What do you think?
Rate this book
Ernest Gann's Flying Circus
Gann reviews a lifetime of adventure in the air, offering a kaleidoscope view of his favorite aircraft and the varied techniques for flying them. Beginning with his carrier and barnstorming days during the Depression, Gann traces the development in America of the commercial use of airplanes. Filled with little-known anecdotes about legendary fliers, including Charles A. Lindbergh.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1976
2 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Ernest K. Gann
46 books99 followersErnest K Gann was an aviator, author, filmmaker, sailor, fisherman and conservationist.
After earning his pilot license, Gann spent his much of his free time aloft, flying for pleasure. The continuing Great Depression soon cost him his job and he was unable to find another position in the movie business. In search of work, he decided to move his family to California. Gann was able to find odd jobs at Burbank Airport, and also began to write short stories. A friend managed to get him a part-time job as a co-pilot with a local airline company and it was there that he flew his first trips as a professional aviator. In the late 1930s many airlines were hiring as many pilots as they could find; after hearing of these opportunities, Gann and his family returned to New York where he managed to get hired by American Airlines to fly the Douglas DC-2 and Douglas DC-3.
For several years Gann enjoyed flying routes in the northeast for American. In 1942, many U.S. airlines' pilots and aircraft were absorbed into the Air Transport Command of the U.S. Army Air Forces to assist in the War Effort. Gann and many of his co-workers at American volunteered to join the group. He flew DC-3s, Douglas DC-4s and Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express transports (the cargo version of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber). His wartime trips took him across the North Atlantic to Europe, and then on to Africa, South America, India, and other exotic places. Some of his most harrowing experiences came while flying The Hump airlift across the Himalayas into China. In the years to come Gann's worldwide travels and various adventures would become the inspiration for many of his novels and screenplays.
At the end of World War II, the Air Transport Command released the civilian pilots and aircraft back to their airlines. Gann decided to leave American Airlines in search of new adventures. He was quickly hired as a pilot with a new company called Matson Airlines that was a venture of the Matson steamship line. He flew from the U.S. West Coast across the Pacific to Honolulu. This experience spawned ideas that were developed into one of his best-known works, 'The High and the Mighty.' Matson ultimately soon fell prey to the politically well-connected Pan American Airlines and failed. After a few more short-lived flying jobs, Gann became discouraged with aviation and he turned to writing as a full-time occupation.
Gann's major works include the novel The High and the Mighty and his aviation focused, near-autobiography Fate Is the Hunter. Notes and short stories scribbled down during long layovers on his pioneering trips across the North Atlantic became the source for his first serious fiction novel, Island in the Sky (1944), which was inspired by an actual Arctic rescue mission. It became an immediate best-seller as did Blaze of Noon (1946), a story about early air mail operations. In 1978, he published his comprehensive autobiography, entitled A Hostage to Fortune.
Although many of his 21 best-selling novels show Gann’s devotion to aviation, others, including Twilight for the Gods, and Fiddler's Green reflect his love of the sea. His experiences as a fisherman, skipper and sailor, all contributed storylines and depth to his nautical fiction. He later wrote an autobiography of his sailing life called Song of the Sirens.
Gann wrote, or adapted from his books, the stories and screenplays for several movies and television shows. For some of these productions he also served as a consultant and technical adviser during filming. Although it received positive reviews, Gann was displeased with the film version of Fate Is the Hunter, and removed his name from the credits. (He later lamented that this decision cost him a "fortune" in royalties, as the film played repeatedly on television for years afterward.) He wrote the story for the television miniseries Masada, based on 'The Antagonists.'
After earning his pilot license, Gann spent his much of his free time aloft, flying for pleasure. The continuing Great Depression soon cost him his job and he was unable to find another position in the movie business. In search of work, he decided to move his family to California. Gann was able to find odd jobs at Burbank Airport, and also began to write short stories. A friend managed to get him a part-time job as a co-pilot with a local airline company and it was there that he flew his first trips as a professional aviator. In the late 1930s many airlines were hiring as many pilots as they could find; after hearing of these opportunities, Gann and his family returned to New York where he managed to get hired by American Airlines to fly the Douglas DC-2 and Douglas DC-3.
For several years Gann enjoyed flying routes in the northeast for American. In 1942, many U.S. airlines' pilots and aircraft were absorbed into the Air Transport Command of the U.S. Army Air Forces to assist in the War Effort. Gann and many of his co-workers at American volunteered to join the group. He flew DC-3s, Douglas DC-4s and Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express transports (the cargo version of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber). His wartime trips took him across the North Atlantic to Europe, and then on to Africa, South America, India, and other exotic places. Some of his most harrowing experiences came while flying The Hump airlift across the Himalayas into China. In the years to come Gann's worldwide travels and various adventures would become the inspiration for many of his novels and screenplays.
At the end of World War II, the Air Transport Command released the civilian pilots and aircraft back to their airlines. Gann decided to leave American Airlines in search of new adventures. He was quickly hired as a pilot with a new company called Matson Airlines that was a venture of the Matson steamship line. He flew from the U.S. West Coast across the Pacific to Honolulu. This experience spawned ideas that were developed into one of his best-known works, 'The High and the Mighty.' Matson ultimately soon fell prey to the politically well-connected Pan American Airlines and failed. After a few more short-lived flying jobs, Gann became discouraged with aviation and he turned to writing as a full-time occupation.
