Read any good books?
Guest
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Enjoyed greatly all of Derek Robinson's books, "Piece of Cake", "Goshawk Squadron", "A good Clean Fight", and a rare one "Rotten With Honour". First three are about flying in WWII and WWI and show Robinson's experience as a fighter controller in WWII Britain. Rotten With Honour is a good old fashioned spy novel. All told with great style, dry humour and a biting cynicism.
And if any of you Poms are wondering why Australians turned out the way we did, try "The Fatal Shore" by Robert Hughes.
Ozmates, I found a book called "Flying Hazard", a hilarious novel told from a Doctor's perspective working around the, ah, communities in the East & West Kimberley. Very real, several characters that Reddo would recognise from KNX.
Author: Colin Bowles, ISBN 0-09956-540-4, Arrow books. Also "Flying blind", haven't read it yet.
And 410, you're talking about Gann's "In the Company Of Eagles". Also good Gann stuff: "Band of Brothers" and "Benjamin Lawless", both published pre-ISBN!
[This message has been edited by Bendo (edited 29 July 1999).]
And if any of you Poms are wondering why Australians turned out the way we did, try "The Fatal Shore" by Robert Hughes.
Ozmates, I found a book called "Flying Hazard", a hilarious novel told from a Doctor's perspective working around the, ah, communities in the East & West Kimberley. Very real, several characters that Reddo would recognise from KNX.
Author: Colin Bowles, ISBN 0-09956-540-4, Arrow books. Also "Flying blind", haven't read it yet.
And 410, you're talking about Gann's "In the Company Of Eagles". Also good Gann stuff: "Band of Brothers" and "Benjamin Lawless", both published pre-ISBN!
[This message has been edited by Bendo (edited 29 July 1999).]
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Since we’ve crept into military aviation, try Ernie Gann’s novel set in WW1. I forget its full title, but ‘Eagles’ is in there somewhere. Not nearly up to the standard of FITH, his all time classic, but not a bad read.
Len Deighton’s ‘Fighter’ – the REAL account of the Battle of Britain with all the ‘pip, pip, jolly good show’ propaganda removed, might come as a bit of a surprise to both Brit and German readers to see what a close run thing it was. In a nutshell, the Brits won only because they made an infinitesimally smaller number of major blunders than the Germans did.
By the same author, ‘Bomber’ is an exhaustive and incredibly well researched account from all perspectives, both British and German, of a fictitious bombing raid on a fictitious German city on a fictitious night, (I think) the 31st (sic) of June 1943. Well worth a read. (For you computer nuts out there, you may be interested to know that ‘Bomber’ was the first major novel to be written on a word processor.)
‘Bomber Command’ by Max Hastings was the first book I read on the bomber offensive that really brought it home to me how utterly suicidal it was to be posted to bombers – and the crews knew it and still went out. 10% casualties every night and 30 missions to complete a tour meant that statistically, you died three times before you completed a tour. Very few made it past 5 trips.
‘No Moon Tonight’ by Don Charlwood . Good read.
‘They Hosed Them Out’ –the story of a tail gunner’s war. VERY bitter and twisted, and written around 1950, is well worth finding. (I saw a copy for sale last year on bibliofind.com)
‘Thud Ridge’ by Jack Brougham. Required reading for anyone who doesn’t believe the politically-restricted bombing campaign into North Vietnam wasn’t a Grade ‘A ‘clusterf**k. Well worth adding to your aviation bookshelf. It’s worth buying just to read the story of the F105 that flamed out due to fuel starvation as it approached the tanker over Laos and did a successful dead stick approach to the drogue. Riveting stuff.
Len Deighton’s ‘Fighter’ – the REAL account of the Battle of Britain with all the ‘pip, pip, jolly good show’ propaganda removed, might come as a bit of a surprise to both Brit and German readers to see what a close run thing it was. In a nutshell, the Brits won only because they made an infinitesimally smaller number of major blunders than the Germans did.
By the same author, ‘Bomber’ is an exhaustive and incredibly well researched account from all perspectives, both British and German, of a fictitious bombing raid on a fictitious German city on a fictitious night, (I think) the 31st (sic) of June 1943. Well worth a read. (For you computer nuts out there, you may be interested to know that ‘Bomber’ was the first major novel to be written on a word processor.)
