Good aviation books

[b52bob]

OK, we have the movies, now how about books:

Fiction (but really not) - "Fate is the Hunter" - Ernie Gann

Non-fiction -"Flying American Combat Aircraft of the Cold War" - an A-Z compedium of cold war US aircraft written in short story form by those that flew them. Lots of insights and also really good info (see the F-15 and KC-135 stories for complete check lists). Photos are a laugh a minute - someone sure didn't know their airplanes. Oh, BTW, a Stackpole Military History Series title ($19.95 US) should be available at Amazon or Barnes and Nobles.

Biography - "We" by Charles Lindberg

[Willy]

Gann's Flying Circus is pretty good too. It's been out of print for several years now, but you can still find a good used copy at Amazon.

[txnetcop]

Thunderbolt by Robert S. Johnson

Of course I can name about 50 I have read and liked!!!!!
Ted

[stiz]

Full Circle, the story of air fighting by J.E. ('Johnnie') Johnson
Bomber by Len Deighton
Finest Hour by Tim Clayton and Phil Craig
On a wing and a prayer by Joshua Levine

:)

[stuartcox]

"The Royal Air Force In Pictures", published 1941, by Major Oliver Stewart.
I found it in a charity shop for £0.50!
Contains great old adverts worth looking at.
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[jmig]

Anything by Earnest K Gann. I especially loved his WWI book about the German and French pilots, In the Company of Eagles. In this book and The Aviator, Gann shows he is more than just a story teller of flying stories.He shows that he can express human motives, fears and hopes.Wow! Rereading that, I sound like I am writing a book review. :jump:

A bit more modern: When Thunder Rolled: An F-105 Pilot Over North Vietnam by Ed Rasimus, is very good.His follow up F-4 Phantom book is also good but not as good, IMO.

In my opinion the best book to capture what it was like to fly in Vietnam is Steven Coonts's Flight of the Intruder.

Lastly, if you want a good F-16 Iraqi War book. Read, Vipers in the Storm by Keith Rosenkranz.

[hurricane3]

Why do I get into these polls, I have ,and have read hundreds and hundreds of avation books, but I'll try and narrow it down. Bomber by Len Deighton ,Duel Of Eagles by Peter Townsend ,this is WWI but No Parachute by Arther Gould Lee,and Samurai by Saburo Sakai,and since my fingers are getting tired The Big Show by Pierre Clostermann. There I'am done thats it no more,I refuse to mention Yesterday's Gone by NJ Crisp,(most have never heard of it ,but an excellent fiction about a Lanc crew Bomber Command.and .... sombody stop me!

[TeaSea]

Bomber by Len Deighton ,Duel Of Eagles by Peter Townsend


Those were my two.....one fiction, one history, respectively.

[Jagdflieger]

"Fire in the Sky" by Mark Bergerud.

A tome on the Pacific air war of World War II with more than enough detail to satisfy the most ardent scholar. It really gets down to the nuts and bolts of the aircraft, the theater and the pilots who endured the conflict.

"Shattered Sword" by Parshall and Tulley.

While not specifically an aviation book, it has so much detail on IJN carrier aviation that it is a must read about not only Japanese naval aviation, but also the Battle of Midway. It dispells several myths and old wife's tales in a most entertaining manner.

For just plain fun reading?

"Flight of the Intruder" By Coontz

"Bomber" by Deighten

"Fighter" by Deighten

"Thud Ridge" by COL Broughton

[stiz]

missed one :)

Samurai! by saburo sakai with martin caidin and fred saito

[ibl19108]

The Fighters by Collin Willock (1973)
Robert Jackson's, George Yeoman series:Hurricane Sqn
Sqn Scramble
Target Tobruk
Malta Victory
Mosquito Sqn
Operation Diver
Tempest Sqn
The Last Battle (1978~1982)
The Hunting of Salyut 7 by Guy Alimo (1981)
Bomb Run by Spencer Dunmore (1971)
KG 200 by J D Gilman & John Clive (1977)
Duel Under the Stars by Wilhelm Johnen (1957 p/b 1975)

[Bjoern]

"Fighter Pilots" by Edward H. Sims

[Craig Taylor]

(Ooh, jotting down another list for future reference)

+1 for "Shattered Sword" - very insightful about Midway, especially from the Japanese side.

Anything by RADM Paul Gilchrist (ret). Just finished "Vulture's Row"

Also recently finished "To the Last Man" by Jeff Shaara. Although it's an historical fiction account of WW1 as a whole, it has some very good treatments of Manfred von Richtofen and Raoul Lufberry that give a detailed perspective of that war's aviation side, starting about 1916 or '17.

[bluediamond]

"Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds" by Robin Olds,Christina Olds and Ed Rasimus.If you have an ipod or mp3 get the audio version from audible.com.It's narrated by one of my favorite narrators,Robertson Dean,and it's just terrific.

Michael

[TARPSBird]

On Yankee Station: The Naval Air War over Vietnam by John B. Nichols and Barrett Tillman. If you read just one book about NavAir in Vietnam, make it this one.
Such Men as These: The Story of the Navy Pilots Who Flew the Deadly Skies over Korea by David Sears. New release, just finished it. The author follows several aviators through their flight training and combat deployments, at the same time providing an excellent detailed account of Navy air ops throughout the conflict. I suggest reading Michener's classic The Bridges at Toko-ri (or at least watch the movie version) before reading this book.

[papab]

"North Star over my Shoulder" by Bob Buck

Fantastic read about his life in Aviation, from his first flight at 15 years old to flying across the Atlantic in a Connie and then a 747. His stories about the DC-2 are fanastic as well...

Highly recommend this book!
Rick

[Pauke! Pauke!]

These are old ones but I recommend them if you can find copies: :jump:

Rocket Fighter by Mano Ziegler

Night Fighter by J. R. D. Braham

Wiki info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_163
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Braham

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[Devildog73]

Okay, Black Knights, the Story of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Aces High, the story of Dick Bong and Tommy McGuire and others of the South East Asian Theater.

I have other reference books, but nothing about the actual history.