If one book brings together the most influential pilots of the 20th century in America, this is it. Well, I'm sure there's more encyclopedic tomes out there, but if we are talking about a fantastic read as well - This is IT!
Winston Groom wrote Forrest Gump, so the guy knows how to tell a story. These stories are as fantastical as Mr. Gump's life, but a whole lot more accurate. The book weaves together the different lives and contributions of three men, Eddie Rickenbacker, Charles Lindbergh and Jimmy Doolittle. Each person brings not just one contribution to aviation and America's war effort, but multiples and then some.
Rickenbacker went from race car driver to WWI flying ace and never slowed down. Lindbergh approached aviation more methodically than most, his mind for detail allowed him to successfully fly across the Atlantic before any one else on the planet and then use similar approaches to help P-38 Lightning and F-4 Corsair pilots dramatically increase their range and bomb loads - all while flying 50 missions in the Pacific. Doolittle? That guy was everywhere. Demonstrating Curtiss fighters in South America with two broken ankles after a night of Pisco Sours. Taking B-25 Mitchells off the USS Hornet and bombing Japan soon after the Pearl Harbour attack. In the 30's Doolittle accomplished the world's first instrument flight: takeoff, circuit and landing with no outside reference. Stuff we rely on today so our airliners aren't diving through holes in the cloud to try and find the airport.
If you have an interest in aviation and love a great adventure story - grab this book.
You can add to your collection now and bring a little history to your shelves with our P51 Mustangs, B-17s - even the USS Enterprise. Brick Army will stock the P-38 Lightning and B-25 Mitchell (even comes with Jimmy!) back into our inventory when they are available. We think it's a great hobby to build them with bricks.
Craig