‘Bomber Command’ by Max Hastings was the first book I read on the bomber offensive that really brought it home to me how utterly suicidal it was to be posted to bombers – and the crews knew it and still went out. 10% casualties every night and 30 missions to complete a tour meant that statistically, you died three times before you completed a tour. Very few made it past 5 trips.
‘No Moon Tonight’ by Don Charlwood . Good read.
‘They Hosed Them Out’ –the story of a tail gunner’s war. VERY bitter and twisted, and written around 1950, is well worth finding. (I saw a copy for sale last year on bibliofind.com)
‘Thud Ridge’ by Jack Brougham. Required reading for anyone who doesn’t believe the politically-restricted bombing campaign into North Vietnam wasn’t a Grade ‘A ‘clusterf**k. Well worth adding to your aviation bookshelf. It’s worth buying just to read the story of the F105 that flamed out due to fuel starvation as it approached the tanker over Laos and did a successful dead stick approach to the drogue. Riveting stuff.
Guest
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Chickenhawk by Robert C Mason Viking Pr; ISBN: 0140072187. A thundering good read, i felt as though I might be able to jump into a Huey and fly off after reading that book! (I wish 
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If at first you don't succeed, sky diving is not for you.
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If at first you don't succeed, sky diving is not for you.
Guest
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Apart from the above I have come across a fe by Richard Cox in a semi-military type ie one where a single pilot attacks Libya with an old F86. There is also a good book about (and called) Air Force One (which the film was NOT based upon) by a journalist who was going to write a factual book about it (B707 days) and had lots of interviews, flights etc. However he then found that the White House would have editorship/censorship rights so he turned it into a novel
Guest
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You should all read "Collision" by Spencer Dunmore. Although it was written in the late seventies, it is a great disaster thriller, and is also very technically proficient (for the day!). Not only is it edge of the seat stuff, but it also provides a great insight into the life and work of the airline pilot.
It is a really exciting novel, and climaxes with a mid-air collision between a British B747 and an American DC-10, but has a great twist to it at the end. It was also based on fact... (apparently).
I've read it over and over, and it was probably the one book that made me decide on a career in this great airborne industry.
So there.
It is a really exciting novel, and climaxes with a mid-air collision between a British B747 and an American DC-10, but has a great twist to it at the end. It was also based on fact... (apparently).
I've read it over and over, and it was probably the one book that made me decide on a career in this great airborne industry.
So there.
Guest
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I would have serious doubts about someone who chose a career in aviation based on the outcome of a major accident, so, you must be a 'wind-up' man or a poor qualiity 'journo'?
(do we hear the rattle of the padlock??).
[This message has been edited by Methusalah (edited 29 July 1999).]
(do we hear the rattle of the padlock??).
[This message has been edited by Methusalah (edited 29 July 1999).]
Guest
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The Gann novel referred to by 410, above, is called IN THE COMPANY OF EAGLES. I don't have the ISBN.
Actually, Hailey's AIRPORT was a good 'un and made an excellent movie which is still watchable. The sequels were pure entertainment! The ultimate, of course, was AIRPLANE which amply illustrated all the wonderful tech boobs I mentioned earlier. The soundtrack of a DC-4, every time the 707 is seen in flight, is a classic. In the otherwise gripping movie RAID ON ENTEBBE, as the C-130 starts engines, the unmistakable splutter of a large piston radial winding-up clearly escaped the technical advisor. (Sorry to digress on to movies!). Although holding a mass-briefing in normal voice, and singing songs, in the back of said Herc could charitably be passed off as artistic licence!
This has been a most interesting thread. I have marked-off a number of "must finds" for my next trawl around the book shops.
Actually, Hailey's AIRPORT was a good 'un and made an excellent movie which is still watchable. The sequels were pure entertainment! The ultimate, of course, was AIRPLANE which amply illustrated all the wonderful tech boobs I mentioned earlier. The soundtrack of a DC-4, every time the 707 is seen in flight, is a classic. In the otherwise gripping movie RAID ON ENTEBBE, as the C-130 starts engines, the unmistakable splutter of a large piston radial winding-up clearly escaped the technical advisor. (Sorry to digress on to movies!). Although holding a mass-briefing in normal voice, and singing songs, in the back of said Herc could charitably be passed off as artistic licence!
