Atlantic fever : Lindbergh, his competitors, and the race to cross the Atlantic / Joe Jackson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jackson, Joe, 1955-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Transatlantic flights--History--20th century.

Transatlantic flights.

Aeronautics--Competitions--History--20th century.

Aeronautics.

Air pilots--Biography.

Air pilots.

Aeronautics--Competitions.

History.

Lindbergh, Charles A. (Charles Augustus), 1902-1974.

Lindbergh, Charles A.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

x, 525 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012.

Summary:

"A fast-paced, dynamic account of the race to cross the Atlantic, and the larger-than-life personalities of the aviators who captured the world's attention In 1919, a prize of $25,000 was offered to the first aviator to cross the Atlantic in either direction between France and America. Although it was one of the most coveted prizes in the world, it sat unclaimed (not without efforts) for eight long years, until the spring of 1927. It was then, during five incredibly tense weeks, that one of those magical windows in history opened, when there occurred a nexus of technology, innovation, character, and spirit that led so many contenders (from different parts of the world) to all suddenly be on the cusp of the exact same achievement at the exact same time. Atlantic Fever is about the race; it is a milestone in American history whose story has never been fully told. Richard Byrd, Noel Davis, Stanton Wooster, Clarence Chamberlin, Charles Levine, Rene; Fonck, Charles Nungesser, and François Coli--all had equal weight in the race with Charles Lindbergh. Although the story starts in September 1926 with the crash of the first competitor, or even further back with the 1919 establishment of the prize, its heart is found in a short period, those five weeks from April 14 to May 21, 1927, when the world held its breath and the aviators met their separate fates in the air"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Winged messengers

Phantom travelers. Strange days ; The sure thing ; "This hero business" ; The explorer ; The most spectacular race ever held" ; The farm boy ; The cowboy ; The professionals ; The Lord of Distances

Five weeks. Cruel days ; A little patch of green ; The maiden flight ; The white bird ; Curtiss Field ; The waiting game ; A bad case of nerves ; The chosen

Am I a little nobody? Passengers ; Four men in a fog ; "The clouds between must disappear" ; The way the wind sock blows

"In the clouds."

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780374106751

0374106754

OCLC:

759175035