All titles are available in the Baddour Library

OVERVIEW SOURCE:

TL539.M3235 2003 Pioneer aviators of the world: a biographical dictionary of the first pilots of 100 countries

CIRCULATING BOOKS:

Ardery, Philip. Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II. Lexington:
Press of Kentucky, 1978.

• A personal journal of the author who received the Silver Star; the distinguished Flying Cross Air Medal four times. 

Baidukov, G. Russian Lindbergh: The Life of Valery Chkalov. Washington
D.C: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991.

• Biography of the Russian test pilot who flew from Moscow over the 
  North Pole to America and became a national hero. 

Batchelder, Jean. History & Heroes of New Hampshire Aviation. Spring Hill
Fla: Arrow, 1995.

• New Hampshire has its own place in aviation history with such notables as 
  Thaddeous Lowe, Alan B. Shepard, Jr, and Christa Macauliffe. 

Baxter, Gordon. The Al Mooney Story: They All Fly Through the Same Air. Austin,Tex: Shearer Pub; 1985. 

• Al Mooney was an airplane designer and engineer and founder of the Mooney 
  Aircraft Corporation. 

Berg, A. Scott. Lindbergh. New York: G.P. Putnams, 1998.
Macmillan, 1979.

• The recipient of the National Book Award. Extensive biography of a great 
  legend of aviation.

Boyington, Gregory. Baa Baa Black Sheep. Blue Ridge Summit, Pa: Tab Books, 1989.

• The author was a marine flyer who spent twenty months as a prisoner of war. 

Bradley, James. Flyboys: A True Story of Courage. Boston: Little, Brown, 2003

• This bestselling author recounts the story of nine American pilots; Navy and
  Marine airmen who were shot down during World War II.

Broughton, Irv. Forever Remembered: The Fliers of World War II. Spokane:
Eastern Washington University Press, 2001. 

• Interviews with the men and women of World War II including gunners, 
  navigators, bombardiers, and flight engineers. 

Buck, Robert N. North Star Over My Shoulder: A Flying Life. New York: Simon
& Schuster, 2002. 

• The author of numerous aviation books writes yet another about his passion 
  for flying. Buck was a pilot for Transcontinental and Western Air. 

Caidin, Martin. Test Pilots: Riding the Dragon. New York: Bantam Books, 1992.

• Remembering the pilots who flew the F 100As. 

Coleman, Ted. Jack Northrop and the Flying Wing: The Story Behind the Stealth 
Bomber. New York: Paragon House, 1988. 

• Jack Northrop, founder of Northrop Corporation, the leading aerospace company, was the designer behind the creation of the stealth bomber. 

Crouch, Tom D. The Bishop's Boys: A Life of the Wright Brothers. New York: W.
W. Norton, 1989.

• Kitty Hawk 1903 and the dawn of aviation. 

Daso, Dik A. Hap Arnold and the Evolution of American Airpower. Washington, D.C: 
Smithsonian Institution Press, 2000.

• Hap Arnold was the first Commanding General of the U. S. Army Air Forces 
  during World War II. 

Davis, Benjamin. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., American: An Autobiography. Washington, 
D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991.

• Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the first black to graduate from West Point, was 
  eventually promoted to the rank of Brigadier General and Lieutenant General in the 1960s during President Johnsons administration. 

Davis, Burke. The Billy Mitchell Story. Philadelphia: Chilton Book Co; 1969.
Tale of the youngest U.S. officer. 

Devlin, Gerard M. Silent Wings: The Saga of the U.S. Army and Marine Combat Glider Pilots during World War II. New York: St. Martins Press, 1985. 

• The U. S. and British Airborne Forces with U. S. Army Generals Gavin, Swing, 
  Yarborough and Ridaway. 

Dunn, William. Fighter Pilot: The First American Ace of World War II. Lexington, 
KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1982. 

• William Dunn of the Royal Canadian Air Force flew 378 combat missions during 
  World War II. 

Dwiggins, Don. The Barnstormers: Flying Daredevils of the Roaring Twenties. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1981.

• Stunt flyers of the early days of aviation. 

