The Aviators
  • Published: 1 December 2015
  • ISBN: 9781426213694
  • Imprint: National Geographic
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 464
  • RRP: $32.99

The Aviators

Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and the Epic Age of Flight

Formats & editions
Paperback
1 Dec 2015
Hardback
1 Nov 2013
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Hailed as "a gripping document of a brilliant era in our history" by Kirkus, The Aviators tells the sweeping saga of three extraordinary pilots--Charles Lindbergh, Eddie Rickenbacker, and Jimmy Doolittle--and how they redefined heroism through genius, daring, and uncommon courage. Now in paperback, this gripping book is a must-read for aviation and history enthusiasts, and anyone who loves a good story.

Written by gifted storyteller Winston Groom (author of Forrest Gump), The Aviators tells the saga of three extraordinary aviators--Charles Lindbergh, Eddie Rickenbacker, and Jimmy Doolittle--and how they redefine heroism through their genius, daring, and uncommon courage.
 
This is the fascinating story of three extraordinary heroes who defined aviation during the great age of flight. These cleverly interwoven tales of their heart-stopping adventures take us from the feats of World War I through the heroism of World War II and beyond, including daring military raids and survival-at-sea, and will appeal to fans of Unbroken, The Greatest Generation, and Flyboys. With the world in peril in World War II, each man set aside great success and comfort to return to the skies for his most daring mission yet. Doolittle, a brilliant aviation innovator, would lead the daring Tokyo Raid to retaliate for Pearl Harbor; Lindbergh, hero of the first solo flight across the Atlantic, would fly combat missions in the South Pacific; and Rickenbacker, World War I flying ace, would bravely hold his crew together while facing near-starvation and circling sharks after his plane went down in a remote part of the Pacific. Groom's rich narrative tells their intertwined stories--from broken homes to Medals of Honor (all three would receive it); barnstorming to the greatest raid of World War II; front-page triumph to anguished tragedy; and near-death to ultimate survival--as all took to the sky, time and again, to become exemplars of the spirit of the "greatest generation."
  • Published: 1 December 2015
  • ISBN: 9781426213694
  • Imprint: National Geographic
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 464
  • RRP: $32.99
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About the author

Winston Groom

Winston Groom, author of nine books, wrote the acclaimed Vietnam War novel Better Times Than These, the prize-winning As Summers Die, and co-authored Conversations with the Enemy, which was nominated for a 1984 Pulitzer Prize. He is also the author of the No.1 New York Times bestsellers Forrest Gump and Gumpisms: The Wit and Wisdom of Forrest Gump. Mr Groom's Shrouds of Glory, an account of Confederate General John Bell Hood's decisive actions in the last great campaign of the US Civil War, was published in April, 1995. He lives in New York City and Point Clear, Alabama.

Also by Winston Groom

The Patriots
The Allies
The Generals
Shiloh, 1862
Gump & Co.
Gumpisms: The Wit & Wisdom Of Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump
See all

Praise for The Aviators

"This is a winner, combining an engaging narrative and appropriate documentation into one solid study of three iconic aviators and their times." --Library Journal, starred review

"A gripping document of a brilliant era in our history and a few of the men who helped make it so." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“As Mr. Groom's absorbing narrative unfolds, we see one man enduring a horrendous ordeal on the open sea; another nearly losing his life in a bombing run; and yet another finding a sort of redemption for his battered public image.”
–The Wall Street Journal

"Groom’s rich narrative tell the intertwined stories of these aeronautical pioneers as they took to the air to become exemplars of the spirit of the “greatest generation.” --Flight Journal

"That the imagination that conceived Forrest Gump could conjure up fresh ways to tell stories of American history is astonishing...Groom's epic story is a tribute...Readers of all his fiction and nonfiction might well feel inclined to testify that he is fast becoming a national treasure. Forrest Gump would agree." --The Advocate

“Winston Groom writes history like a novelist. Readers will appreciate his careful and accurate use of aviation and military terminology, and description of each aircraft in the narratives. Groom handles this complex subject in clear, understandable terms, woven into a great air war story.”  –American Aviation Historical Society

"Groom is at his best sharing history through the personal stories of the people involved. Not only is this history a learning experience, it is a joy to experience the suspenseful adventures of these extraordinary aviators as they spent their lives developing and promoting aviation in this country. An important narrative not to be missed!" --Stephanie Crowe, Page and Palette Bookstore

This will be an alternate selection in History Book Club, Military Book Club, and Book-of-the-Month Club.


From the Hardcover edition.