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Chasing the Demon
The New York Times bestselling author of Viper Pilot chronicles another thrilling chapter in American aviation history: the race to break the sound barrierIn the aftermath of World War II, the United States accelerated the development of technologies that would give it an advantage over the Soviet Union. Airpower, combined with nuclear weapons, offered a formidable check on Soviet aggression. In 1947, the United States Air Force was established. Meanwhile, scientists and engineers were pioneering a revolutionary new type of aircraft which could do what no other machine had ever done: reach mach 1-a speed faster than the movement of sound-which pilots called "the demon."Chasing the Demon recreates an era of excitement and danger, adventure and innovation, when the future of the free world was at stake and American ingenuity took the world from the postwar years to the space age. While the pressure to succeed was high, it was unknown whether man or machine could survive such tremendous speeds.A decorated military pilot with years of experience flying supersonic fighter jets, Dan Hampton reveals in-depth the numerous potential hazards that emerged with the Air Force's test flights: controls broke down, engines flamed out, wings snapped, and planes and pilots disintegrated as they crashed into the desert floor. He also introduces the men who pushed the envelope taking the cockpits of these jets, including World War II ace Major Dick Bong and twenty-four-year-old Captain Chuck Yeager, who made history flying the Bell X-1 plane faster than the speed of sound on October 14, 1947.Illustrated with thirty black-and-white photographs, Chasing the Demon recalls this period of the emerging Cold War and the brave adventurers pursing the final frontier in aviation.
9 pages, Audiobook
First published July 24, 2018
133 people are currently reading
875 people want to read
About the author
Dan Hampton
21 books167 followersU.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Dan Hampton flew more than 150 combat missions during his twenty years (1986–2006) as a Wild Weasel fighter pilot. For his service in the Iraq War, Kosovo conflict, first Gulf War, and elsewhere, Colonel Hampton received four Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor, a Purple Heart, eight Air Medals with Valor, five Meritorious Service Medals, and numerous other citations. He is a graduate of the USAF Fighter Weapons School, USN Top Gun School (TOGS), and USAF Special Operations School. A recipient of several awards for tactical innovation, Hampton pioneered air-combat tactics that are now standard, and he was named his squadron's Instructor Pilot of the Year six times. Hampton served on the Air Combat Command staff in Langley, Virginia, during the 1999 Kosovo War and designed the NATO campaign that destroyed the Yugoslav army's air defenses around Sarajevo. A graduate of Texas A&M University, he has published articles in The Journal of Electronic Defense, Air Force Magazine, and Airpower magazine, as well as several classified tactical works for the USAF Fighter Weapons Review.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
August 12, 2018
The subtitle of this book, "A secret history of the quest for the sound barrier and the band of American aces who conquered it", is deceptive. Less than some fifty pages, in a book that is 266 pages long, relate to that specific topic. The rest is devoted to a superficial history of aviation, and of the first half of the 20th century. Not only that, but the book reads like it was written with an audience of sixth-graders in mind.
January 19, 2020
I was excited to read this book based on my ties to Edwards, Test Pilot School, etc. Although I did learn a few things regarding the X-1 program, the outline and proportions of the book were way off in my opinion. The first 80% of the book was build-up to the main test program of the X-1, and somewhat related the F-86. It almost seemed as if the subject didn't warrant an entire book, so he added much unrelated fluff at the front. He volunteered his strategy of giving background information, but it was way too much for the content of the main story. I like his writing style in other regards and will give the author another chance.
December 22, 2021
Not nearly as much about what happened at Muroc Field / Edwards AFB as I thought there would be. This gives a brief overview of everything from 19th century kite fliers on up. Did learn some new bits about the Wright Brothers & Bob Hoover and of course anything about Pancho Barnes will be highly entertaining. But if you want a more narrow, focused approach I would try Yeager by Leo Janos.
December 7, 2018
This book is allover the place. There's no solid timeline and it jumps around in time to establish a background for the history of aviation leading up to dealing with the sound barrier. That sounds nice but after 9, yes NINE chapters of this it gets old really fast.
December 5, 2021
Like some of the other reviewers, I'm not sure how or why they came up with the title for this book, as it has very, very little to do with the efforts to break the sound barriers. I mean, really very little, you could get almost as much by reading the wikipedia article.
While the book was interesting from a "history of early aviation up to the breaking of the sound barrier" standpoint, that wasn't how the book was titled, nor was it what you'd think to look for in a book titled like this one. I was looking forward to an in-depth history of the people and activities surrounding the pursuit of the sound barrier in the mid-1940s, and instead got lots of history about the early gliders, Wright Brothers, WW1 airplanes, etc.
Furthermore, even that history was really kind of haphazard. Kind of like a dog peacefully walking until it sees a squirrel and darts off in a different direction, this book took so many tangents that it was somewhat distracting. I ended up skipping large sections of it - and it wasn't a very long book to begin with.
Also, in the Kindle version, the book ends at something like 56% of the way through - the rest of the Kindle book is previews of other books by the author.
While the book was interesting from a "history of early aviation up to the breaking of the sound barrier" standpoint, that wasn't how the book was titled, nor was it what you'd think to look for in a book titled like this one. I was looking forward to an in-depth history of the people and activities surrounding the pursuit of the sound barrier in the mid-1940s, and instead got lots of history about the early gliders, Wright Brothers, WW1 airplanes, etc.
Furthermore, even that history was really kind of haphazard. Kind of like a dog peacefully walking until it sees a squirrel and darts off in a different direction, this book took so many tangents that it was somewhat distracting. I ended up skipping large sections of it - and it wasn't a very long book to begin with.
Also, in the Kindle version, the book ends at something like 56% of the way through - the rest of the Kindle book is previews of other books by the author.
December 4, 2018
I just couldn't finish it. Got about half way through and lost interest. For as much as I read of this book there was no real content about breaking the sound barrier.
Really strange book. I don't need a flight or war history lesson, thanks. I've read a ton of those leading up to this book. What I wanted was a book about chasing the demon. The first half of this one didn't deliver. Time to move on!
Really strange book. I don't need a flight or war history lesson, thanks. I've read a ton of those leading up to this book. What I wanted was a book about chasing the demon. The first half of this one didn't deliver. Time to move on!
February 10, 2025
I wanted to learn about the planes and instead learned about WWII. Like maybe 20% of this book is about planes.
August 19, 2018
"The Right Stuff" is one of my favorite movies and the Tom Wolff book is perhaps even better. I have read Yeager's autobio too (which I very much disliked) so I am predisposed to like books on this subject.
As others have mentioned here, this is more a study of aviation history up to the point of Yeager's famous flight, obviously charting the military development of aviation to that point. Therefore there is a lot of preamble to the times at Edwards where the deed was finally done. There is nothing wrong with this approach although it seems a little forced to me at times (referring everything back to the titular "demon" that supposedly lived beyond Mach 1.) Nevertheless, much of this was interesting and, indeed, new to me so I was grateful for it.
However this does mean that the actual, specific pursuit of supersonic flight is relegated to the last 20% of the book and I felt was, therefore, treated in a somewhat cursory manner. I understand that this is not a bio of Yeager (fortunately, as he was tiresome in his autobio) and the writing is light and well executed so it flows well but it just seemed a little lacking in depth for me. However the book does provide context and that is always welcome.
However there is something about the tone that bothers me a little. The ending is, necessarily perhaps, a little anticlimactic as was the feat of breaking the sound "barrier" itself ultimately. In other words, DH makes the reasonable point that Yeager was just one of the test pilots available and not the best one at that, and when he did break the barrier, it was somewhat without drama. This is fine but then we go into the conjecture that he wasn't actually the first to do so and that George Welch achieved it earlier in a power dive flying a Sabre. DH lobs this out there and he is correct to mention it, but I wish he had either developed this point more or merely mentioned it in the annoying footnotes that haunt this book. It's almost as though he is trying to create controversy and drama to end the narrative. If that was his intent, more depth would be welcome rather than conjecture. I guess maybe that's all we have.
