Whatcha readin'?

[hyper]

Just curious what aviation related books ya'll would recommend, fiction or non-fiction. I'm usually attracted towards the non-fiction side as my brain's like a sponge (just wish I could retain). But I just killed Stephen King's Dreamcatcher as a non-aviation-fiction break and was wondering what I should read next.

So, watcha readin'?

 

[MetroSheriff]

Anything by Ernie Gann is a sure bet. Most are out of print but usually found at your local library or thru Amazon.com out of print service.



Fate is the Hunter (best)
Gentlemen of Adventure
In the Company of Eagles
A Hostage to Fortune (autobiography)
The High and the Mighty
Blazes of Noon

The Trouble with Lazy Ethel
Island in the Sky
Fiddler's Green
Soldier of Fortune
Of Good and Evil

WWII Flying books:

Yeager
The Wild Blue (Stephen Ambrose)

For non aviation WWII all the Ambrose books are great

D-Day
Citizen Soldiers
Eisenhower
Band of Brothers
Pegasus Bridge
Ike's Spies


Flight Discipline (Tony Kern)


All are worth reading.

 

[bobbysamd]

Recommended summer reading

I've read the following during the past few months:

Flying the Line Volumes I and II by George Hopkins.

Hard Landing by Thomas Petzinger, Jr. is a great read about Frank Lorenzo, Dick Ferris and those other fine chaps of the times.

All are available for relatively cheap on amazon.com.

I ordered the Turbine Pilot's Flight Manual by Brown and Holt last spring. I've flipped through it and am impressed with the plain-English explanations of systems. Also, the sections about hiring, initial training and weather are terrific. I've yet to sit down and really study it, though.

Happy reading.

PS-I was writing as the post above went on. I bought and read Yeager years ago and enjoyed it tremendously. I've never read anything by Stephen Ambrose, but if his written works are anything like his TV documentaries, they are bound to be quality.

Since employment concerns are a major topic here, let me suggest the following book: Every Employee's Guide to the Law by Lewin Joel III. It addresses nearly every situation found in the workplace and is extremely well documented.

 

[w8n4swa]

I liked:

Fate is the Hunter, by Ernest Gann
Flight of the Old Dog, by Dale Brown
Flight of the Intruder & Final Flight, by Stephen Coontz
May Day, by Thomas Block
Kill Devil Hill, by Harry Comb

Great reads!

Airframe, by Michael Chrichton

 

[FL000]

I always highly recommend Flight of Passage, by Rinker Buck. It's a true story about a 17 y.o. and his 15 y.o. brother (the author) who plan and execute a TRUE cross country flight after restoring a Cub, and their experiences along the way. The family dynamics play a large part of the story, and they reminded me a lot of my relationships with my father and brothers.

I'm just starting (again) The Spirit of St. Louis, by none other than Lindbergh himself. No review needed here. An amazing story from the only person who should really tell it.

 

[airbrush]

Fate is the Hunter by Ernie Gann is definitely one of the best books about flying ever written.
Richard Bach is great when he writes about flying...Stranger to the Ground, Nothing by Chance, Biplane, A Gift of Wings; I lose interest completely when he gets into his metaphysical New Age
writings.
Right now I am reading North Star Over My Shoulder by Bob Buck, an autobiography that follows him from learning to fly in the 1930s, to starting as a TWA copilot in 1937, to retiring as a 747 captain in 1974. He's now 88 and still flys sailplanes in Vermont. Quite a story!
Flights of Passage (NOT the same book as mentioned above..the authors name is Hynes, or something like that) is a great autobiography of flying as a Marine Corps TBF pilot in WW II. It's a great tale of kids going to war, with all the comedy and tragedy, as opposed to the "there I was..." heroic stuff.
Good Luck and good reading!

 

[bobbysamd]

A classic book

Stick and Rudder by Wolfgang Langwiesche can't be beat for aerodynamics in plain English.

 

[bssthound]

GREAT picture, Hyper!!!!

 

[Lindy]

Hey!!

Passed through ATL yesterday and you were already gone!!

Just finished: Motion to Suppress by Perri O'Shaughnessy

Also re-read Fate is the Hunter -- the best!!

I prefer Mr. Tom Clancy, but alas, he doesn't have anything new out w/ Jack.

Take care and Fly Safe.

 

[V-1]

Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

The book is so much better than the movie.

 

[hyper]

Thanks all for the awesome recommendations and in advance for future ones!! Looks like I'll start with Fate is a Hunter, since it seems to be the majority winner. I'm going to print this out and read the rest on here that you all have mentioned (the autopilot is finally working now )

Bssthound,

Yeah, I thought you'd like that! Baxter's semi-famous now, but matters not to him.....as long as he gets his chewies. He such an awesome pal.

Fuloughedgal,

Hey girl! Actually, that's a different pilot out of the same base as myself. I only hit ATL on Saturday mornings now, around 3am. That's why I don't catch ya anymore. Thanks for the recommendations and hope things are going well for ya up in ORD. That's wher you are now, right?

 

[hyper]

P.S. Keep 'em comin'. At the rate I'm going these days, I'll kill one or two a week!

 

[pilotyip]

Bishop's Boys

Just finished the Bishop's Boys, the story of how the Wright bros came up with the airplane andhow they discovered traininig themselves to fly it was equally as important as building hte machine, they said it was like riding a bicycle. Recommened reading ith the 100th anniver coming up. Also just started Northstar Over My etc. by Bob Buck.