Farr, Finis. Rickenbacker's Luck: An American Life. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1979.

• Biography of Eddie Rickenbacker, a fighter pilot and pioneer of commercial 
  aviation. 

Forsyth, Roger A. Black Flight: Breaking Barriers to Blacks in Aviation. Los Angeles,
CA: Allcourt Publishing, 2002.

• The author writes a compassionate, yet informative account of his uncle’s life. Dr. Albert Forsythe succeeded in dispelling the myths surrounding racial
  inferiority in the white society of the 1930’s by proving himself to be a
  competent and heroic pilot.

Francis, Charles E. The Tuskegee Airmen: The Men Who Changed a Nation. Boston, 
Mass: Branden Pub. Co; 1988. 

• Stories of the black airmen squadron of World War II.from the Tuskegee, Alabama Pilot Training Center. 

Geibert, Ron. Kitty Hawk and Beyond: The Wright Brothers and the Early Years of 
Aviation. Wright State University, 1989.

Glines, Carroll V. Bernt Balchen: Polar Aviator. Washington, D.C: Smithsonian
Institution Press, 1999. 

• Story of a U.S. air force colonel. 

Glines, Carroll V. Jimmy Doolittle: Daredevil Aviator and Scientist. New York: 
Macmillan, 1972.

• Jimmy Doolittle received the first doctoral degree in aeronautical engineering. He was awarded the Harmon Trophy in 1930 and broke the world speed record in 1936.

Glines, Carroll V. Roscoe Turner: Aviation's Master Showman. Washington, D.C: 
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995.

• Roscoe Turner was a great aviator who received many awards including 
  The Harmon Trophy in 1932 and 1938 as well as the Bendix Trophy Race
  where he set a new transcontinental record. In 1975 Turner was inducted into The National Aviation Hall of Fame. 

Greiner, James. Wager with the Wind: The Don Sheldon Story. New York: St. 
Martins Press, 1982.

• Alaskan bush aviation on Mount McKinley.

Harkey, Ira. Noel Wien: Alaska Pioneer Bush Pilot. Fairbanks, Alaska: 
University of Alaska Press, 1999. 

• The early attempts at commercial aviation that helped open up Alaska to 
  the outside world.

Jackson, Robert. Fighter Pilots of World War I. New York: St. Martins Press, 1977.

• The early aviators from 1914-1918 including Max Immelmann, Werner Voss, 
  Billy Bishop, and Eddie Rickenbacker. 

Jarrett, Philip. Another Icarus: Percy Pilcher and the Quest for Flight. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1987.

• Aviation began before the Wright Brothers. Percy Pilcher died in 1899 in a glider accident. 

Jefferson, Alexander. Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free: The Memoirs of a Tuskegee
Airman and POW. New York: Fordham University Press, 2005.

• A memoir of Alexander Jefferson, a Tuskegee airman who was shot down and
  captured by the Germans during World War II. Includes photographs, drawings, notes, and sketches Jefferson created while being held as a POW.

Jefford, Jack. Winging It! Anchorage: Alaska Northwest Books, 1990. 
Tales of the Alaskan bush pilots. 

Keshner, Stephen G. Cockpit: Confessions of an Airline Pilot. St. Augustine,
Florida: Booksonnet.com, 2001.

• A very humorous approach of the world of the professional pilot, written by a
  pilot who has been flying Boeing 747’s for over fifteen years.

Kirkland, Richard C. Tales of a War Pilot. Washington,DC: Smithsonian Institution 
Press, 1999. 

• Memoirs of the pilots of World War II and Korea. 

Lindbergh, Charles A. "We": The Famous Flier's Own Story of His Life and His Transatlantic Flight. Grosset & Dunlap, 1985.

• Charles Lindbergh was a great aviator and prolific writer. Personal photographs included. 

Loomis, Robert D. Great American Fighter Pilots of World War II. New York: Random House, 1961.

• Biographies of fighter pilot greats such as Robert Scott, Pappy Boyington,
  Don Gentile, and Dick Bong.

McVicar, Don. A Change of Wings. Shrewsbury, England: Airlife, 1984. 

• The story of World War II transatlantic ferry operations. 

