Pilots: The Romance of the Air: Pilots Speak about the Triumphs and Tragedies, Fears and Joys of Flying

Neely ( Drag Racing ; Daytona U.S.A. ) begins this thorough, highly readable work with a short history of manned flight in the U.S. Because so many advances in aviation were made during wartime, he concentrates on conflicts from WW I to Vietnam, but he also covers such phenomena as the rise of barnstormers in the 1920s. The remainder of the book surveys the full spectrum of flight today: movie stuntmen, bush pilots vital to areas like Alaska and the Australian Outback, air racers, private pilots, female pilots (who have had to overcome rampant sexism), pilots of blimps, employees of commercial airlines and of government agencies concerned with such matters as interdicting airborne drug shipments and charting hurricanes, and, of course, space travel. Nor are the many hazards of flight ignored, from defective equipment to arrogant pilots. First serial to American Heritage. (Aug.)