 

[ILLINI]

Flight of Passage by Rinker Buck is definetely a good book and one that I would recommend to any pilot! Takes you back to the infant days of general aviation.

 

[skyslug]

How 'bout Cannibal Queen by Stephen Coontz...it'll make you want to buy a Stearman and go toodling around the country!

 

[John Hewlett]

THE RIGHT STUFF!

Folks folks folks!!!!!!

You all forgot to mention to this guy about "The Right Stuff" by Tom Wolfe. Thats a classic!

I highly recommend Wolfgang Langewiesche's, Stick and Rudder . This book will give you headache if you read to much at one time. Very very technical stuff.

If you are into War books, I highly recommend Band of Brothers by Steven Ambrose. Ambrose is great, I read this book in about a week. It is just excellent.

All of these books are non-fiction and you should enjoy them greatly!

Fly safe!
J.

 

[Dignan]

Wow, I can't believe the thread has made it this far with no mention of Antoine De Saint Exupery (if someone already mentioned him, I missed it). Wind, Sand and Stars is his best known--it's about his old mail pilot days.
As for non-aviation--A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. IMHO, one of the funniest novels ever.

 

[bigr]

"Carrying the Fire" by Michael Collins (Apollo 11 command module pilot). A great history of the space program particularly about the early days when all the astronauts were test pilots. Its interesting to read what they thought of Yeager (arrogant, pompous, etc...). Its interesting to read how dangerous test flying was in the 1950's. Pilots were dying almost weekly. These guys had guts, and so did their wives.

Also Mr. Collins felt that Armstrong and Aldrin only had a 50% chance of survival on the first landing attempt. we know he was wrong.

 

[Jump Pilot]

Working my way through Chuck Yeager's autobiography. A fascinating man that flew in a fascinating period.

 

[AHPilot]

The Last Hostage by John J. Nance is a great novel. Read it two or three times....good mystery and suspense. I think it would be good for the non-aviation community but being a pilot I like it all the better....

 

[Humty72]

books

Crimson Skies -- great book about the Korean Air War....

 

[B-J-J Fighter]

Reading

Black Hawk Down

 

[Delta3]

"Wings of Fury"

It's a book about interviews with fighter pilots and their missions.

It has everything from Randy Cunningham telling how he popped rivots out of his F-4 in high g turns over the skies of Hanoi. To the idiotic Rules of enagement that the Navy pilots had to contend with when they shot down 2 Libyan fighters in the early '80s.

 

[V-1]

Illusions, by Richard Bach is a neat, quick read.

 

[hyper]

and here's a couple for you guys/gals..

"A Lonely Kind of War" and
"DaNang Diary"

My father was a FAC flying OV-10s in Vietnam, and these books share the experience. Obviously, I took a special interest in them, but they are a good, exciting and easy read nonetheless.

 

[Typhoon1244]

Everyone who wants to be an airline pilot should read Fate is the Hunter by Ernest Gann. It's essentially the autobiography of an AAL pilot from about 1935 to about 1955. The technology has changed, but the people...I've flown with or met every character in that book.

For those of us who learned and taught at FlightSafety or Embry-Riddle or what not, Stick and Rudder by Wolfgang Langewiesche is an excellent book for washing away a lot of the super-technical B.S. we dealt with. It reminds us that if you pull back, the houses get smaller, etc.

The Probable Cause by Robert J. Serling is a great book about airline safety, and how many of the systems we use today came into being.

The Air Disaster series by Macarthur Job contains excellent summaries of some of the more important airline accidents of the last century. Very educational.

And, although it's not an aviation book, I urge everyone who wants to be a good captain (or leader in any field, for that matter) to read The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk. The book (not the movie) caontains some of the best object lessons in CRM I've ever come across.

Happy reading!

P.S. If you enjoy nautical fiction, check out David Poyers "Dan Lenson" books. The Circle and The Gulf are quite good.

 

[dualrated]

"Splash of Color"--John Nance-- history of Braniff written by a guy that lived through it.

"Grounded"--The story of Satan Lorenzo and Eastern Airlines.

"Skygods" story of the last twenty years of Pan Am from a pilot's perspective

"Flying the Line I and II" George Hopkins --Should be required reading for anyone remotely interested in working for an airline.

"Hard Landing" More required reading.

There is an author named Robert Serling (brother of Rod, from Twilight Zone) that has written the histories of several airlines. His writing leaves a lot to be desired, but if you are an airline history junkie, he's a good resource. He's written about TWA, AAL, EAL, CAL, Western, Pan Am. Probably more...

After you read about all the airlines that have failed and all the broken dreams and ruined careers, read "Fate is the Hunter" to remind you of why you're chasing this flying gig around.

 

[bssthound]

I must agree with Dignan on non-aviation books. "A Confederacy of Dunces" is probably the best comedic novel ever. I live in the New Orleans area and can tell you it is spot on!!

Hyper, I know I said it earlier, but, Baxter looks fabulous!!

 

[hyper]

Thanks Bssthound!! He thinks so

P.S. Is that Ollie in the avatar? Cool tail!

 

[aceshigh]

Not an aviation book, but currently reading "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. I'm not too far into it yet, so don't spoil it for me.