pilot

Volume II of this two volume chronicle tells the story of the American volunteer pilots who served in the French Army’s Lafayette Escadrille (or squadron) during the First World War. The volumes include pilot biographies, photos, and several illustrations. It was written by Escadrille volunteer pilots James Norman Hall and Charles Bernard Nordhoff. The two men formed a successful writing partnership after the war that included works such as the well-known novel Mutiny on the Bounty, published in 1932.

Volume I of this two volume chronicle tells the story of the American volunteer pilots who served in the French Army’s Lafayette Escadrille (or squadron) during the First World War. The volumes include pilot biographies, photos, and several illustrations. It was written by Escadrille volunteer pilots James Norman Hall and Charles Bernard Nordhoff. The two men formed a successful writing partnership after the war that included works such as the well-known novel Mutiny on the Bounty, published in 1932.

The catalog record for these two oversize British editions, published in the 1930s by an oil company, doesn’t do justice to the plentiful color illustrations of aircraft, engines, and their interior structure. The illustrations include several flip-up sections that reveal the aircraft “insides” and would be appreciated by audiences of any age who want to view this almost 90 year old “modern” technology.

Jerrie Mock was the first woman to fly solo in her own aircraft around the globe in 1964. Her story of that feat and her life as a pilot are part of her book. This copy includes her inscription and a child’s own note in the front pages. Jerrie Mock’s aircraft that she used to fly around the world and her personal papers are in the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

A detailed and riveting history of early African Americans and aviation written by one of the Tuskegee pilots who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. This book details the stories of those first aviation pioneers and their contributions that aided in the founding of the Tuskegee program and its success. It is unsparing in detailing the realities and risks they faced to achieve their goals.

First published in 1942, Beryl Markham's "West with the Night," account of her expatriate life in Africa as a well-born English woman, horse trainer, and bush pilot was well received by critics, including Ernest Hemingway. She was the first woman to fly from Europe to North America solo in 1936. Her original book was re-published in the 1980s and was acclaimed by new readers who made it a best seller. This particular edition was published in 1989 and contains photographs and illustrations not in the original work.