This has been a most interesting thread. I have marked-off a number of "must finds" for my next trawl around the book shops.
Guest
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IMHO Fate is the Hunter should be part of the CPL syllabus for intending airline pilots as apart from containing a huge fund of lessons in aviationship, it also points out that life does not always work out the way we plan no matter how good the planning and that grace under pressure is what separates the men from the boys.
Guest
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Shot One:
I just picked a new copy of Fate is the Hunter at a Chapters book store here in Canada. It is available through their website at www.chapters.ca for $15.20CDN (approx 7 UK pounds), pretty cheap. Do a search by author for Ernest K Gann from the front page and you should find it.
I just read this in Airways magazine and I quote:
"Logbooks are a pilots diary, as Rick drury recounts in his ever-popular Flightlines column, and their loss is tragic. "Ernest K Gann, author hero and friend," writes in his cover note to this months tale, "had logbooks to dazzle the masters. And after his last flight, his writing studio, an old chicken coop, was essentially transported to Oshkosh where it was recreated inside the EAA museum. His memorabelia was preserved and everyone was relieved that it was safe and could be enjoyed and appreciated by others. On January 20 this year, around 0300, the old empty coop on Ernie's farm was destroyed by fire. While this loss was great, there was comport in knowing the treasures were safe.
"Until his wife, Dodie told me: 'I had gone to the attic in the house and taken down some boxes. I had missed a few things. So I put them in the empty studio. There were his books, first editions - some translated into other languages. Pictures and paintings. Even unpublished manuscripts and screenplays. But the worst was the fact that in one box there were Ernie's logbooks.'" Fortunately the American Airlines C R Smith Museum holds two of Ernie's logbooks (1939-41 and 1941-48) in it's archives.
By John Wegg (Editor-in-Chief)
What a terrible and tragic loss to aviation history. I am not even famous but would be devastated if my logbooks were destroyed.
Cheers
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Keep the shiny side up and the dirty side down.
Canuck Av8r
ICQ 26305263
[This message has been edited by Canuck_AV8R (edited 30 July 1999).]
I just picked a new copy of Fate is the Hunter at a Chapters book store here in Canada. It is available through their website at www.chapters.ca for $15.20CDN (approx 7 UK pounds), pretty cheap. Do a search by author for Ernest K Gann from the front page and you should find it.
I just read this in Airways magazine and I quote:
"Logbooks are a pilots diary, as Rick drury recounts in his ever-popular Flightlines column, and their loss is tragic. "Ernest K Gann, author hero and friend," writes in his cover note to this months tale, "had logbooks to dazzle the masters. And after his last flight, his writing studio, an old chicken coop, was essentially transported to Oshkosh where it was recreated inside the EAA museum. His memorabelia was preserved and everyone was relieved that it was safe and could be enjoyed and appreciated by others. On January 20 this year, around 0300, the old empty coop on Ernie's farm was destroyed by fire. While this loss was great, there was comport in knowing the treasures were safe.
"Until his wife, Dodie told me: 'I had gone to the attic in the house and taken down some boxes. I had missed a few things. So I put them in the empty studio. There were his books, first editions - some translated into other languages. Pictures and paintings. Even unpublished manuscripts and screenplays. But the worst was the fact that in one box there were Ernie's logbooks.'" Fortunately the American Airlines C R Smith Museum holds two of Ernie's logbooks (1939-41 and 1941-48) in it's archives.
By John Wegg (Editor-in-Chief)
What a terrible and tragic loss to aviation history. I am not even famous but would be devastated if my logbooks were destroyed.
Cheers
------------------
Keep the shiny side up and the dirty side down.
Canuck Av8r
ICQ 26305263
[This message has been edited by Canuck_AV8R (edited 30 July 1999).]
Guest
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I asked the same question on wannabes after reading a bio on PAN AM, called SKYGODS (The fall of PAN AM) by Robert Gandt. Very interesting read and recommend it to fill in time on the bus or wherever. Some good anecdotal stories that I'm sure people would enjoy. RE rubber chicken under windscreen wiper - bird strike!
