Fire and Air: A Life on the Edge

by Patty Wagstaff, Ann Lewis Cooper

Patty Wagstaff has made it to the top in aerobatics, one of the most dangerous and demanding sports in the world. Within five years of earning her pilot's license and only three years after her first aerobatic lesson, Patty earned a place on the U.S. Aerobatic Team. In less than fourteen years, she became the first woman to win the U.S. Aerobatic Championship, a feat she repeated in three consecutive years.

Today she is a favorite air show and Hollywood stunt pilot, one among a handful of elite performers. But Patty wasn't raised to succeed at anything. Her alcoholic, abusive parents sent her to an endless series of girls' schools in hopes of squelching her "wild side." As a runaway and adventurer, trouble seemed to be her destiny. Then, in Alaska, she met Bob Wagstaff, a man who encouraged her to believe that she could achieve anything she put her mind to. She found her element when he taught her to fly.

Patty is a woman with an inner fire, a drive that could have meant her destruction, but given a focus and a goal, catapulted her to the pinnacle of success.

327 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1997

Reviews

[LiteraryAviatrix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I carried this book around for over a decade before finally making it a priority to read. Patty was my teen-idol. I had posters of her on my wall, and I was fascinated to read her path to aviation, and the challenges and triumphs of becoming an aerobatic champion and aviation icon. I can't wait for the sequel to read about all of the incredible things she's accomplished since this was published.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book about a very interesting and adventurous life!