Aviation fiction books needed.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: RU
Age: 41
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Aviation fiction books needed.
Hello guys,
Would like to read some fiction or documentary books about aviation, as well as to practice my english and vocabulary.
Would you please advise me with books your have read and recommend to read.
It can be anything concerning aviation, like memories of constructors, pilots, fighter or bomber pilots etc. or really fiction ones.
It would be also great if it is not very rate books, so i can easily purchase
them thru the books store or online.
Links to a similar topics is also welcomed.
Thank you very much.
Would like to read some fiction or documentary books about aviation, as well as to practice my english and vocabulary.
Would you please advise me with books your have read and recommend to read.
It can be anything concerning aviation, like memories of constructors, pilots, fighter or bomber pilots etc. or really fiction ones.
It would be also great if it is not very rate books, so i can easily purchase
them thru the books store or online.
Links to a similar topics is also welcomed.
Thank you very much.
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: USA
Posts: 278
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well, somebody is going to say it, I might as well be the first:
Wind, Sand and Stars, by Antoine de St. Exupery. You can practice your French and English.
Wind, Sand and Stars
Wind, Sand and Stars, by Antoine de St. Exupery. You can practice your French and English.
Wind, Sand and Stars
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Cochin VOCI , India
Age: 35
Posts: 1,605
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Not works of Fiction , nonetheless very good books
Fate is the hunter by Ernest K Gann
Fate is the Hunter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Going Solo by Roald Dahl
Going Solo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fate is the Hunter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Going Solo by Roald Dahl
Going Solo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Melbourne Australia
Posts: 308
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
NEVILE SHUTE
Nevile Shute often used aviation themes in his work.
Fiction, usually with good geographic reference and very readable;
No Highway, Round the Bend, In the Wet (but a slow start - bear with him it is a foundation for the end), An Old Captivity and (non fiction) Slide Rule.
Fiction, usually with good geographic reference and very readable;
No Highway, Round the Bend, In the Wet (but a slow start - bear with him it is a foundation for the end), An Old Captivity and (non fiction) Slide Rule.
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Oakland, CA
Age: 72
Posts: 427
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I highly recommend this:
Very inexpensive, very short independent stories 3-4 pages max, each story is a description and commentary on a very interesting real airplane accident, most of them are about small aircraft but some deal with big ones and since all these accidents cover various aspects of flying you get great span of vocabulary plus the language used is very non-technical, perfect book for someone who is just learning English. It is a must read for every beginning pilot who wants to stay alive. As you can see the book has great reviews.
Very inexpensive, very short independent stories 3-4 pages max, each story is a description and commentary on a very interesting real airplane accident, most of them are about small aircraft but some deal with big ones and since all these accidents cover various aspects of flying you get great span of vocabulary plus the language used is very non-technical, perfect book for someone who is just learning English. It is a must read for every beginning pilot who wants to stay alive. As you can see the book has great reviews.
Pegase Driver
Join Date: May 1997
Location: Europe
Age: 73
Posts: 3,669
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Basically all of St Exupery,
Fate is the hunter by Gann of course .The summum,
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe. but not all on aviation, space as well.,
Yeager , an autobiography ( excellent)
and if you just want to dream about flying , the small book : Johantan Livingston Seagull.
You will note that all these were written between 1930 and 1970 .
After that (Air)bus driving slowly took over.
Fate is the hunter by Gann of course .The summum,
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe. but not all on aviation, space as well.,
Yeager , an autobiography ( excellent)
and if you just want to dream about flying , the small book : Johantan Livingston Seagull.
You will note that all these were written between 1930 and 1970 .
After that (Air)bus driving slowly took over.
Join Date: May 2013
Location: have I forgotten or am I lost?
Age: 71
Posts: 1,126
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
in all of my life I have read just one book written by a woman that I enjoyed.
Christina Jones, Walking on Air. ISBN 0-00-651344-1. published by Harper Collins.
it is about a near derelict airfield in england where they decide to work up into a wing walking act for the airshow circuit. it is a brilliant read.
Christina Jones, Walking on Air. ISBN 0-00-651344-1. published by Harper Collins.
it is about a near derelict airfield in england where they decide to work up into a wing walking act for the airshow circuit. it is a brilliant read.
In my teens I too devoured W.E Johns ("Biggles"); then almost all of Nevil Shute Norway (all fiction except Slide Rule), and (later) Gann and St Exupery. Must admit to a preference for biography. At some stage I read Reach for the Sky (Paul Brickhill?), which taught me to call a 'plane an aeroplane (airplane if you are west of the pond) and a biography of Frank Whittle, the jet engineer.
There were also a few pilot memoirs, including:
The Sound Barrier by Nevil Duke;
Mach One by Mike Lithgow;
Wind in the Wires by a WW1 fighter pilot called ? Grinnel-Milne.
More recently, there are the memoirs of Chuck Yeager and Jim Lovell.
IMO the best fiction is based on fact. In that category David Beaty, a former BOAC pilot, wrote "The(?) Heart of the Storm and The Cone of Silence, both of which dramatise the conflicting priorities that airline captains sometimes face.
I also thoroughly recommend the Obituary pages of quality newspapers, if you are trying to polish your English. Sadly, many of the most interesting subjects are long-gone...
There were also a few pilot memoirs, including:
The Sound Barrier by Nevil Duke;
Mach One by Mike Lithgow;
Wind in the Wires by a WW1 fighter pilot called ? Grinnel-Milne.
More recently, there are the memoirs of Chuck Yeager and Jim Lovell.
IMO the best fiction is based on fact. In that category David Beaty, a former BOAC pilot, wrote "The(?) Heart of the Storm and The Cone of Silence, both of which dramatise the conflicting priorities that airline captains sometimes face.
I also thoroughly recommend the Obituary pages of quality newspapers, if you are trying to polish your English. Sadly, many of the most interesting subjects are long-gone...
Last edited by Chris Scott; 2nd Oct 2013 at 08:51.