Trailblazer
'Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars'
From her triumphs as the first woman to command an American space mission and the first to pilot a space shuttle, to her early years as one of the U.S. Air Force’s first female pilots, Eileen Collins is an aviation pioneer. Now, she is telling her story. It is a story of achievement and overcoming obstacles and of personal transformation. The shy, quiet child of an alcoholic father and struggling single mother, who grew up in modest circumstances and was an unremarkable student, Collins had few prospects when she graduated from high school, but she changed her life to pursue her secret dream of becoming an astronaut. She shares her leadership and life lessons in her book with the goal of inspiring and passing on her legacy to a new generation.
PRICE: $27.99
amazon.com
Space traveler
'Higher Faster Longer'
Since she was a little girl in a Superman cape jumping off the family barn and stargazing from the slopes of Taos Mountain, Wally Funk has kept going higher, faster, longer. Her most recent trip into space with Jeff Bezos in Blue Origin’s New Shepard is just another of Funk’s amazing stories. The oldest space traveler has taught thousands to fly, achieved many firsts for women, and traveled the world—and beyond. “I never stopped pursuing spaceflight, but I didn’t have blinders on. All of my adult life I have been a passionate flying instructor, and I’ve had a wonderful career in aviation. I even broke a couple of glass ceilings for women along the way. Let me tell you how it happened.”
PRICE: $17.99
amazon.com
Groundbreakers
'Wings of Gold: The Story of the First Women Naval Aviators'
Beverly Weintraub is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and instrument-rated private pilot. She has written the story of Capt. Rosemary Mariner, groundbreaking Navy jet pilot, inspiring commander, determined and dedicated leader. Mariner and the five graduates from the inaugural group of female Naval Aviators in 1972 had impressive achievements—and firsts: first woman to fly a tactical jet aircraft; first woman to command an aviation squadron; first female Hurricane Hunter; first pregnant Navy pilot; and plaintiff in a federal lawsuit that overturned limits on women’s ability to fulfill their military duty. These amazing women blazed a trail for female aviators wanting to serve their country with their male counterparts. (release date December 1, 2021)
PRICE: $32.95
amazon.com
A man named Field
'Four Years Above the Earth'
Field Morey grew up in an aviation family in Madison, Wisconsin. His father flew Jennies and hosted Charles Lindbergh on his 1927 tour of the United States. Morey was born the same day his father was awarded the contract to manage the Madison airport and so decided to give his son an aviation-related name. “He couldn’t call me ‘airport,’ so he chose Field,” says Morey.
Morey founded Morey’s West Coast Adventures, an accelerated, real-world IFR training program that has prepared hundreds of students for the IFR ticket. His memoir is full of real-life lessons and adventures including his first solo in a Cessna 195 in Mexico at age 15; his first and last trip into a thunderstorm; student successes and misadventures; and, perhaps the most compelling read, his record-breaking crossing of the Atlantic in September 1980 in a Cessna 210. —Chris Fenger
PRICE: 25.95
amazon.com
