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-   -   What's your favorite aviation book? (https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=11441)

woxofswa 01-22-2008 10:34 AM

"Fate is the Hunter" is scripture.

"Hard Landing" for airline buffs.

But my sentimental favorite, "Pilot Jack Knight" by A.M. Anderson.
It was written for elementary school kids and is quite dated, but this is the book who a kindly third grade teacher gave to me when she saw a seed of passion about flying in a dazed and confused little boy whose father had just passed away. Over 16k flight hours owe themselves to the first hour spent reading that book.

Bubblehead 01-23-2008 10:00 AM

Lindberg and Scott
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott_F (Post 76119)
... "North to the Orient" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Absolutely one of my favorites, along with "Listen! The Wind!" There is another book she wrote with no flying in it that I pull out every 5 years or so when I get introspective. "Gift From the Sea." Very insightful into the stages of life we go through.

"30 Seconds over Tokyo" was an early life read for me and I have loved it ever since, along with "God Is My Co-Pilot" By Gen Scott. I also love one of Scott's other books, but cannot recall the name. Maybe it was "Damned To Glory." At one point in the book he realizes how dangerous coombat and flying is, and basically tells God "thanks for the great ride!" Sometimes when I'm flying, I get that same feeling. If it all ended here and now it was great to be alive and experience all the things I've been lucky enough to experience!

The other two books in the 5-star category are "I Could Never Be So Lucky Again" (Doolittle) and "Kill Devil Hill." The former shows what a person of character can achieve, and the later was great for the insights into the Wright Brothers investigated and solved problems. I have lent it to several other engineers who loved the book even if they did not have a particular love for aviation.

Others have already mentioned a lot of my favorites:
Illusions
Thud Ridge
Rolling Thunder
Flight of the Intruder
Kill Devil Hill
Any and all on bush pilots, especially in Alaska. I have quite a few - I'll try to add them in later.

Glovebox 01-26-2008 12:04 AM

Stranger to the Ground by Richard Bach
 
The book that set the aviation hook in me... the first paperback I ever bought (and still have), in 1964. It's one of several favorites, most already mentioned.

Coinneach 01-26-2008 01:01 AM

"Stick and Rudder," of course. I also liked "Cleared for the Approach" by F Lee Bailey.

David-aviator 01-26-2008 10:07 AM

Jans-Joachim Marseille
 
If it hasn't been mentioned, I really got into this book:

German Fighter Ace - Hans-Joachim Marseille by Franz Kuroski

There also are quite a few films of his exploits on U-Tube. He did not live past age 23 but had quite a full life with parties, women, American jazz and not the least, he was an outstanding fighter pilot. He was not killed in combat but came to his end when a new BF109 experienced an engine failure and the bail out a was delayed too cross enemy lines. This is a well written book on life on the other side during those terrible days.

victor 01-26-2008 01:10 PM

My favorite
 
I read " Round the Bend " as a fifth grader and gave a book report on it in class( 1949 ), and know I would enjoy reading it again today.

jonbakerok 02-28-2008 05:42 AM

"Orbit" by John Nance
 
I just read "Orbit". I think it was a best seller last year. Outstanding read. It's about a space tourist who gets stuck alone in orbit on a future-generation Yeager ship, when a micro-meteor puts a hole in the pilot's head.
The aviation stuff is all pretty accurate and it's a real page-turner.

MacNab 02-28-2008 07:27 AM

Big Friend, Little Friend: Memoirs of a WWII Fighter Pilot
 
Big Friend, Little Friend: Memoirs of a WWII Fighter Pilot by Richard Turner.

Perused the listings here and didn't see this one listed. It was one of the first aviation books I read, oh, about forty years ago. (age of ten, or so). I couldn't tell you if it's my favorite because it's been so long since I read it, but it had a profound affect on me at a young age.

videobobk 02-28-2008 09:03 AM

Since one of my flight instructors was a German ace (Rolf Prigge, ace in 109's and 262's,) I have always had a fascination about that side of the war. "Stuka Pilot" was an interesting read and I haven't seen it mentioned here. 2500 plus missions is a record never to be exceeded. Or at least I would hope!

Bob Kelly

axlr8r 02-28-2008 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonbakerok (Post 75926)
Doug, I just had an idea.

How about if you captured all these great book titles and created a virtual bookshelf. You could put in links to the books for sale on-line and maybe even get Amazon or Barnes & Noble to kick in some ad bucks. People could vote for their favorites and you could rank them.

And how about a separate bookshelf for "how to" books.

Same idea for all the great airplane movies from that other thread a few months ago.

Great idea


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