I am not sure of his take on this claim. He rightly points out that Yeager says that there is no proof (i.e. figures and data) to back up this claim but the author then egregiously attempts to shift the burden of proof by inserting the logical fallacy that: "there is no proof that he didn't do it". This is amateur and not worthy of a serious book like this. It spoiled it for me a little. There are various other assertions in the text that could do with some evidential statements to back them up too.
However, I am glad I read this as it galloped through aviation from the Wright brothers (even before them actually) to that day in 1947. As I say, some of the most interesting stuff was the contextual analysis leading to those events. Of course, this covers aspects such as World and are therefore necessarily highly superficial, but that is OK in a book not specifically aiming to cover the military history of that conflict for example. However, this is pretty much an introductory account of this human quest - if the reader has done any research, or read other books about Yeager et al, this will not add greatly to the some of her/his knowledge on the subject. It is easy to read and well written and will not take you long to work through.
As others have mentioned here, this is more a study of aviation history up to the point of Yeager's famous flight, obviously charting the military development of aviation to that point. Therefore there is a lot of preamble to the times at Edwards where the deed was finally done. There is nothing wrong with this approach although it seems a little forced to me at times (referring everything back to the titular "demon" that supposedly lived beyond Mach 1.) Nevertheless, much of this was interesting and, indeed, new to me so I was grateful for it.
However this does mean that the actual, specific pursuit of supersonic flight is relegated to the last 20% of the book and I felt was, therefore, treated in a somewhat cursory manner. I understand that this is not a bio of Yeager (fortunately, as he was tiresome in his autobio) and the writing is light and well executed so it flows well but it just seemed a little lacking in depth for me. However the book does provide context and that is always welcome.
However there is something about the tone that bothers me a little. The ending is, necessarily perhaps, a little anticlimactic as was the feat of breaking the sound "barrier" itself ultimately. In other words, DH makes the reasonable point that Yeager was just one of the test pilots available and not the best one at that, and when he did break the barrier, it was somewhat without drama. This is fine but then we go into the conjecture that he wasn't actually the first to do so and that George Welch achieved it earlier in a power dive flying a Sabre. DH lobs this out there and he is correct to mention it, but I wish he had either developed this point more or merely mentioned it in the annoying footnotes that haunt this book. It's almost as though he is trying to create controversy and drama to end the narrative. If that was his intent, more depth would be welcome rather than conjecture. I guess maybe that's all we have.
I am not sure of his take on this claim. He rightly points out that Yeager says that there is no proof (i.e. figures and data) to back up this claim but the author then egregiously attempts to shift the burden of proof by inserting the logical fallacy that: "there is no proof that he didn't do it". This is amateur and not worthy of a serious book like this. It spoiled it for me a little. There are various other assertions in the text that could do with some evidential statements to back them up too.
However, I am glad I read this as it galloped through aviation from the Wright brothers (even before them actually) to that day in 1947. As I say, some of the most interesting stuff was the contextual analysis leading to those events. Of course, this covers aspects such as World and are therefore necessarily highly superficial, but that is OK in a book not specifically aiming to cover the military history of that conflict for example. However, this is pretty much an introductory account of this human quest - if the reader has done any research, or read other books about Yeager et al, this will not add greatly to the some of her/his knowledge on the subject. It is easy to read and well written and will not take you long to work through.
November 18, 2019
I laud Dan Hampton’s goal of providing his readers with the historical contexts in which flight, particularly supersonic flight, developed. I certainly learned a lot about the history of flight by reading this book. The difficulty that Hampton encounters is developing a picture of the social, political, and military conditions in which the development of flight took place without veering on into tangents and transitioning back to the main topic. At one moment, the reader is faced with the Great Depression, the next the reader is exploring combat in WW2, before the reader turns to the science of flight. This is not to say that the subject matter was not interesting or enlightening. Rather, an adjustment in focus on the main topic of flight and those that participated in its evolution would have held my attention a little better.
October 14, 2018
A very engaging and gripping read tracing the conquest of air and the sound barrier.
Colonel Hampton's writing style has stuff for everyone, those are fascinated by aviation history and those who are into thrillers. The bar set by Tom Wolfe's Right Stuff" is so high that no author can ever out-climb it, yet Col Hampton's book has proved this notion wrong.
You gotta read this book, you owe to yourself.
Colonel Hampton's writing style has stuff for everyone, those are fascinated by aviation history and those who are into thrillers. The bar set by Tom Wolfe's Right Stuff" is so high that no author can ever out-climb it, yet Col Hampton's book has proved this notion wrong.
You gotta read this book, you owe to yourself.
April 3, 2024
I listened to this book via Audible.
Chasing the Demon is an insightful look at the history of aviation up to the officially recorded breaking of the sound barrier. It goes back well before the Wright brothers, to many historic attempts by humans to fly, the Wright's historic flight, the introduction of aviation into warfare, and how all these things culminated with Chuck Yeager piloting the Bell X-1.
I think the most interesting part of the book was the unrecorded flights that may have broken the sound barrier earlier than Yeager, including one on the same day as his milestone. These instances are corroborated with all the evidence that exists to the author's knowledge, and blew my mind a bit. I knew jets and rockets had existed for years before the X-1, but I hadn't realized how far the technology had already come that made reaching the speed of sound not only achievable, but possibly achieved.
If you're interested in the history of aviation, especially how it fits into the two world wars and the breaking of the sound barrier, this is a good high-level read. You'll learn a lot and enjoy the journey through history!
Chasing the Demon is an insightful look at the history of aviation up to the officially recorded breaking of the sound barrier. It goes back well before the Wright brothers, to many historic attempts by humans to fly, the Wright's historic flight, the introduction of aviation into warfare, and how all these things culminated with Chuck Yeager piloting the Bell X-1.
I think the most interesting part of the book was the unrecorded flights that may have broken the sound barrier earlier than Yeager, including one on the same day as his milestone. These instances are corroborated with all the evidence that exists to the author's knowledge, and blew my mind a bit. I knew jets and rockets had existed for years before the X-1, but I hadn't realized how far the technology had already come that made reaching the speed of sound not only achievable, but possibly achieved.
If you're interested in the history of aviation, especially how it fits into the two world wars and the breaking of the sound barrier, this is a good high-level read. You'll learn a lot and enjoy the journey through history!
July 2, 2023
This might be a 2.5 star book. Based on the title, I thought it would be about the development of supersonic aircraft. While there was some of that, about half of the book was an in-depth history of World War II and the events that drove the conflict. I was not really interested in a history book.
I also never caught on to the concept of "demon" that is used throughout the book. Maybe that is some term that aviators used. Although I read a lot of aviation books and other aviation-related sources, I have not come across others talking about "demons." Maybe this is something the author considers significant but why use the term "demon" so much? To make the book and its subject seem mysterious? Is it to imply that there is something dark and dangerous about high-speed flight? Never explained.
This is mostly a history book, which if that is what you want, is fine. It was not what I was looking for.
I also never caught on to the concept of "demon" that is used throughout the book. Maybe that is some term that aviators used. Although I read a lot of aviation books and other aviation-related sources, I have not come across others talking about "demons." Maybe this is something the author considers significant but why use the term "demon" so much? To make the book and its subject seem mysterious? Is it to imply that there is something dark and dangerous about high-speed flight? Never explained.
