Whatcha readin'?

[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.