Skywritings

Roscoe Turner: Aviation's Master Showman
By Carroll V. Glines

A showman but no flimflam man, Roscoe Turner delivered on his promises: He won the Thompson Trophy three times, the Bendix Trophy once, the Harmon Trophy twice, and the Henderson Trophy three times. What you saw was an air race pilot in a ridiculous military-style costume, sporting a waxed mustache, and accompanied by a pet lion named Gilmore. What you got, however, was a kid inside the man who was forever fascinated by machines — especially fast ones like race cars and airplanes — a kid who also had a talent for self-promotion, according to author Carroll V. Glines.

Gilmore provides a thread of humor throughout this 314-page work, while Turner himself provides the entertainment. Gilmore was raised from a cub, graduating from a diet of milk to horse meat. The lion was delighted when, as an adult, he found police horses at many of the public functions Turner attended.

But the greater contribution of this latest addition to the Smithsonian History of Aviation Series is an in-the-cockpit look at air racing, sometimes described by Turner himself. What is it like to race in front of 270,000 people for prize money that means the difference between success and financial disaster? You'll find out in this well-crafted work by Glines, coauthor of I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, the autobiography of Jimmy Doolittle. Available from Smithsonian Institution Press, for $29.95 plus $3.25 shipping. Phone 800/782-4612.

All Fall Down
By Lee Gruenfeld

Lee Gruenfeld first appeared in Pilot in March 1982, when he penned a "Never Again" article about a throttle linkage problem with his rented Cessna 172, which occurred only five days after his private pilot checkride. His writing has come a long way since then.

Gruenfeld no longer toils as a computer and management consultant. His first novel, Irreparable Harm, brought him considerable attention. Now a second novel, All Fall Down, has been released in paperback by Warner Books, and the movie rights have been bought by TriStar Pictures. In it, Gruenfeld uses his knowledge of flying to create a terrifying tale of mayhem in the skies — trouble that can be traced to one very unhappy, mentally unstable airline passenger. Humanity is saved at the last second by an old fighter pilot who does what he wishes he had done years before. Nope, can't tell you any more than that.

Gruenfeld no longer flies, despite a strong lifelong interest that carried him through a commercial certificate with an instrument rating and aerobatic training. Now a California resident, he explains part of the reason: "You have to be a Ph.D. to get through the Los Angeles airspace." That, and an incident involving an icy taxiway and a large snow bank, led to a disenchantment that has kept him grounded for years. But it is obvious from All Fall Down that the interest is still there, and we are the beneficiaries. Available in bookstores for $5.99 from Warner Books.

Checklist for Success
By Cheryl A. Cage

My first impression of this easy-to-use, 100-page preparation book for the pilot job interview was, frankly, "Little book, big price." (It sells for $34.) Then I looked at the foreword by W. H. Traub, vice president of flight standards and training for United Airlines. He has 20 years of experience in hiring airline pilot candidates. Traub says, "All of the advice that I could provide is contained in this book in a very wellwritten format." On top of that, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has found the book valuable for its students.

At the request of the Air Line Pilots Association, Cage has given nearly a dozen job seminars to pilots; that training is encapsulated in this book. With 1,700 happy customers to her credit since the book was self-published eight months ago, Cage is justly proud of the service she has provided. The book concentrates on the airline interview, but Cage says candidates for instructor and corporate jobs have used it successfully, as well. Though not a pilot, Cage worked in the industry as a flight attendant and has been an aviation career consultant for many years. To order, write Cage Consulting, Post Office Box 460327, Aurora, Colorado 80046-0327 or telephone 303/693-8910.

Wings of Morning
By Thomas Childers

Reconstructing the lives of the last bomber crew to be shot down over Europe was a personal mission for University of Pennsylvania history professor Thomas Childers, because his uncle was killed in the crash. Or were the airmen killed by an angry mob after landing safely, becoming the victims of a war crime?

The book reads like fiction but was written by an historian, based on letters from World War II airmen and aided by his historical research. This is what it was like to walk in the shoes of a bomber crewman.

The question of just how the crew died after their B-24 Liberator, Black Cat, was brought down by flak has followed Childers and his family for years. There was one survivor, and his recollections greatly aided the authenticity of the book. Wings of Morning was published by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company and is available in bookstores for $23.