This is mostly a history book, which if that is what you want, is fine. It was not what I was looking for.
March 12, 2023
This wasn’t quite what I expected. While the book did cover the flights to break the sound barrier, I think nearly 75% of the book covered aviation history of WWII. There was some interesting parts in here for sure but it may have still drifted a little too much towards aviation experts. Many of the players from the late 40’s are mentioned throughout the WWII history however the author really doesn’t establish why all these “random names” are quickly mentioned at random parts of the story. Most of these names are not really established characters/personalities beyond whatever random service acts are given and because each is a sentence mention here and there most of them I couldn’t keep track of well.
Some really interesting coverage though of the possible flights that broke the sound barrier first before Yeager so I’ll give it points for definitely not just treading on old ground.
Some really interesting coverage though of the possible flights that broke the sound barrier first before Yeager so I’ll give it points for definitely not just treading on old ground.
December 3, 2023
Listened to audiobook version
Great narrator. Love this guy!
Very interesting story and except for technical aspects. Weird to narrate the glossary and have it come after a somewhat anti-climactic finish after a long, slow build. Would like to have either heard that first to help with vocabulary for the book or should have read the book instead is listened.
I really like this narrator. Book is a 3 or 4 as it gets bogged down in flipping back and forth with war and world history and relating it to the person or topic at hand.
A little too much aviation technology descriptions for my taste but still interesting.
For a fan of “The Right Stuff” this is a great primer or filler to close out some biographies or flesh out who characters are in the book and in the movie. Especially Pancho Barnes.
Great narrator. Love this guy!
Very interesting story and except for technical aspects. Weird to narrate the glossary and have it come after a somewhat anti-climactic finish after a long, slow build. Would like to have either heard that first to help with vocabulary for the book or should have read the book instead is listened.
I really like this narrator. Book is a 3 or 4 as it gets bogged down in flipping back and forth with war and world history and relating it to the person or topic at hand.
A little too much aviation technology descriptions for my taste but still interesting.
For a fan of “The Right Stuff” this is a great primer or filler to close out some biographies or flesh out who characters are in the book and in the movie. Especially Pancho Barnes.
May 20, 2020
An excellent history of the first manned flight to break the sound barrier by Dan Hampton, who is rapidly becoming the leading aviation history writer in the US. I really enjoyed the story behind the testing base at Muroc (later Edwards AFB) and the chapters describing the German experiments that led the way to swept-wing aircraft and eventually the defeat of the sound barrier.
My only complaint is that the book is a bit short - the first half of the book is entirely dedicated to a lengthy description of the WWII service and personal histories of a few key characters, while the events that took place between the end of the war and Chuck Yeager's historic flight seemed to be compressed into a few dozen pages. Throughout the book, I got the sense that Hampton wanted to emphasize the personal histories of the people involved rather than the technological innovations that led to the X-1.
Highly recommended.
My only complaint is that the book is a bit short - the first half of the book is entirely dedicated to a lengthy description of the WWII service and personal histories of a few key characters, while the events that took place between the end of the war and Chuck Yeager's historic flight seemed to be compressed into a few dozen pages. Throughout the book, I got the sense that Hampton wanted to emphasize the personal histories of the people involved rather than the technological innovations that led to the X-1.
Highly recommended.
July 5, 2024
Hard to know what to rate this one. It's an interesting book that provides an interesting sweep through some of aviation history into WWII, and then at the VERY end there's almost a coda about the sound barrier. A lot of poo-pooing it along the way that EVERYONE knew you could flew faster than sound, and it wasn't such a big deal. And at least a few people did it before Chuck Yeager, and he was just a wild cowboy and not much of a test pilot anyway. And yet this repeating them of "chasing the demon." So is it a big deal or isn't it? Just kind of odd... interesting book - just don't expect much about the Bell X-1, Chuck Yeager, or the sound barrier. It's there, but not really the main theme of the book.
