29 Best Aviation Books
Aviation is a popular category for many book lovers. Our team at Speechify has curated a list of the top Aviation audiobooks everyone must read.
See the top 29 Aviation audiobooks below.
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The Aviators
- By: Winston Groom
- Narrator: Robertson Dean
- Length: 17 hours 23 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2013
- Language: English
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4.36(3109 ratings)
4.36(3109 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0022.95 USDGifted storyteller Winston Groom, the bestselling author of Forrest Gump, has written the fascinating story of three extraordinary heroes who defined aviation during the great age of flight: Charles Lindbergh, Eddie Rickenbacker, and JimmyGifted storyteller Winston Groom, the bestselling author of Forrest Gump, has written the fascinating story of three extraordinary heroes who defined aviation during the great age of flight: Charles Lindbergh, Eddie Rickenbacker, and Jimmy Doolittle. These cleverly interwoven tales of their heart-stopping adventures take us from the feats of World War I through the heroism of World War II and beyond, including daring military raids and survival at sea, and will appeal to fans of Unbroken, The Greatest Generation, and Flyboys.
With the world in peril during World War II, each man set aside great success and comfort to return to the skies for his most daring mission yet. Doolittle, a brilliant aviation innovator, would lead the Tokyo Raid to retaliate for Pearl Harbor; Lindbergh, hero of the first solo flight across the Atlantic, would fly combat missions in the South Pacific; and Rickenbacker, World War I flying ace, would bravely hold his crew together while facing near-starvation and circling sharks after his plane went down in a remote part of the Pacific. Groom’s rich narrative tells the intertwined stories–from broken homes to Medals of Honor (all three would receive one), barnstorming to the greatest raid of World War II, front-page triumph to anguished tragedy, and near-death to ultimate survival–of these three men who took to the sky, time and again, to become exemplars of the spirit of the “greatest generation.”
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A Higher Call
- By: Adam Makos
- Narrator: Robertson Dean
- Length: 13 hours 22 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2013
- Language: English
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4.34(18660 ratings)
4.34(18660 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0022.95 USDA beautiful story of a brotherhood between enemies emerges from the horrors of World War II in this New York Times bestseller by the author of Devotion, now a major motion picture Four days before Christmas in 1943, a badly damaged American bomberA beautiful story of a brotherhood between enemies emerges from the horrors of World War II in this New York Times bestseller by the author of Devotion, now a major motion picture
Four days before Christmas in 1943, a badly damaged American bomber struggled to fly over wartime Germany. At its controls was a twenty-one-year-old pilot. Half his crew lay wounded or dead. It was their first mission. Suddenly a sleek, dark shape pulled up on the bomber’s tail–a German Messerschmitt fighter. Worse, the German pilot was an ace, a man able to destroy the American bomber with the squeeze of a trigger. What happened next would defy imagination and later be called the most incredible encounter between enemies in World War II.
This is the true story of the two pilots whose lives collided in the skies that day–the American, Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown, a former farm boy from West Virginia who came to captain a B-17–and the German, Second Lieutenant Franz Stigler, a former airline pilot from Bavaria who sought to avoid fighting in World War II.
A Higher Call follows both Charlie and Franz’s harrowing missions. Charlie would face takeoffs in English fog over the flaming wreckage of his buddies’ planes, flak bursts so close they would light his cockpit, and packs of enemy fighters that would circle his plane like sharks.
Franz would face sandstorms in the desert, a crash alone at sea, and the spectacle of one thousand bombers, each with eleven guns, waiting for his attack.
Ultimately, Charlie and Franz would stare across the frozen skies at one another. What happened between them, the American Eighth Air Force would later classify as top secret. It was an act that Franz could never mention without facing a firing squad.
It was the encounter that would haunt both Charlie and Franz for forty years until, as old men, they would search for one another, a last mission that could change their lives forever.
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The Flight 981 Disaster
- By: Samme Chittum
- Narrator: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 6 hours 48 minutes
- Publisher: Dreamscape Media
- Publish date: October 03, 2017
- Language: English
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4.29(61 ratings)
4.29(61 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0017.99 USDOn June 12, 1972, a powerful explosion rocked American Airlines Flight 96 a mere five minutes after its takeoff from Detroit. The explosion ripped a gaping hole in the bottom of the aircraft and jammed the hydraulic controls. Miraculously, despiteOn June 12, 1972, a powerful explosion rocked American Airlines Flight 96 a mere five minutes after its takeoff from Detroit. The explosion ripped a gaping hole in the bottom of the aircraft and jammed the hydraulic controls. Miraculously, despite the damage and ensuing chaos, the pilots were able to land the plane safely. Less than two years later, on March 3, 1974, a sudden, forceful blowout tore through Turk Hava Yollari (THY) Flight 981 from Paris to London. THY Flight 981 was not as lucky as Flight 96: it crashed in a forest in France, and none of the 346 people onboard survived. What caused the mysterious explosions? Were they linked? Could they have been prevented? This book addresses those questions and more, offering a fascinating look at the two dramatic aviation disasters.