Guest
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I must concur that "Fate is the Hunter" and "Chickenhawk" are definitely two "must reads". Both are excellent and certainly sit near the top of my pile of aviation literature. Some others worth giving a bash, are:
"Goodbye Mickey Mouse", Len Deighton, Fiction about a P51 squadron during WW2.
"A Hostage to Fortune", Ernest K. Gann, his autobiography.ISBN 0-340-23868-2.
"Flying Into Danger", Patrick Forman, a searching look at air safety.
ISBN 0-7493-0922-9.
"Tumult in the Clouds", Lt-Col James Goodson, 32 victories during WW2.
ISBN 0-09-936870-6.
"Forever Flying", Bob Hoover, his excellent autobiography. ISBN 0-671-53761-x.
"Night Witches", Bruce Myles, Russia's women pilots during WW2, very interesting.
ISBN 0-586-05812-5.
"Faith, Hope and Charity", Kenneth Poolman, The defence of Malta by three Gloster Gladiators during WW2. ISBN 0-450-01766-4.
"The Lonely Sea and the Sky", Francis Chichester, his autobiography, by Pan Books.
"Battle for Britain", Wing Commander "Dizzy" Allen, his autobiography.ISBN 0-552-09799-3.
"Bring Back My Stringbag", Lord Kilbracken, a Swordfish pilot at war.ISBN 0-330-26172-x.
"Samurai",Saburo Sakai, Japans leading fighter ace from WW2 tells his tale.
ISBN 0-553-11035-7.
"Runway", John Godson, a look at a major DC8 prang in Alaska,1970. ISBN 0-583-12310-4.
"Fly For Your Life", Larry Forrester, Wing Commander Robert Tuck's wartime exploits.
ISBN 0-583-12787-8.
"Check Six", General F. Blesse, a fighter pilots tale of his two wars.
ISBN 0-8041-0927-3.
"Full Circle", AVM "Johnnie" Johnson, his stry of air fighting, ISBN 0-330-30045-8.
"The High and the Mighty", Ernest Gann, fiction tale of a flight from Hawaii to California that went wrong.
"Born to Fly", Georges Blond, about various aces of WW2. ISBN 0-583-11555-1.
"Into the Blue", Alexander Mckee, unsolved mysteries of flying, ISBN 0-586-05542-8.
"Mission : Hiroshima", Paul Tibbets, commander of the "Enola Gay",
ISBN 0-8128-8169-9.
This should keep you busy for a while.
"Goodbye Mickey Mouse", Len Deighton, Fiction about a P51 squadron during WW2.
"A Hostage to Fortune", Ernest K. Gann, his autobiography.ISBN 0-340-23868-2.
"Flying Into Danger", Patrick Forman, a searching look at air safety.
ISBN 0-7493-0922-9.
"Tumult in the Clouds", Lt-Col James Goodson, 32 victories during WW2.
ISBN 0-09-936870-6.
"Forever Flying", Bob Hoover, his excellent autobiography. ISBN 0-671-53761-x.
"Night Witches", Bruce Myles, Russia's women pilots during WW2, very interesting.
ISBN 0-586-05812-5.
"Faith, Hope and Charity", Kenneth Poolman, The defence of Malta by three Gloster Gladiators during WW2. ISBN 0-450-01766-4.
"The Lonely Sea and the Sky", Francis Chichester, his autobiography, by Pan Books.
"Battle for Britain", Wing Commander "Dizzy" Allen, his autobiography.ISBN 0-552-09799-3.
"Bring Back My Stringbag", Lord Kilbracken, a Swordfish pilot at war.ISBN 0-330-26172-x.
"Samurai",Saburo Sakai, Japans leading fighter ace from WW2 tells his tale.
ISBN 0-553-11035-7.
"Runway", John Godson, a look at a major DC8 prang in Alaska,1970. ISBN 0-583-12310-4.
"Fly For Your Life", Larry Forrester, Wing Commander Robert Tuck's wartime exploits.
ISBN 0-583-12787-8.
"Check Six", General F. Blesse, a fighter pilots tale of his two wars.
ISBN 0-8041-0927-3.
"Full Circle", AVM "Johnnie" Johnson, his stry of air fighting, ISBN 0-330-30045-8.
"The High and the Mighty", Ernest Gann, fiction tale of a flight from Hawaii to California that went wrong.
