Forgotten Eagle: Wiley Post, America's Heroic Aviation Pioneer

by Bryan B. Sterling, Frances N. Sterling

Drawn from thirty years of research, a fascinating portrait of Wiley Post, the pilot who circled the earth alone in a single-engine plane, recreates his life, from his poverty-stricken childhood in Texas to a brief career in armed robbery that sent him to jail in 1921, to his mysterious death, and details how he overcame many challenges and obstacles to become a parachute jumper, stunt pilot, barnstormer, and record-setting aviator.

Genres: Aviation, History, Biography, Nonfiction

371 pages, Hardcover

First published July 31, 2001

Reviews

[Esteban Stipnieks · Rating 4 out of 5]

From his era the US remembers Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindberg and most aviation buffs recall the rivalry between Pancho Barnes and Nancy Cochran largely because of their friendship with Hoover and Yeager. As an aviation buff I have known about Wiley Post all my life. The book contained surprises. In many ways those who would go much higher and faster owe him a debt of gratitude.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really respect the research that went into this book, as I'm a huge fan of Wiley Post and think he doesn't get the recognition he deserves. The writers obviously searched just about every historical resource possible in tracing the life of the one-eyed airman, who set records with round-the-world flights and designed the first pressure suit (a prototype for what astronauts would someday wear). However, a huge portion of this book was devoted to the crash that killed Post and Will Rogers. While I recognize how significant it was, I wish the same attention to detail was paid to the air pressure tests, which I felt were kind of skimmed over. Yet for most of the book I was really riveted and transported by the tales of aviation.

[Read1000books · Rating 3 out of 5]

A must-read for aviation buffs. A fascinating bio of the first man to fly around the world solo and the first man to fly around the world twice.

[Jdevero · Rating 3 out of 5]

The right stuff before there was "right stuff".