright, the sister of the famous Wright brothers.  "Nobody Owns the Sky" offers children much to think about, especially when the book is used during Black History Month or Women's History Month.  Sadly, racism in aviation did not end with Bessie Coleman.  That would not come until the exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen, several decades later, whose heroism, like that of Bessie Coleman, provides an enduring legacy.

I am an Amazon.com top reviewer. Aircraft and aviation history are passions of mine. I am available as a freelance writer to help authors gain greater Web presence for their works and will happily review sample copies of books and related aviation items. It would be a conflict of interest to charge a fee, but I do need a sample.
4360923
Fascinating account of the early days of airplane travel and the status that flight attendants (stewardesses back then) had and the care taken in their appearance and training. Flying was often for the elite back then and unruly passengers were a rarity. The stewardesses truly provided excellent customer service to their passengers.
1266613
While living in Santa F for 5 years during the '70s, I learned firsthand (from those who'd lived through the years of the Manhattan Project) of some of the security provisions surrounding it. About the house at Otowi bridge, I learned that Edith Warner was the only non-Manhattan Project person permitted to reside on the same side of the river as Los Alamos. She ran a roadhouse caf that had been a whistle-stop on the narrow gauge rail line from Denver to Santa F.  However, the rail line had been dismantled, and the rails shipped as scrap-iron a few months prior to Pearl Harbor -- not for recycling in American industry, but to Japan!  Edith was allowed to maintain the stop as that caf, which served the stars, as well as the lesser lights who were up the road, working on The Bomb.
The book is but peripherally relevant to the Manhattan Project as a scientific and engineering center, yet a wonderful account of a caucasian woman and a Pueblo, about the same earthy -- yet mystical -- qualities of Northern New Mexico. A woman at a place not very far from Georgia O'Keeffe's Ghost Ranch.
674067
Ida Mae Jones is a young African American female who dreams to fly.  Her father taught her to fly, and after his death she continues with their family's crop dusting business until WWII brings that to a halt.

Enter the WASP.  When Ida's little brother Abel shows her a newspaper article about the WASP program and female pilots, Ida's heart is set.  She'd much rather be flying an airplane than cleaning houses and saving nylons for the war effort with her best friend Jolene.

Ida's journey is one of knowing oneself, how you identify yourself despite what others may judge you on: outwardly or in.  You feel Ida's inner struggle with her secret as well as what it does to her family and her friends at home.  If her friends in the WASP program were to find out, what would they say?

Ida's voice will draw you in immediately and you will identify with her struggle, no matter your background.

This is an excellent book that has a lot of real-life details included in the author's note at the end of the story.  I highly, highly recommend this one!

Notes on the Cover:
Ida is just beautiful.  She looks how I imagine her to, except for the fact I'm pretty sure she's not wearing her zoot suit!  The airplanes above her in the sky really add to the cover.  I also like how the title is in military-style lettering.
935355
A unique, fascinating presentation of historical photos, poems, drawings, and personal memoirs that creates a collage of the history and journey of a woman born during the Great Depression in North Dakota. Drawing inspiration from her Swedish grandmother, she pursues her education, establishes a career and raises a productive family, all while chronicling her life in North Dakota and Florida. Her reflections are heart-warming and inspiring. The photos are a valuable primary source documenting family life in America from the early 1930's to the present.