Description

The incredible untold story of the men who risked their lives in the first transcontinental air contestand put American aviation on the map

The Great Air Race reclaims one of the most important moments in the history of American aviation the transcontinental air race of October 1919 that saw scores of pilots compete for the fastest roundtrip time between New York and San Francisco in frail opencockpit biplanes Riveting the nation the aviatorsmost of them veterans of the Great Warpioneered the first coasttocoast air route braving blizzards and driving rain as they landed in fields or at the edges of cliffs Bringing the pilots and the races impresario Billy Mitchell to vivid life journalist and amateur pilot John Lancaster captures the challenges of flying in that almost prehistoric agethe deafening roar of the engine the constant fear of mechanical failure the threat posed by mere rain As he demonstrates the race despite much drama and tragedy was a milestone in the development of commercial aviation The Great Air Race is a captivating story of man and machine and the debut of a major new popular historian