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Into the Black
- By: Rowland White
- Narrator: Eric Meyers
- Length: 15 hours 51 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2016
- Language: English
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4.29(804 ratings)
4.29(804 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0023.99 USDA book “no aviation buff will want to miss” (The Wall Street Journal) and “the perfect tale that educates as it entertains” (Clive Cussler, #1 bestselling author), Into the Black recaptures the historic moments leading up toA book “no aviation buff will want to miss” (The Wall Street Journal) and “the perfect tale that educates as it entertains” (Clive Cussler, #1 bestselling author), Into the Black recaptures the historic moments leading up to and the exciting story of the astronauts who flew the daring maiden flight of the space shuttle Columbia.
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Using interviews, NASA oral histories, and recently declassified material, Into the Black pieces together the dramatic untold story of the Columbia mission and the brave people who dedicated themselves to help the United States succeed in the age of space exploration. On April 12, 1981, NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral. It was the most advanced, state-of-the-art flying machine ever built, challenging the minds and imagination of America’s top engineers and pilots. Columbia was the world’s first real spaceship: a winged rocket plane, the size of an airliner, and capable of flying to space and back before preparing to fly again.
On board were moonwalker John Young and test pilot Bob Crippen. Less than an hour after Young and Crippen’s spectacular departure from the Cape, all was not well. Tiles designed to protect the ship from the blowtorch burn of re-entry were missing from the heat shield. If the damage to Columbia was too great, the astronauts wouldn’t be able to return safely to earth. NASA turned to the National Reconnaissance Office, a spy agency hidden deep inside the Pentagon whose very existence was classified. To help the ship, the NRO would attempt something never done before. Success would require skill, perfect timing, and luck.
Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, Into the Black is a thrilling race against time and the incredible true story of the first space shuttle mission that celebrates our passion for spaceflight. -
Soaring in Style
- By: Jennifer Lane Wilson
- Narrator: Elise Arsenault
- Length: 15 minutes
- Publisher: Dreamscape Media
- Publish date: April 12, 2022
- Language: English
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4.28(88 ratings)
4.28(88 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.009.99 USDLong before Amelia Earhart became a superstar, she was a girl who longed to touch the stars. But the dresses women had to wear at the time made those dreams seem almost impossible. Amelia didn’t let that stop her. As a young aviator breakingLong before Amelia Earhart became a superstar, she was a girl who longed to touch the stars. But the dresses women had to wear at the time made those dreams seem almost impossible. Amelia didn’t let that stop her. As a young aviator breaking records and expectations, she learned to fly her plane with flair. Later, she dared to create a trendsetting fashion line for active women like herself. Soaring in Style tells the groundbreaking story of how Amelia Earhart defied expectations in the air and on the ground to become America’s first celebrity fashion designer.
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Hell’s Angels
- By: Jay A. Stout
- Narrator: Robertson Dean
- Length: 14 hours 2 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2015
- Language: English
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4.21(280 ratings)
4.21(280 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0022.95 USDDuring the air battles that destroyed Nazi Germany’s ability to wage war, one bomb group was especially distinguished. The Hell’s Angels. At the outbreak of World War II, the United States was in no way prepared to wage war. Although theDuring the air battles that destroyed Nazi Germany’s ability to wage war, one bomb group was especially distinguished.
The Hell’s Angels.
At the outbreak of World War II, the United States was in no way prepared to wage war. Although the US declared war against Germany in December 1941, the country lacked the manpower, the equipment, and the experience it needed to fight. Even had an invasion force been ready, a successful assault on Nazi-occupied Europe could not happen until Germany’s industrial and military might were crippled.
Because no invasion could happen without air superiority, the first target was the Luftwaffe–the most powerful and battle-hardened air force in the world. To this end, the United States Army Air Forces joined with Great Britain’s already-engaged Royal Air Force to launch a strategic air campaign that ultimately brought the Luftwaffe to its knees. One of the standout units of this campaign was the legendary 303rd Bomb Group–a.k.a. Hell’s Angels.
This is the 303rd’s story, as told by the men who made it what it was. Taking their name from their B-17 of the same name, they became one of the most distinguished and important air combat units in history. The dramatic and terrible air battles they fought against Germany changed the course of the war.
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Operation Vengeance
- By: Dan Hampton
- Narrator: John Pruden
- Length: 11 hours 39 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: August 11, 2020
- Language: English
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4.2(184 ratings)
4.2(184 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0026.99 USDThe New York Times bestselling author of Viper Pilot delivers an electrifying narrative account of the top-secret U.S. mission to kill Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese commander who masterminded Pearl Harbor. “Operation Vengeance is colorful,The New York Times bestselling author of Viper Pilot delivers an electrifying narrative account of the top-secret U.S. mission to kill Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese commander who masterminded Pearl Harbor.
“Operation Vengeance is colorful, intimate, eye-popping history, delivered at a breakneck pace. I loved it.” -Lynn Vincent
In 1943, the United States military began to plan one of the most dramatic secret missions of World War II. Its code name was Operation Vengeance. Naval Intelligence had intercepted the itinerary of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, whose stealth attack on Pearl Harbor precipitated America’s entry into the war. Harvard-educated, Yamamoto was a close confidant of Emperor Hirohito and a brilliant tactician who epitomized Japanese military might. On April 18th, the U.S. discovered, he would travel to Rabaul in the South Pacific to visit Japanese troops, then fly to the Japanese airfield at Balalale, 400 miles to the southeast.