Gann's major works include the novel The High and the Mighty and his aviation focused, near-autobiography Fate Is the Hunter. Notes and short stories scribbled down during long layovers on his pioneering trips across the North Atlantic became the source for his first serious fiction novel, Island in the Sky (1944), which was inspired by an actual Arctic rescue mission. It became an immediate best-seller as did Blaze of Noon (1946), a story about early air mail operations. In 1978, he published his comprehensive autobiography, entitled A Hostage to Fortune.
Although many of his 21 best-selling novels show Gann’s devotion to aviation, others, including Twilight for the Gods, and Fiddler's Green reflect his love of the sea. His experiences as a fisherman, skipper and sailor, all contributed storylines and depth to his nautical fiction. He later wrote an autobiography of his sailing life called Song of the Sirens.
Gann wrote, or adapted from his books, the stories and screenplays for several movies and television shows. For some of these productions he also served as a consultant and technical adviser during filming. Although it received positive reviews, Gann was displeased with the film version of Fate Is the Hunter, and removed his name from the credits. (He later lamented that this decision cost him a "fortune" in royalties, as the film played repeatedly on television for years afterward.) He wrote the story for the television miniseries Masada, based on 'The Antagonists.'
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 1, 2017
This is a series of vignettes of all the memorable aircraft, Gann flew during a career that began with barnstorming and flying the mail in open cockpit biplanes, through the early days of passenger air travel, to the dawn of the jet age, plus a couple of glimpses of the pilots that were legends to a man who was, in his own right, an aviation legend.
January 5, 2025
This book had been sitting on my shelf for over thirty years, even though I love books by Ernest K Gann. I guess I just overlooked it somehow.
In my experience, no author has ever described flying quite as good as he has.
Flying Circus is a collection of short chapters, each telling a short tale of the author’s personal experiences in Aviation, along with some background on the individual aircraft involved.
Some are very interesting, some less so. If you find yourself in a chapter that’s a bit dry, just press on and you’ll probably be rewarded in the next one.
Overall, it’s a good read, but no Fate is the Hunter or The High and the Mighty.
In my experience, no author has ever described flying quite as good as he has.
Flying Circus is a collection of short chapters, each telling a short tale of the author’s personal experiences in Aviation, along with some background on the individual aircraft involved.
Some are very interesting, some less so. If you find yourself in a chapter that’s a bit dry, just press on and you’ll probably be rewarded in the next one.
Overall, it’s a good read, but no Fate is the Hunter or The High and the Mighty.
January 27, 2025
A really interesting take on the barnstorming days and early days of commercial aviation written by pilot turned author, the late Ernest K. Gann.
The vivid description of the author navigating a plane load of passengers to their destination in bad weather by relying on the imprecise tones of radio beams in his headset is amazing. It’s remarkable pilots, let alone passengers, had the nerve to fly anywhere.
I think this book is out of print. I found my copy in a used bookstore.
If you’re an aviation fan, it’s a must read but it’s not as good as Gann’s Fate is the Hunter, also an account of early commercial aviation.
This book contains some of the author’s reprinted stories from flying magazines plus some additional, new, content so it reads like an anthology instead of a novel.
But, even for the non aviation fan there are illuminating stories and anecdotes.
The vivid description of the author navigating a plane load of passengers to their destination in bad weather by relying on the imprecise tones of radio beams in his headset is amazing. It’s remarkable pilots, let alone passengers, had the nerve to fly anywhere.
I think this book is out of print. I found my copy in a used bookstore.
If you’re an aviation fan, it’s a must read but it’s not as good as Gann’s Fate is the Hunter, also an account of early commercial aviation.
This book contains some of the author’s reprinted stories from flying magazines plus some additional, new, content so it reads like an anthology instead of a novel.
But, even for the non aviation fan there are illuminating stories and anecdotes.
March 10, 2019
An Okay read but not Ghann's best.
May 21, 2023
An autobiography of one of my very favorite authors. He was an interesting character: screenwriter, adventurer, novelist, commercial airline pilot. An Amazing story.
March 31, 2011
Gann has written a charming book about the early days of aviation. It is a compilation of short stories about various air adventures mostly during the 20's, 30's and 40's. The book was written in 1974, so comparisons to "now" aren't really now. This was the time of the development of scheduled air travel and of early airliner design, so we get glimpses of the birth of these things we find so commonplace today. And the one little item that really stuck with me: that Bob Hoover used to barnstorm in a Ford Trimotor, and do loops with the center engine shut down. Sounds familiar. This was after Trimotors got inexpensive because the airlines were phasing them out (mid-30's).
March 28, 2012
An excellent history of early aviation transports written in Mr. Gann's poetic style.
June 19, 2013
Neat overview of historical aircraft!
December 22, 2014
I love the writing style. As a pilot myself it makes it just that much more exciting.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews