Fate is the Hunter

[surfnole]

"Spirit Of America" by Lindbergh.

 

[Flylo]

Two Great Books

Wager with the Wind - The Don Sheldon Story
by James Greiner

The life story of the "THE" Alaskan bush pilot. Wonderful book, lots of pictures, easy reading.


The Flying Carpet
by Richard Halliburton

Around the world in a Stearman C-3B in 1933. Halliburton and Moye Stevens (his pilot and one of the original TWA pilots) had an amazing adventure that leaves your jaw hanging. Great book and lots of pictures.


The guys in both these books had boxcar loads of balls.

.

 

[91100 100 set]

"In the Heart of the Sea (the tragedy of the Whaleship Essex)", Nathaniel Philbrick.

Nothing whatsoever to do with airplanes. Amazing, completely true, story about a Nantucket whale ship in the early 1800's that is sunk by a whale. I understand that the story is the basis of the book Moby Dick. The crew is set adrift on the small "whale hunting" boats. It's got everything. History, racism, religion, survival in extreme situations, cannibalism, and even a little sex. I raced through it in 3 or 4 days the first time and have reread it once or twice in the past 2 years.

 

[Big Duke Six]

"Chickenhawk" by Robert Mason. An outstanding nonfiction account of one man's experience flying UH-1's in Vietnam. I've bought and given away more copies of this book than I can count.


I'll second "93 Confirmed Kills" by Carlos Hathcock. These books put our everyday lives into real perspective.

 

[Floyd R. Turbo]

"Carrying the Fire," by Michael Collins. Good account of the training and accomplishment of the Apollo 11 mission.

 

[BD King]

I have to agree with most of the selections, especially those of Ernie Gann's books (The High and The Mighty, Island In The Sky, Hostage To Fortune), and Robert Serling's The Left Seat. Since I publish these books, I'm partial to them. Often, I am asked if these books are good. My answer is that I would not have invested my time and money into them if they were not outstanding.

One of my other books that I highly recommend is Dean Smith's "By The Seat of My Pants". In the flash ad in the left hand margin, I state that it is Duke Elegant's type of book, and it most certainly is. I now have the book in its second printing.

Airway's Magazine said that Ernie Gann's "A Hostage To Fortune" is the best non-fiction adventure book of the 20th Century, and I would have to concur.

The Left Seat is a novel, but is based on real people and real incidents in the airline time period just before the age of jets. I've been asked many times if Robert Serling is still alive. He is and is writing the history of Alaska Airlines, that is to be released in 2007. Not bad for an eighty seven year old guy.

Gann's "Island In The Sky" and "The High and The Mighty" were made into movies in the 50's and are scheduled to be released on DVD in August.

There are excerpts of the books on the website, however Gann's is from his book "Flying Circus", which I will republish when I find a printer that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

I'm always looking for well written aviation books to republish, and am open to suggestions.

www.bdkingpress.com

 

[AVI8V1]

Goat Rope by Daniel Blore. Awesome read.
FROM AMAZON.COM:
Book Description
Darrington Hunter, a pilot working for a failing airline, bails out of a stifling marriage and into the South Florida fast lane. The financial pressures of "living large" lead him to liaisons with the quick-buck world of criminals. A brush with the law emboldens him. His Flight Attendant girlfriend Sharon Jensen, a stunning beauty with a chronic bent toward the illicit, applauds his march toward the criminal life. Mysterious forces keep him moving toward crime, even as he internalizes his moral qualms. Wayne Smith becomes his underworld mentor and guardian. A man who epitomizes the good life bought with dirty money. A flight in a twin-engine Cessna, deep into South America to support a money-laundering operation, is Darrington's immersion into the dark side. His life moves at a feverish pace, and swaying allegiances leave him feeling alone wondering who is who. He takes back his soul in a rousing ending of score-settling action. Airline life before political correctness, little airplanes and the sleaze and glitz of the fast lane are all graphically depicted in this tense, soul-searching portrayal.

 

[millhouse21]

Moondog's Academy of the Air and other disasters!!! I know it's already been mentioned but I felt like it needed repeated. It may be the funniest book I have EVER read.

The Shepherd is also a great book. Not as funny, though.

 

[I.P. Freley]

"To The Last Man", a novel of WWI by Jeff Shaara is excellent. Only part of it is devoted to the aviation side, but the protagonists in the air war portion include The Red Baron and Raoul Lufbery, an American flying for the French and later the Americans after we entered the war. Overall a superb book with some stirring passages involving air-to-air combat and the life of military pilots during The Great War.

 

[User546]

Well, I guess urflyingme will have enough books to ready for the rest of his career now!

What did you think of Gann's Fate Is the Hunter? I'm about half way thru it right now (thanks to all you guys for peaking my interest so much I had to go buy it!).

 

[I.P. Freley]

"Fate" is a fabulous book. It took the father of one of my friends buying it for me to read it, and I regret not having read it sooner... But I made up for that by reading it three times, so I guess it all works out in the end.

 

[VNugget]

I'm always looking for well written aviation books to republish, and am open to suggestions.

www.bdkingpress.com

Have you considered trying to conact Duke's survivors and trying to publish his collection of stories?

 

[BD King]

Have you considered trying to conact Duke's survivors and trying to publish his collection of stories?

As a matter of fact, I spoke with Les a couple of times late last year. We very briefly discussed publishing, but you have to understand a couple of things. One of which these were one of his good days. Morphine does that to you. Publishing requires the editing (multiple),formating, and then the marketing. No, I have not spoken with Les's widow since his passing, but will, and hope to be in that area in August.

 

[CoolHands]

The Left Seat

"Sky God". The story of Pam Am from the 60's to its demise, “The Left Seat” the story of the airline business from 1946 to 1960, and Gann’s bio “A Hostage to Forture”

Agreed, especially about "The Left Seat." Also, anything by Gann is a classic. "Fate is the Hunter" is my all time favorite. I must have read it 4 or 5 times

 

[BD King]

Agreed, especially about "The Left Seat." Also, anything by Gann is a classic. "Fate is the Hunter" is my all time favorite. I must have read it 4 or 5 times

I agree. Just for trivia. Fate Is The Hunter comes from a passage from St.Expury.