Melady, John. Pilots: Canadian Stories from the Cockpit. Toronto: McClelland &
Stewart, 1989.

• Canada's pilots of the early 1900s. 

Morgan, Robert. The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle: Memoir of a WWII pilot. New
York: Dutton, 2001.

• The memoirs of a famous bomber pilot who flew 26 missions against Japan.

Morrison, Wilbur H. Donald W. Douglas, a Heart with Wings. Ames: Iowa
State University Press, 1991.

• Donald W. Douglas was the inventive force behind the skylab and the earth 
  orbiting space station. 

Mosley, Leonard. Lindbergh: A Biography. Doubleday, 1976.

• Interviews that show the personal trials of the high price of fame.

Parramore, Thomas C. First to Fly: North Carolina and the Beginnings of Aviation.
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. 

• Early ballooning of 1789 and the Wright Brothers in 1903 at Kill Devil Hill.

Pisano, Dominick. Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis. Washington, D.C.
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 2002. 

• A beautifully illustrated new biography of the famous aviator. This focuses on 
  Lindbergh after 1960 when he turned his interest to environmental concerns.

Polando, Johnnie. Wings Over Istanbul: The Life and Flights of a Pioneer Aviator.
Portsmouth, NH: P.E. Randall Publisher, 2000.

• Johnnie Polando set the record for long distance non-stop flight, a total of 5, 011 miles. 

Powell, William J. Black Aviator: The Story of William J. Powell. Washington, D.C: 
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994.

• During the 1930s, William J. Powell, the Founder of the Bessie Coleman Aero Club, promoted flying in the black community. 

Prendergast, Curtis. The First Aviators. Alexandria, Virginia: Time- Life Books, 1979.

• Chronicling the early years of aviation with Glenn Curtis, the Wright Brothers, 
  and Roland Garros. 

Quill, Jeffrey. Spitfire: A Test Pilot's Story. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1984.

• In 1936 and 1937 the Royal Air Force fought in the battle of Britain. 

Rashke, Richard L. Stormy Genius: The Life of Aviation's Maverick, Bill Lear. Boston: Houghton- Mifflin, 1985.

• Bill Lear invented more than 150 designs and inventions among which are the 
  first automatic pilot for jets as well as an automatic landing system. 

Rich, Doris L. The Magnificent Moisants: Champions of Early Flight. Washington:
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998.

• Story of a family of air pilots who participated in air shows, started a flight 
  school, and tested airplanes in World War I. 

Roseberry, Cecil R. Glenn Curtiss, Pioneer of Flight. Syracuse, N.Y: Syracuse 
University Press, 1991.

• Glenn Curtiss designed the Curtiss JN-4(Jenny) and formed his own aviation 
  company.

Scharff, Robert. Over Land and Sea: A Biography of Glenn Hammond Curtiss. New York: D. McKay Co; 1966.

• Glenn Curtiss was an inventor of the float plane, the all-steel propeller, and 
  the automatic pilot. He is noted for being the pilot for the first scheduled and 
  observed flight in America. 

Sergievskii, Boris Vasilevich. Airplanes, Women, and Song: Memoirs of a Fighter Ace, Test Pilot, and Adventurer. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1999. 

• In 1923 Sergievskii came to America as a test pilot for Sikorskys Airplane 
  Company. 

Simmons, Thomas B. The Brown Condor: The True Adventures of John C. Robinson. Bartelby Press, 1988. 

• During the 1920s John C. Robinson made aviation instruction available to 
  interested blacks. 

Sterling, Bryan B. Forgotten Eagle: Wiley Post, America's Heroic Aviation
Pioneer. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2001. 

• In 1931, Wiley Post, piloting the single-engine plane the Winnie Mae, made the journey around the world in a record-breaking eight days. 

Titler, Dale Milton. Wings of Adventure. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1972. 

• Biography of Carl Ben Eielson, an arctic flier. 

Yeager, Chuck. Yeager, An Autobiography. New York: Bantam Books, 1985.

• Chuck Yeager was the World War II fighting ace, and first man to fly faster than the speed of sound.

   

  Updated 02/08/2007