July 28, 2018
I won this on Good Read
s.
At first, I was taken aback that “Chasing the Demon” by Dan Hampton was not just a snap shot of the exact time when the sound barrier was broken. Then my brain turned on and I realized that a review of the history of powered flight made a lot of sense. Dan did a great job of piecing together the personalities and events (like WWII) in a way that was entertaining and informative. An aeronautical engineer might find it simplistic, but I thought it is a great read. I’ve already recommended it to people.
s.
At first, I was taken aback that “Chasing the Demon” by Dan Hampton was not just a snap shot of the exact time when the sound barrier was broken. Then my brain turned on and I realized that a review of the history of powered flight made a lot of sense. Dan did a great job of piecing together the personalities and events (like WWII) in a way that was entertaining and informative. An aeronautical engineer might find it simplistic, but I thought it is a great read. I’ve already recommended it to people.
August 23, 2018
Wow a definite change of pace book for me!
I so enjoyed reading our aviation history concerning breaking sound barrier. The events, the challenges, the personalities, the locations. To a more learned aviation person/historian this book may not fill their bill. And smack dab in middle of the book is written out “The Truman Doctrine”. What a great reminder of what and who our nation is to the world. Washington DC men and women who mold our country’s actions daily need to revisit that document and it’s meaning.
I so enjoyed reading our aviation history concerning breaking sound barrier. The events, the challenges, the personalities, the locations. To a more learned aviation person/historian this book may not fill their bill. And smack dab in middle of the book is written out “The Truman Doctrine”. What a great reminder of what and who our nation is to the world. Washington DC men and women who mold our country’s actions daily need to revisit that document and it’s meaning.
October 21, 2018
Chasing the Demon.
A story of the quest to break the sound barrier. I do not know how many histories of that quest I have read, nor do I know how histories of flight I have read. But I’ve read a boatload of both. Each new history contains a few things I never knew, forgot and was happy to be reminded, and castigates something I’d taken as gospel.
Chasing the Demon has some of the first, a fair amount of the second, a weensy bit of the third, but I read it from front to back as if were the first time.
Fine book.
A story of the quest to break the sound barrier. I do not know how many histories of that quest I have read, nor do I know how histories of flight I have read. But I’ve read a boatload of both. Each new history contains a few things I never knew, forgot and was happy to be reminded, and castigates something I’d taken as gospel.
Chasing the Demon has some of the first, a fair amount of the second, a weensy bit of the third, but I read it from front to back as if were the first time.
Fine book.
March 26, 2023
Not sure why I even bothered finishing as it just kind of got progressively worse. I guess because it was so short I figured 'might as well'. In any case, it makes "Book that should have been an article" look like a compliment in terms of just how much pointless padding that serves no purpose bulks out what small amount of pertinent information is included. But of course, quite a few points where I do know things I knew the book to be making errors, which only adds to the side-eye about what else it might be screwing up.
Skip it.
Skip it.
October 23, 2018
I love Dan Hampton's work. The only reason I gave this three stars is that the story begins at, well, the beginning ... of flight.. and covers vast periods of flight that I am already well read on.
I was bored until it got to the post 1945 era when the efforts were stepped up.
If you aren't an aviation buff, this is a great read. If you read a lot of aviation materials, particularly World War II, you may only find ½ the book "new material" in your library.
I was bored until it got to the post 1945 era when the efforts were stepped up.
If you aren't an aviation buff, this is a great read. If you read a lot of aviation materials, particularly World War II, you may only find ½ the book "new material" in your library.
January 18, 2019
There is some historical context, but not much. Perhaps if one is an amateur pilot, this would be a great book. It lists plane models and specific adjustments to control that seem like gibberish and not really meant for a lay audience. It was honestly boring most of the time in the listing of technical specs. Wanted to like it more and loved reading about other landmark times in human flight but would not recommend this one.
March 15, 2019
While the pilots of the X-1 had the "Right Stuff", this book certainly doesn't.