Set into motion, the Americans’ plan was one of the most tactically difficult operations of the war. To avoid detection, U.S. pilots had to embark on a circuitous, 1,000-mile odyssey that would test not only their skills but the physical integrity of their planes. The timing was also crucial: the slightest miscalculation, even by a few minutes–or a delay on the famously punctual Yamamoto’s end–meant the entire plan would collapse, endangering American lives. But if these remarkable pilots succeeded, they could help turn the tide of the war–and greatly boost Allied morale.
Informed by deep archival research and his experience as a decorated combat pilot, Operation Vengeance focuses on the mission’s pilots and recreates the moment-by-moment drama they experienced in the air. Hampton recreates this epic event in thrilling detail, and provides groundbreaking evidence about what really happened that day.
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Amelia Earhart Is on the Moon?
- By: Dan Gutman
- Narrator: Tyla Collier
- Length: 1 hours 16 minutes
- Publisher: Dreamscape Media
- Publish date: September 14, 2021
- Language: English
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4.19(28 ratings)
4.19(28 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0017.99 USDDid you know that Amelia Earhart loved heights so much she built a roller coaster in her backyard? Or that she used to race worms with her sister? Bet you didn’t know that she took photographs of garbage cans to pay for flying lessons!Did you know that Amelia Earhart loved heights so much she built a roller coaster in her backyard? Or that she used to race worms with her sister? Bet you didn’t know that she took photographs of garbage cans to pay for flying lessons! Siblings Paige and Turner do?and they’ve collected some of the most unusual and surprising facts about the legendary pilot, from her childhood in the rural Midwest and the spark of her passion for flying to her record-smashing flights and her infamous disappearance over the Pacific Ocean. Narrated by the two spirited siblings, Amelia Earhart Is on the Moon? is an authoritative, accessible, and one-of-a-kind biography infused with Dan Gutman’s signature zany sense of humor.
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Highest Duty
- By: Chesley B. Sullenberger
- Narrator: Michael McConnohie
- Length: 8 hours 44 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: October 13, 2009
- Language: English
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4.18(2237 ratings)
4.18(2237 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.99 USDNow a major motion picture from Clint Eastwood, starring Tom Hanks–the inspirational autobiography by one of the most captivating American heroes of our time, Capt. ‘Sully’ Sullenberger–the pilot who miraculously landed aNow a major motion picture from Clint Eastwood, starring Tom Hanks–the inspirational autobiography by one of the most captivating American heroes of our time, Capt. ‘Sully’ Sullenberger–the pilot who miraculously landed a crippled US Airways Flight 1549 in New York’s Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 passengers and crew.
On January 15, 2009, the world witnessed a remarkable emergency landing when Captain “Sully” Sullenberger skillfully glided US Airways Flight 1549 onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 passengers and crew. His cool actions not only averted tragedy but made him a hero and an inspiration worldwide. His story is now a major motion picture from director / producer Clint Eastwood and stars Tom Hanks, Laura Linney and Aaron Eckhart.
Sully’s story is one of dedication, hope, and preparedness, revealing the important lessons he learned through his life, in his military service, and in his work as an airline pilot. It reminds us all that, even in these days of conflict, tragedy and uncertainty, there are values still worth fighting for–that life’s challenges can be met if we’re ready for them.
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West with the Night
- By: Beryl Markham
- Narrator: Julie Harris
- Length: 9 hours 11 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2013
- Language: English
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4.14(30472 ratings)
4.14(30472 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0025.95 USDThe dramatic true story of a remarkable woman growing up in Africa in the 1920s: the excitement of big game hunting and horse training, and the first solo flight across the Atlantic from east to west. It’s named one of the ten greatestThe dramatic true story of a remarkable woman growing up in Africa in the 1920s: the excitement of big game hunting and horse training, and the first solo flight across the Atlantic from east to west. It’s named one of the ten greatest adventure books of all time, as selected by a panel assembled by National Geographic Adventure.
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West with the Night
- By: Beryl Markham
- Narrator: Anna Fields
- Length: 8 hours 57 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2005
- Language: English
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4.14(30472 ratings)
4.14(30472 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.95 USDThis beautifully written autobiography brings us the remarkable life story of Beryl Markham, the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west. Brought up on a farm in Kenya, Markham chose to stay in Africa when, at seventeen, herThis beautifully written autobiography brings us the remarkable life story of Beryl Markham, the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west. Brought up on a farm in Kenya, Markham chose to stay in Africa when, at seventeen, her father lost their farm and went to Peru. She began an apprenticeship as a racehorse trainer which turned into a highly successful career. In her twenties, Markham gave up horses for airplanes and became the first woman in East Africa to be granted a commercial pilot’s license, piloting passengers and supplies in a small plane to remote corners of Africa.
As rich and inspiring as when it was first written, West with the Night captures the spirit of a true pioneer woman.
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Deadly Sky (2016 Re-issue)
- By: John C. McManus
- Narrator: John C. McManus
- Length: 17 hours 8 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: August 02, 2016
- Language: English
Regular Price:Try for $0.0029.99 USDIn this book, WWII airmen of all ranks candidly speak on all aspects of their experiences–the missions and the planes they flew; their enemies; the places they saw and people they met; their morale, fears, and leadership; and the aerialIn this book, WWII airmen of all ranks candidly speak on all aspects of their experiences–the missions and the planes they flew; their enemies; the places they saw and people they met; their morale, fears, and leadership; and the aerial brotherhood that sustained them.
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Soaring to Glory
- By: Philip Handleman
- Narrator: Arthur Morey
- Length: 7 hours 43 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2019
- Language: English
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4.11(114 ratings)
4.11(114 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.95 USDThe valiant fight for freedom in the air and dignity on the ground He had to sit in a segregated rail car on the journey to Army basic training in Mississippi in 1943. But two years later, the twenty-year-old African American from New York was atThe valiant fight for freedom in the air and dignity on the ground
He had to sit in a segregated rail car on the journey to Army basic training in Mississippi in 1943. But two years later, the twenty-year-old African American from New York was at the controls of a P-51, prowling for Luftwaffe aircraft at five thousand feet over the Austrian countryside. By the end of World War II, he had done something that nobody could take away from him:
He had become an American hero.
This is the remarkable true story of Lt. Col. Harry Stewart Jr, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. Award-winning aviation writer Philip Handleman recreates the harrowing action and heart-pounding drama of Stewart’s combat missions, including the legendary mission in which Stewart downed three enemy fighters.
Soaring to Glory also reveals the cruel injustices Stewart and his fellow Tuskegee Airmen faced during their wartime service and upon return home after the war. Stewart’s heroism was not celebrated as it should have been in postwar America–but now, his boundless courage and determination will never be forgotten.
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Moon’s First Friends
- By: Susanna Leonard Hill
- Narrator: Jayme Mattler
- Length: 20 minutes
- Publisher: Dreamscape Media
- Publish date: September 24, 2020
- Language: English
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4.11(366 ratings)
4.11(366 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.009.99 USDFrom high up in the sky, the Moon has spent her whole life watching Earth and hoping for someone to visit. Dinosaurs roam, pyramids are built, and boats are made, but still, no one comes. Will friends ever come to visit her? One day a spaceshipFrom high up in the sky, the Moon has spent her whole life watching Earth and hoping for someone to visit. Dinosaurs roam, pyramids are built, and boats are made, but still, no one comes. Will friends ever come to visit her? One day a spaceship soars from Earth…and so does her heart. This bestselling story celebrates the extraordinary fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing!
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The Fight in the Clouds
- By: James P. Busha
- Narrator: Adam Grupper
- Length: 8 hours 32 minutes
- Publisher: Harvard Common Press
- Publish date: September 06, 2022
- Language: English
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4.09(50 ratings)
4.09(50 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0026.98 USDGet as close as you’ll get to a World War II–era P-51 Mustang without flying one yourself with this spellbinding collection of tales from the men who actually flew the planes into war. The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang firstGet as close as you’ll get to a World War II–era P-51 Mustang without flying one yourself with this spellbinding collection of tales from the men who actually flew the planes into war.
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang first started appearing in real numbers in 1943, at the climax of the Allied campaign in World War II. Able to fly long ranges, it was the perfect escort, keeping bombers protected all the way from Allied bases in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific to a variety of Axis industrial targets and military installations and back. The Mustang would go on to provide pivotal air support on D-Day, and by the end of the war, the P-51 would be responsible for nearly half of all enemy aircraft shot down.
In The Fight in the Clouds, aviation writer and EAA Warbirds of America editor James P. Busha draws on interviews conducted with dozens of veteran P-51 pilots to trace the progress of war through the men’s exciting, chronologically organized experiences. You’ll encounter:
- Mustangs tangling with Soviet-built Yaks
- A Mustang ace shooting down an Me 262 Stormbird
- An epic long-range battle over the Pacific Ocean
- And a score of other riveting accounts underscoring the P-51’s versatility and its vital importance to the Allied victory
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Bolstered by Busha’s own commentary and historical analysis, The Fight in the Clouds offers a cockpit-seat view of one of WWII’s most celebrated aircraft and the men who bravely flew it into harm’s way. -
The Kamikaze Hunters
- By: Will Iredale
- Narrator: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 12 hours 58 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2016
- Language: English
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4.08(138 ratings)
4.08(138 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0022.95 USDThe Sunday Times of London top-ten bestseller from Will Iredale In May 1945, with victory in Europe established, the war was all but over. But on the other side of the world, the Allies were still engaged in a bitter struggle to control the Pacific.The Sunday Times of London top-ten bestseller from Will Iredale
In May 1945, with victory in Europe established, the war was all but over. But on the other side of the world, the Allies were still engaged in a bitter struggle to control the Pacific. And it was then that the Japanese unleashed a terrible new form of warfare: the suicide pilots, or kamikaze.
Drawing on meticulous research and unique personal access to the remaining survivors, Will Iredale follows a group of young men from the moment they joined up, on through their initial training, and to the final, terrifying reality of fighting against pilots who, in the cruel last summer of the war, chose death rather than risk their country’s dishonorable defeat and deliberately flew their planes into Allied aircraft carriers. A story of courage, valor, and dogged determination, The Kamikaze Hunters is a gripping account of how a few brave young men helped to ensure lasting peace.
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Those Who Fall
- By: John Muirhead
- Narrator: Robertson Dean
- Length: 10 hours 53 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2017
- Language: English
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4.07(83 ratings)
4.07(83 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0022.95 USDAs a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber pilot, John Muirhead led missions into northern Italy, Germany, and Bulgaria during World War II. Ultimately, he was shot down and taken prisoner. John Muirhead’s re-creation of those years is a breathtakingAs a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber pilot, John Muirhead led missions into northern Italy, Germany, and Bulgaria during World War II. Ultimately, he was shot down and taken prisoner.
John Muirhead’s re-creation of those years is a breathtaking mingling of ravaging horrors and silent, surreal images; of raw, tumultuous memory and elegantly paced narrative; of lightening humor and measured reflection.
Seldom has a reader been made to feel terror so viscerally. Rarely has a reader ascended the skies so thrillingly. And never has one felt so close to the numbing fear, the boredom, the eerie beauty, and the dislocated sensibilities of war in the air as in Those Who Fall.
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No Greater Valor
- By: Jerome Corsi
- Length: 11 hours 48 minutes
- Publisher: Thomas Nelson
- Publish date: November 18, 2014
- Language: English
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4.06(126 ratings)
4.06(126 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0027.99 USDJerome Corsi’s newest opus, No Greater Valor, examines the Siege of Bastogne—one of the most heroic victories of WWII—with a focus on the surprising faith of the Americans who fought there. In December of 1944, an outmanned,Jerome Corsi’s newest opus, No Greater Valor, examines the Siege of Bastogne—one of the most heroic victories of WWII—with a focus on the surprising faith of the Americans who fought there.
In December of 1944, an outmanned, outgunned, and surrounded US force fought Hitler’s overwhelming Panzer divisions to a miraculous standstill at Bastogne. The underdogs had saved the war for the Allies. It was nothing short of miraculous.
Corsi’s analysis is based on a record of oral histories along with original field maps used by field commanders, battle orders, and other documentation made at the time of the military command. With a perspective gleaned from newspapers, periodicals, and newsreels of the day, Corsi paints a riveting portrait of one of the most important battles in world history.
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To Conquer the Air
- By: James Tobin
- Narrator: Boyd Gaines
- Length: 6 hours 13 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2003
- Language: English
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4.05(279 ratings)
4.05(279 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0015.95 USDJames Tobin, award-winning author of Ernie Pyle’s War and The Man He Became, has penned the definitive account of the inspiring and impassioned race between the Wright brothers and their primary rival Samuel Langley across ten years and twoJames Tobin, award-winning author of Ernie Pyle’s War and The Man He Became, has penned the definitive account of the inspiring and impassioned race between the Wright brothers and their primary rival Samuel Langley across ten years and two continents to conquer the air.
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For years, Wilbur Wright and his younger brother, Orville, experimented in obscurity, supported only by their exceptional family. Meanwhile, the world watched as Samuel Langley, armed with a contract from the US War Department and all the resources of the Smithsonian Institution, sought to create the first manned flying machine. But while Langley saw flight as a problem of power, the Wrights saw a problem of balance. Thus their machines took two very different paths—Langley’s toward oblivion, the Wrights’ toward the heavens—though not before facing countless other obstacles. With a historian’s accuracy and a novelist’s eye, Tobin has captured an extraordinary moment in history. To Conquer the Air is itself a heroic achievement. -
The Wright Brothers
- By: Ben Thompson
- Length: 1 hours 17 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: December 07, 2018
- Language: English
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4.05(58 ratings)
4.05(58 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.008.99 USDA hilarious nonfiction look at two of history’s most epic “failures”: the Wright brothers, whose countless crashes ultimately led to groundbreaking success. Although Orville and Wilbur Wright are celebrated today as heroes forA hilarious nonfiction look at two of history’s most epic “failures”: the Wright brothers, whose countless crashes ultimately led to groundbreaking success. Although Orville and Wilbur Wright are celebrated today as heroes for their revolutionary contributions to science and engineering?they are acknowledged as the first men to successfully achieve powered, piloted flight?their success was hard-earned. (Spoiler alert: there were a lot of nosedives involved.) In fact, it took the self-taught engineers years of work and dozens of crashes before they managed a single twelve-second flight! In this first installment of the brand new Epic Fails series, Ben Thompson and Erik Slader take readers through the Wright brothers’ many mishaps and misadventures as they paved the way for modern aviation. The Epic Fails series takes a humorous and unexpected view of history, exploring the surprising stories behind a variety of groundbreaking discoveries, voyages, experiments, and innovations, illustrating how many of mankind’s biggest successes are in fact the result of some pretty epic failures.
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Enduring Courage: Ace Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker and the Dawn of the Age of Speed
- By: John F. Ross
- Narrator: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 13 hours 36 minutes
- Publisher: Macmillan Audio
- Publish date: May 13, 2014
- Language: English
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4.05(367 ratings)
4.05(367 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0026.99 USDThe sensational true story of Eddie Rickenbacker, America’s greatest flying ace At the turn of the twentieth century two new technologies–the car and airplane–took the nation’s imagination by storm as they burst, like comets,The sensational true story of Eddie Rickenbacker, America’s greatest flying ace
At the turn of the twentieth century two new technologies–the car and airplane–took the nation’s imagination by storm as they burst, like comets, into American life. The brave souls that leaped into these dangerous contraptions and pushed them to unexplored extremes became new American heroes: the race car driver and the flying ace.
No individual did more to create and intensify these raw new roles than the tall, gangly Eddie Rickenbacker, who defied death over and over with such courage and pluck that a generation of Americans came to know his face better than the president’s. The son of poor, German-speaking Swiss immigrants in Columbus, Ohio, Rickenbacker overcame the specter of his father’s violent death, a debilitating handicap, and, later, accusations of being a German spy, to become the American military ace of aces in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient. He and his high-spirited, all-too-short-lived pilot comrades, created a new kind of aviation warfare, as they pushed their machines to the edge of destruction–and often over it–without parachutes, radios, or radar.
Enduring Courage is the electrifying story of the beginning of America’s love affair with speed–and how one man above all the rest showed a nation the way forward. No simple daredevil, he was an innovator on the racetrack, a skilled aerial dualist and squadron commander, and founder of Eastern Air Lines. Decades after his heroics against the Red Baron’s Flying Circus, he again showed a war-weary nation what it took to survive against nearly insurmountable odds when he and seven others endured a harrowing three-week ordeal adrift without food or water in the Pacific during World War II.
For the first time, Enduring Courage peels back the layers of hero to reveal the man himself. With impeccable research and a gripping narrative, John F. Ross tells the unforgettable story of a man who pushed the limits of speed, endurance and courage and emerged as an American legend.
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Flying Free
- By: Karyn Parsons
- Narrator: Karyn Parsons
- Length: 16 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: December 07, 2021
- Language: English
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4.03(116 ratings)
4.03(116 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.004.98 USDBased on Karyn Parson’s critically acclaimed Sweet Blackberry video series comes the story of Bessie Coleman, the first African American female to earn her pilot’s license.Before Bessie Coleman blazed a high trail with her plane . . .Based on Karyn Parson’s critically acclaimed Sweet Blackberry video series comes the story of Bessie Coleman, the first African American female to earn her pilot’s license.
... Read moreBefore Bessie Coleman blazed a high trail with her plane . . . Before she performed in death-defying flying shows that would earn her fame as “Queen Bess” . . . Before she traveled the country speaking out against discrimination, Bessie was a little girl with a big imagination that took her to the sky, through the clouds, and past the birds.Knocking down barriers one by one, Bessie endured racism and grueling training to become the first black female pilot and an inspiration to Mae Jemison, Josephine Baker, and many more influential people of color for years to come. -
Masters of the Air
- By: Donald L. Miller
- Narrator: Robertson Dean
- Length: 25 hours 15 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2011
- Language: English
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4.01(4074 ratings)
4.01(4074 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0029.95 USDMasters of the Air is the deeply personal story of the American bomber boys in World War II who brought the war to Hitler’s doorstep. With the narrative power of fiction, Donald Miller takes listeners on a harrowing ride through theMasters of the Air is the deeply personal story of the American bomber boys in World War II who brought the war to Hitler’s doorstep. With the narrative power of fiction, Donald Miller takes listeners on a harrowing ride through the fire-filled skies over Berlin, Hanover, and Dresden and describes the terrible cost of bombing for the German people.
Fighting at twenty-five thousand feet in thin, freezing air that no warriors had ever encountered before, bomber crews battled new kinds of assaults on body and mind. Air combat was deadly but intermittent: periods of inactivity and anxiety were followed by short bursts of fire and fear. Unlike infantrymen, bomber boys slept on clean sheets, drank beer in local pubs, and danced to the swing music of Glenn Miller’s Air Force Band, which toured US air bases in England. But they had a much greater chance of dying than ground soldiers. In 1943 an American bomber crewman stood only a one-in-five chance of surviving his tour of duty, twenty-five missions. The Eighth Air Force lost more men in the war than the US Marine Corps.
The bomber crews were an elite group of warriors and a microcosm of America—white America, anyway; African Americans could not serve in the Eighth Air Force except in a support capacity. Actor Jimmy Stewart was a bomber boy, and so was the “King of Hollywood,” Clark Gable. And the air war was filmed by Oscar-winning director William Wyler and covered by reporters like Andy Rooney and Walter Cronkite, all of whom flew combat missions with the men. The Anglo-American bombing campaign against Nazi Germany was the longest military campaign of World War II, a war within a war. Until Allied soldiers crossed into Germany in the final months of the war, it was the only battle fought inside the German homeland.
Strategic bombing did not win the war, but the war could not have been won without it. American airpower destroyed the rail facilities and oil refineries that supplied the German war machine. The bombing campaign was a shared enterprise: the British flew under the cover of night, while American bombers attacked by day—a technique that British commanders thought was suicidal.
Masters of the Air is a story, as well, of life in wartime England and in the German prison camps, where tens of thousands of airmen spent part of the war. It ends with a vivid description of the grisly hunger marches that captured airmen were forced to make near the end of the war through the country their bombs destroyed.
Drawn from recent interviews, oral histories, and American, British, German, and other archives, Masters of the Air is an authoritative, deeply moving account of the world’s first and only bomber war.
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A Patriot’s Calling
- By: Lt Colonel Dan Rooney
- Narrator: Lt Colonel Dan Rooney
- Length: 4 hours 59 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: February 25, 2020
- Language: English
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4(76 ratings)
4(76 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0018.99 USDA decorated fighter pilot and PGA professional tells the story of his life and service–to both his nation and others–in this remarkable memoir that is a stirring record of faith, patriotism, family, philanthropy, and golf. What does itA decorated fighter pilot and PGA professional tells the story of his life and service–to both his nation and others–in this remarkable memoir that is a stirring record of faith, patriotism, family, philanthropy, and golf.
What does it mean to be a patriot? For Oklahoma native Dan Rooney, it is someone who not only puts his life on the line for country, but who opens his heart and mind and seeks to build a life that embodies the purest and most concentrated essence of himself. For many, Rooney is the model of a patriot: as an Air Force pilot who deployed to Iraq, serving three tours of duty; as a professional golfer who established a nonprofit foundation awarding thousands of scholarships to the children of fallen and disabled veterans; as the father of five daughters; as a man of faith, whose copilot, both in the skies and on the ground, has always been God.
A Patriot’s Calling is his autobiographical journey through some of the most character-defining moments of his awe-inducing life and career. “On my third tour of duty in Iraq as F -16 fighter pilot, I felt a powerful calling from God to share the miraculous fusion of people and experiences uniquely placed along my journey. During my reflection, I began to understand how the forces of synchronicity had shaped my life. Synchronicity, or, as I like to call it, ‘chance with a purpose,’ is all around us. These encounters with God’s messengers are the sign-posts along the road of life guiding us toward our essence.” A Patriot’s Calling illuminates Rooney’s true essence–and offers guidance and inspiration for us all.
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When Tigers Ruled the Sky
- By: Bill Yenne
- Narrator: Bill Yenne
- Length: 12 hours 4 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: July 05, 2016
- Language: English
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3.97(56 ratings)
3.97(56 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.99 USDFrom the acclaimed author of Hit the Target and Big Week, an in-depth account of the legendary World War II combat group, the Flying Tigers. In 1940, Pearl Harbor had not yet happened, and America was not yet at war with Japan. But China had beenFrom the acclaimed author of Hit the Target and Big Week, an in-depth account of the legendary World War II combat group, the Flying Tigers. In 1940, Pearl Harbor had not yet happened, and America was not yet at war with Japan. But China had been trying to stave off Japanese aggression for three years-and was desperate for aircraft and trained combat pilots. General Chiang Kai-shek sent military aviation advisor Claire Chennault to Washington, where President Roosevelt was sympathetic, but knew he could not intervene overtly. Instead, he quietly helped Chennault put together a group of American volunteer pilots. This was how the 1st American Volunteer Group-more commonly known as the Flying Tigers-was born. With the trademark smiling shark jaws on their P-40 fighters, these Army, Navy and Marine pilots became a sensation as they fought for the Chinese. Those who initially doubted them were eventually in awe as they persevered over Rangoon despite being outnumbered 14-1 by Japanese aircraft; as they were described by Madame Chiang Kai-shek as her “little angels” and by a Chinese foreign minister as “the soundest investment China ever made”; and as they ultimately destroyed hundreds of Japanese planes while losing only a dozen of their own in combat. Two of their veterans would later earn the Medal of Honor-and as a group, the Flying Tigers managed to rack up a better record than any other air wing in the Pacific theater. When Tigers Ruled the Sky is a thrilling and triumphant account of their courage and their legacy.
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Dogfight over Tokyo
- By: John Wukovits
- Narrator: Peter Ganim
- Length: 10 hours 21 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: August 27, 2019
- Language: English
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3.96(68 ratings)
3.96(68 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0025.98 USDFrom an expert in the Pacific theater of World War II comes the tragic story of the pilots who fought the last fight of the war during the first hour of peaceWhen Billy Hobbs and his fellow Hellcat aviators from Air Group 88 lifted off from theFrom an expert in the Pacific theater of World War II comes the tragic story of the pilots who fought the last fight of the war during the first hour of peace... Read more
When Billy Hobbs and his fellow Hellcat aviators from Air Group 88 lifted off from the venerable Navy carrier USS Yorktown early on the morning of August 15, 1945, they had no idea they were about to carry out the final air mission of World War II. Two hours later, Yorktown received word from Admiral Nimitz that the war had ended and that all offensive operations should cease. As they were turning back, twenty Japanese planes suddenly dove from the sky above them and began a ferocious attack. Four American pilots never returned–men who had lifted off from the carrier in wartime but were shot down during peacetime.
Drawing on participant letters, diaries, and interviews, newspaper and radio accounts, and previously untapped archival records, historian and prolific author of acclaimed Pacific theater books, including Tin Can Titans and Hell from the Heavens, John Wukovits tells the story of Air Group 88’s pilots and crew through their eyes. Dogfight over Tokyo is written in the same riveting, edge-of-your-seat style that has made Wukovits’s previous books so successful. This is a stirring, one-of-a-kind tale of naval encounters and the last dogfight of the war–a story that is both inspirational and tragic. -
Fly Girls
- By: Keith O’Brien
- Length: 5 hours 16 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: March 26, 2019
- Language: English
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3.92(5683 ratings)
3.92(5683 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0015.99 USDThe untold story of five women who fought to compete against men in the high-stakes national air races of the 1920s and 1930s – and won Between the world wars, no sport was more popular, or more dangerous, than airplane racing. Thousands ofThe untold story of five women who fought to compete against men in the high-stakes national air races of the 1920s and 1930s – and won Between the world wars, no sport was more popular, or more dangerous, than airplane racing. Thousands of fans flocked to multi-day events, and cities vied with one another to host them. The pilots themselves were hailed as dashing heroes who cheerfully stared death in the face. Well, the men were hailed. Female pilots were more often ridiculed than praised for what the press portrayed as silly efforts to horn in on a manly, and deadly, pursuit. Fly Girls recounts how a cadre of women banded together to break the original glass ceiling: the entrenched prejudice that conspired to keep them out of the sky. O’Brien weaves together the stories of five remarkable women: Florence Klingensmith, a high-school dropout who worked for a dry cleaner in Fargo, North Dakota; Ruth Elder, an Alabama divorcee; Amelia Earhart, the most famous, but not necessarily the most skilled; Ruth Nichols, who chafed at the constraints of her blue-blood family’s expectations; and Louise Thaden, the mother of two young kids who got her start selling coal in Wichita. Together, they fought for the chance to race against the men – and in 1936 one of them would triumph in the toughest race of all. Like Hidden Figures and Girls of Atomic City, Fly Girls celebrates a little-known slice of history in which tenacious, trail-blazing women braved all obstacles to achieve greatness.
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East to the Dawn
- By: Susan Butler
- Narrator: Anna Fields
- Length: 18 hours 41 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2005
- Language: English
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3.92(781 ratings)
3.92(781 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0031.95 USDAmelia Earhart captured the hearts of the nation after becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1928–and her disappearance on an around-the-world flight in 1937 is an enduring mystery. The image we have of Amelia EarhartAmelia Earhart captured the hearts of the nation after becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1928–and her disappearance on an around-the-world flight in 1937 is an enduring mystery.
The image we have of Amelia Earhart today–a tousle-haired, androgynous flier clad in shirt, silk scarf, leather jacket, and goggles–is only one of her many personas, most of which have been lost to us over time. Through years of research and interviews with many of the surviving people who knew Amelia, Susan Butler has recreated a remarkably vivid and multifaceted portrait of this enigmatic figure. Listeners will experience Amelia in all her permutations: not just as a pilot but also as an educator, a social worker, a lecturer, a businesswoman, and a tireless promoter of women’s rights. We experience a remarkably energetic and enterprising woman who battled incredible odds to achieve her fame, succeeded beyond her wildest dreams, and yet never lost sight of her beginnings, ensuring that her success would secure a path for women after her.
This richly textured biography is the perfect complement to the 2009 filmAmelia, starring Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, and Ewan McGregor.
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Birdmen
- By: Lawrence Goldstone
- Narrator: Lawrence Goldstone
- Length: 14 hours 44 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: May 06, 2014
- Language: English
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3.88(476 ratings)
3.88(476 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.99 USDWilbur and Orville Wright are two of the greatest innovators in history, and together they solved the centuries-old riddle of powered, heavier-than-air flight. Glenn Hammond Curtiss was the most talented machinist of his day; he first became theWilbur and Orville Wright are two of the greatest innovators in history, and together they solved the centuries-old riddle of powered, heavier-than-air flight. Glenn Hammond Curtiss was the most talented machinist of his day; he first became the fastest man alive when he perfected the motorcycle, then turned his eyes toward the skies to become the fastest man aloft. But between the Wrights and Curtiss bloomed a poisonous rivalry and a patent war so powerful that it shaped aviation in its early years and drove one of the three men to his grave. Birdmen is at once a thrilling ride through flight’s wild early years and a surprising look at the battle that defined an era of American innovation. Lawrence Goldstone is the author or co-author of fourteen books of fiction and nonfiction, most recently LEFTY: An American Odyssey. His work has been profiled in the New York Times, The Toronto Star, Salon, and Slate, among others. He lives on Long Island with his wife and daughter.
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Cliff Weitzman
Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.
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