Thank you for all these suggestions Gentlemen, the're going to keep me occupied for some while. In the meantime they have thrown up one not listed - The Flying North - by Jean Potter - it is based on a series of interviews carried out in the mid forties about the exploits of nine of the pioneer pilots in Alaska from around 1925 onwards, trying to establish trading routes before Panam appeared on the scene in the Forties.

Incredible stories - I found a copy through ABE Books or Amazon - can't remember which.

Cheers Entaxei :ok:

Despite a lifetime of Aviation interest,' Fate is the Hunter' had escaped me...until yesterday, when a friend dropped it round. I spent three glorious hours in my sunny conservatory today, reading avidly, completely lost as to the passage of time until Senior Management called me for lunch. I am halfway through it, and will be very sad when I finish it. Unlike one poster, I find his style of writing delightful, once one is used to it. A remarkable book, which, in my humble opinion, thoroughly deserves it's many plaudits. I haven't had as much enthusiasm for an Aviation Book since 'Sagittarius Rising' and 'First Light'

"Beyond the Blue Horizon", by Alexander Frater. UK to Australia in the 1980s, compared back to the 1930s. Written by a journalist but very accurate and interesting about flying boat times.

Must put Antoine de St Exupery on your list

Dick

If you want something quicker than a book (and free!), I wrote up a few of my own stories about flying in GA & the airlines in Australia which people appeared to like. Some near-death experiences. :O

https://www.pprune.org/jet-blast/360...g-stories.html

The same as above, Google Duke Elegant/Les Maike

'Early Birds' by Horrie Miller is loaded with choice accounts of pioneering civil aviation in Australia. His MS was polished and edited by his wife, Mary Durack, no mean author in her own right.

'The Wandering Years' by Arthur Affleck is likewise chocker with tales of the
great days between the wars. Arthur was the first pilot to fly for John Flynn's flying doctor service, starting at Cloncurry in 1928. He was a man with a delightful, whimsical sense of humour.

An early flying doctor, not connected with aforementioned service, was
Clyde Fenton. His book, 'Flying Doctor', is a stand out for it's colourful descriptions of saving lives with a DH60 Moth out of Katherine in the '30s.
A funny man, and a great prankster. How he dodged the red tape in Hong Kong, when he flew the Moth to Swatow in China for his sister's wedding, was an act of purest comic genius.

'Scotty Allan, Australia's Flying Scotsmen' co-authored by Elizabeth Shearman, is not quite so recommendable, although the photos are excellent. The late George Roberts, (see 'Qantas, By George!') , once bagged the book, suggesting that the 'F' in Flying should be deleted. For a' that, and a' that, there's no denying the man did contribute hugely to the advancement of aviation in Australia. There is a film clip in the national archive of him training pilots on the Qantas Empire flying boat. There's no sound track, but his large hand and arm movements on final, as he instructs his charge how to judge the approach, are classic.

And his portrait by William Dobell is a cracker. It'd enhance any rogue's gallery.

Corsairville by Graham Coster about the lost world of the flying boats.

Not written from first hand experience, but refers to lots of interviews.

Very well written and some good photos.