The great air race : glory, tragedy, and the dawn of American aviation

Summary: Reclaiming one of the most important moments in American aviation history, this incredible, untold story recounts the transcontinental air race of October 1919, which riveted a nation as the aviators pioneered the first coast-to-coast air route, despite much drama and tragedy.

Record details

ISBN: 9781631496370
ISBN: 1631496379
Physical Description: print
xviii, 346 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map ; 24 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York, NY : Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, [2023]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-330) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Part I: The air service. The honeymoon special -- Willie -- The Western front -- Aftermath -- The flying parson -- Praeger -- "The greatest airplane race ever flown" -- Spaatz -- "Sure death if motor stops on the takeoff" -- Part II: The reliability test. "Interesting happenings" -- No parachutes -- "God's given children" -- "Snow hurricane" -- Rain -- Time and space -- Hungry hogs and a telegraph pole -- Spaatz vs. Kiel -- Salduro -- Hello Frisco! -- Roosevelt Field -- Part III: Triumph. Donaldson and Hartney -- "The man of a hundred wounds" -- Homeward bound -- A telegram from Omaha -- Buffalo -- The mechanic -- Victory -- Flying blind -- Three horses -- Part IV: Foundation. A sour parting -- The Woodrow Wilson Airway -- Epilogue -- 2019.