The author intends to provide a description of the assault on the sonic barrier, over two thirds of the book on the history of aviation and thence World War II. Much of the volume is the author's social commentary of the twentieth century.
The author shifts between prosaic descriptions and technical descriptions of various airplanes. Only a small section describes how the sound barrier was beaten.
The author intends to provide a description of the assault on the sonic barrier, over two thirds of the book on the history of aviation and thence World War II. Much of the volume is the author's social commentary of the twentieth century.
The author shifts between prosaic descriptions and technical descriptions of various airplanes. Only a small section describes how the sound barrier was beaten.
August 16, 2019
This is an embarrassingly poorly written book. It meanders; it runs way off topic and weaves nothing together. It shares random opinions of war time global politics that do nothing for the story of the sound barrier. If you are only getting to Pancho Barnes with only 50 pages to go, you are clearly not telling the story that is intended on the cover. I'm sorry to say that this is an unfortunate, insipid, and soulless book that you should skip.
March 18, 2020
Great historical perspective on the quest to break the sound barrier - the demon. I was surprised by how much the author detailed the back story - the approach to WWII and then the desperate research to build faster and more deadly weapons, especially airplanes and rockets.
I did love how irreverent Chuck Yeager was in his test flights and the final surpassing of Mach 1 flights - he would roll and spin the X-1 when he was simply supposed to be straight and level or diving it!
I did love how irreverent Chuck Yeager was in his test flights and the final surpassing of Mach 1 flights - he would roll and spin the X-1 when he was simply supposed to be straight and level or diving it!
December 31, 2022
Ksiazka opisuje to jak doszlo do zlamania bariery dzwiekowej. Uwaza sie, ze pierwszym pilotem ktory pokonal bariere predkosci dzwieku byl Mick Yeagger lecacy samolotem firmy Bell X1. Chociaz prawdopodobne jest rowniez do iz samolot F84 byl jednak tym pierwszym samolotem ktrory pokonal predkosc dzwieku. W ksiazce sporo jest wiadomosci historyczych, opisane sa biografie pierwszych glownych pilotow oraz konstruktorow samolotow ponaddzwiekowych.
July 7, 2023
Chasing the Demon by Dan Hampton tells the story of the United States's attempts to break the sound barrier and then to make it into space. It is a far reach book in that it covers the history of flight all the way back to the Renaissance and forward. It is this wide scope that makes the book difficult to read and a slog through the minutiae of flight. Oh my. it was so tedious I couldn't finish. DNF!
Want to read
October 15, 2025Hey! I just wanted to say how much I loved your story, it was a truly amazing read. The visuals came so naturally that it felt like a cinematic experience.
I’m an artist who specializes in comic and webtoon commissions, and I couldn’t help but think of how amazing your work would look as a webtoon series. If that ever interests you, I’d be honored to bring it to life.
You can reach me on Discord (ava_crafts) or Instagram (@Evelyn) if you’d like to chat more or see examples of my work.
I’m an artist who specializes in comic and webtoon commissions, and I couldn’t help but think of how amazing your work would look as a webtoon series. If that ever interests you, I’d be honored to bring it to life.
You can reach me on Discord (ava_crafts) or Instagram (@Evelyn) if you’d like to chat more or see examples of my work.
November 23, 2018
The author states at the forward that this book is written for the common person. He's right. The subtitle of this book, "A secret history of the quest for the sound barrier and the band of American aces who conquered it", is deceptive. Approximately 10% relates to that topic--the rest is superficial history of the 20th century. If you aren't an aviation buff, then maybe this is a good read
December 11, 2022
Not sure what this book is suppose to be about, it sort of just bounces along. When we finally reach the part of breaking the sound barrier we are told "no big deal" and Chuck Yeager was really kind of daft. Seemed like author had some kind of chip on his shoulder, to bad, this book had potential.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews