Becky Aikman

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The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger during World War II Ungekürzte Lesung. 785 Min.

Sprecher: Lefkow, Laurel

Beschreibung

Bloomsbury presents Spitfires by Becky Aikman, read by Laurel Lefkow. "A bold and soaring work of history . . . whip-smart, deeply researched, and beautifully written." —Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of King: A Life "A soaring narrative."—Keith O'Brien, New York Times bestselling author of Fly Girls The heart-pounding true story of the daring American women who piloted the most dangerous aircraft of World War II through the treacherous skies of Britain. They were crop dusters and debutantes, college girls and performers in flying circuses—all of them trained as pilots. Because they were women, they were denied the opportunity to fly for their country when the United States entered the Second World War. But Great Britain, desperately fighting for survival, would let anyone—even Americans, even women—transport warplanes. Thus, twenty-five daring young aviators bolted for England in 1942, becoming the first American women to command military aircraft. In a faraway land, these "spitfires" lived like women decades ahead of their time. Risking their lives in one of the deadliest jobs of the war, they ferried new, barely tested fighters and bombers to air bases and returned shot-up wrecks for repair, never knowing what might go wrong until they were high in the sky. Many ferry pilots died in crashes or made spectacular saves. It was exciting, often terrifying work. The pilots broke new ground off duty as well, shocking their hosts with thoroughly modern behavior. With cinematic sweep, Becky Aikman follows the stories of nine of the women who served, drawing on unpublished diaries, letters, and records, along with her own interviews, to bring these forgotten heroines fully to life. Spitfires is a vivid, richly detailed account of war, ambition, and a group of remarkable women whose lives were as unconventional as their dreams.

Autor

Becky Aikman is the author of two books of narrative nonfiction: her memoir, Saturday Night Widows, and Off the Cliff: How the Making of Thelma & Louise Drove Hollywood to the Edge. A former journalist at Newsday, Aikman has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications. She lives in New York.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Erscheinungstermin: 6. Mai 2025
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781639735969
• Artikelnr.: 73198167

Rezensionen

Timely. This lively and entertaining book by journalist and author Becky Aikman tells the story of the 'Atta-Girls,' a collection of American women who, after being rejected by the U.S. military because of their gender, crossed the Atlantic to aid British forces by ferrying fighter planes, bombers and other aircraft to the male pilots in front-line squadrons. Those fearlessly determined female pilots are the professional forebears of the women who would slowly break down barriers in the U.S. military in the decades that followed . . . And what forebears those women were.