"Born to Fly", Georges Blond, about various aces of WW2. ISBN 0-583-11555-1.
"Into the Blue", Alexander Mckee, unsolved mysteries of flying, ISBN 0-586-05542-8.
"Mission : Hiroshima", Paul Tibbets, commander of the "Enola Gay",
ISBN 0-8128-8169-9.
This should keep you busy for a while.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Try Slide Rule by Neville Shute - its his
autobiography about starting Airspeed co
in 30's,...also R100/R101.#
You could also try Angel, Archangel by Nick Cook, or if you are feeling the need for a classic - try either
Antoine de Saint-Exupery's Wind, Sand and Stars, or Southern Mail/Night Fly.
Historical non fiction try West with the Night by Beryl Markham
Good Reading
Tailwinds.....
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autobiography about starting Airspeed co
in 30's,...also R100/R101.#
You could also try Angel, Archangel by Nick Cook, or if you are feeling the need for a classic - try either
Antoine de Saint-Exupery's Wind, Sand and Stars, or Southern Mail/Night Fly.
Historical non fiction try West with the Night by Beryl Markham
Good Reading
Tailwinds.....
------------------
Guest
Posts: n/a
Methusalah recommended "Beyond the Blue Horizon" - quite right, I've read it four times now and it keeps on getting better.
More: (Thinks... you're gonna be quite busy reading for a while there, Big Chief...)
Ken Follett's "Night Over Water" - not totally about the aeroplane, but very nice Pan Am Clipper (Boeing 314, that is...) background and very well researched.
"The Wrong Side of The Sky", "Judas Country" and "Shooting Script", all by Gavin Lyall.
Another all-time classic, sometimes mentioned with almost as much reverence as "Fate is the Hunter", is Guy Murchie's beautiful "Song of the Sky".
Not fiction this one, but cracking good read anyway, full of epic tales of derring-do... Sir Gordon Taylor's autobiography "The Sky Beyond". (How about the time when, crossing the Tasman Sea in a Fokker Trimotor, they had to shut down one of the wing engines and later on, the other wing motor starts losing oil like it's going outta fashion. Since the only other alternative is going swimming, your man decides to go out and get the oil from the shut-down one and pour it into the other... Don't believe it? Read the book!)
If you have trouble locating any of these, try The Aviation Bookshop, 656 Holloway Road, London N19 3PD, phone 0171 272 3630. Better yet, go and spend a week or three in there...
Happy reading. If you try any of the above and enjoy them, let me know.
More: (Thinks... you're gonna be quite busy reading for a while there, Big Chief...)
Ken Follett's "Night Over Water" - not totally about the aeroplane, but very nice Pan Am Clipper (Boeing 314, that is...) background and very well researched.
"The Wrong Side of The Sky", "Judas Country" and "Shooting Script", all by Gavin Lyall.
Another all-time classic, sometimes mentioned with almost as much reverence as "Fate is the Hunter", is Guy Murchie's beautiful "Song of the Sky".
Not fiction this one, but cracking good read anyway, full of epic tales of derring-do... Sir Gordon Taylor's autobiography "The Sky Beyond". (How about the time when, crossing the Tasman Sea in a Fokker Trimotor, they had to shut down one of the wing engines and later on, the other wing motor starts losing oil like it's going outta fashion. Since the only other alternative is going swimming, your man decides to go out and get the oil from the shut-down one and pour it into the other... Don't believe it? Read the book!)
If you have trouble locating any of these, try The Aviation Bookshop, 656 Holloway Road, London N19 3PD, phone 0171 272 3630. Better yet, go and spend a week or three in there...
Happy reading. If you try any of the above and enjoy them, let me know.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Don't forget ladies and gentlemen, if you end up ordering any of the above mentioned treasures of aviation literature because of what you've read here, please mention to the company that you are purchsing from that you heard about it on PPRuNe.
You never know, they may just want to advertise their products here and at the same time be helping to keep PPRuNe up and running. I know I'll be ordering a few more books for my library.
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Capt PPRuNe
You never know, they may just want to advertise their products here and at the same time be helping to keep PPRuNe up and running. I know I'll be ordering a few more books for my library.
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Capt PPRuNe
