Flying Is My Life [Illustrated Edition]

by Hanna Reitsch, Lawrence Roy Wilson (Translator)

Includes the Aerial Warfare In Europe During World War II illustrations pack with over 200 maps, plans, and photos.

Hanna Reitsch is unusual in being a feminine woman who was yet the equal of men in a dangerous male profession — test-piloting new military aircraft. Her love of flying from childhood on, along with her superior intelligence, determination, and ability to withstand tremendous stresses, gave her the edge that allowed her to rise to the top of the aviation world.

Hanna Reitsch offered her gifts to the German nation in the same way that Adolf Hitler and many others did — with a complete giving of herself and her abilities, holding nothing back. Although she lived to 1979, she never renounced her participation with the National Socialist government or criticized Hitler, even under pressure to do so. Hanna’s life story is an amazing one that sounds almost unbelievable in its drama and acts of heroism. She never married or had children; instead she occupied herself with the two burning loves of her life — flying and the salvation of her beloved Fatherland in its time of need.

Genres: World War II, Memoir

518 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Female pioneer aviator. Reitsch was the first woman to fly an helicopter, a rocket plane, a jet fighter and a glider across the Alps.

During the second world war she was awarded the Iron Cross First Class and the Luftwaffe Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds. She was the only woman to every receive those awards.

After the war she was interiogated for 18 months about the last days she spend in the Fuhrerbunker. Her family committed suicide when they got driven away from their hometown, which is now Polish territory.

After the war she was also banned from flying, but after a couple of years gliding was allowed. In 1952 she won third place in the World Gliding Championships in Spain.

Reviews

[Jukka Häkkinen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hanna Reitsch oli kuuluisa Luftwaffen koelentäjä Natsi-Saksan aikana. Hänen omaelämänkerrassa on mielenkiintoisia kuvauksia purjelentämisen alkuajoista ja lentämisen riemusta. Toisaalta kuvaukset ovat joskus ehkä liiankin pitkiä ja toisteisia ja suorastaan pitkäveteisiä. Natsi-Saksan ajan Reitsch ohittaa aika lyhyesti.

[Judy Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely a must to read!

[Dale W. Basham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read about a great flyer. I can understand her love of flying. Myself since age six discovered an intense desire to spend my life as a pilot. It was as if it was my destiny. I had a very successful and exciting life first as civilian Instructor, then graduated number one in my Air Force pilot training class and rising to the rank of LCol, flight Examiner and later as Squadron Commander. After service was an airline Captain and check airman. Just like Hanna, at the peak of my career I had a heart attack, fell from a two story roof landing on cement side walk with multiple injuries the worst of which was a Spinal cord injury and cracked skull. I spent over three months in an orthopedic ward after the spin surgery. While reading of her very serious injuries I could sympathize with her. I am now starting to read another of her books.

[Bob Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great female pilot who never fessed up

Hanna Reitsch rightfully goes down in the annals of flight as one of history’s greatest female pilots along side the likes of Jackie Cochran and Amelia Earhart.
From that historical viewpoint, this book is a very interesting read. It’s her story, written by her.
But in the light of history, as both the WWII allies and even Germans now know and understand it, her lack of understanding or even recognition about what her country was doing - torture, concentration camps, genocide - borders on the fantastic, what one might expect from a devoted Nazi. By her own admission, she was ready to die with Hitler in the bunker.
So maybe this book is about something more that airplanes. It also speaks to the nature of blind fanaticism.
And given today’s climate, perhaps that is a lesson also worth pondering.

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography of pioneering Nazi test-pilot Reitsch was written several years after her release by the Allies and thus may be read as defensive and self-serving. Indeed, most of the material antedates the war, the emphasis being on the joys of flying throughout. Still, assuming there was no ghostwriter, the impression left on this reader was mostly positive, Reitsch coming across as charming if naive. Indeed, so caught up did I become in her feelings that I found the reading of this memoir an emotional experience.