Reviews - Riverside Public Library

Booklist Reviews

Air races captivated the nation during the golden age of aviation in the 1920s and 1930s, and few participants drew more attention than the female pilots who challenged the male-dominated field. O'Brien focuses on five of those women: Ruth Elder, Ruth Nichols, Louise Thaden, Florence Klingensmith, and, of course, Amelia Earhart. In profiling these aviatrixes he explores their flying careers from the beginning, showing how varied their backgrounds and personal circumstance were and what attracted each of them to the sport of air racing. Drawing heavily from contemporaneous news reports, the author documents their achievements and setbacks as well as their sometimes complicated romantic relationships. The narrative flows easily from one subject to the next as O'Brien shifts between them, showing their competitive spirit and camaraderie even in the face of the trying circumstances of the first Women's Air Derby in 1929. Although Earhart's story has been recounted numerous times, the addition of the other female pilots makes for a more thorough and enjoyable read that should appeal to readers interested in history, aviation, and women's achievements. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.

BookPage Reviews

The unsung pioneers of aviation

The thrills of air racing, so popular in the 1920s and '30s, are now mostly forgotten, along with the names of the aviators who risked their lives for huge crowds, three-foot trophies and, of course, the cash prizes. Lost with them was the story of the "Powder Puffs," women who defied the time's rampant gender discrimination and triumphed in (or plummeted from) the sky. Of these pioneer breakers of the ultimate glass ceiling, perhaps only one name has stayed familiar: the beloved and doomed Amelia Earhart. Keith O'Brien's spectacularly detailed Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History changes all that, re-creating a world that can still inspire us today.

Meet Louise Thaden, a married mother of two; Ruth Elder, a beautiful Alabama divorcée; Ruth Nichols, a woman unhappily born into wealth; and Florence Klingensmith, whose promising aviation career ended in tragedy. True resisters, they were empowered by their recently gained right to vote and inspired by aviation's rising popularity. Charles Lindbergh's recent solo trans-Atlantic flight in 1927 was an achievement that begged for a female challenger, and it had one soon enough.

O'Brien keeps a sharp eye on the planes as well. The flimsily built early aircraft regularly lost their wings, shed their wheels and exploded in flames, sometimes miraculously leaving their pilots alive and eager to fly again. Men found financial support—and better planes—much easier to come by than women, who routinely faced reporters asking why they weren't at home cooking dinner. Elder and Klingensmith tried to dodge the husband question, while Earhart allowed her husband, prominent New York publisher George P. Putnam, to be her relentless PR man who "probably saved her from becoming a nice old maid."

The women of aviation were "friendly enemies," competing for speed and distance records while supporting each other on the ground and in the air. Known collectively as the Ninety Nines, they encouraged young women to aim high. As Earhart said, a woman's place "is wherever her individual aptitude places her."

This article was originally published in the August 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Kirkus Reviews

In the decades between the world wars, women took to the skies as daring, record-breaking fliers.Drawing on abundant sources, including letters, published and unpublished memoirs, newspaper reports, and archival material from more than a dozen museums and historical collections, O'Brien (Outside Short: Big Dreams, Hard Times, and One County's Quest for Basketball Greatness, 2013) has fashioned a brisk, spirited history of early aviation focused on 5 irrepressible women. Amelia Earhart was the most famous among them, but the others were no less passionate and courageous: Louise McPhetridge Thaden, tall, stately, and, even as a child, "a follower of boyish pursuits," according to her mother; Ruth Nichols, who chafed at a future as the socialite daughter of wealthy parents; Ruth Elder, determined to be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic; and Florence Klingensmith, who trained as a mechanic so she could learn planes inside and out but whose first aviation job was as a stu nt girl, standing on a wing in her bathing suit. In 1928, when women managed to get jobs in other male dominated fields, fewer than 12 had a pilot's license, and those ambitious for prizes and recognition faced entrenched sexism from the men who ran air races, backed fliers, and financed the purchase of planes. They decided to organize: "For our own protection," one of them said, "we must learn to think for ourselves, and do as much work as possible on our planes." Although sometimes rivals in the air, they forged strong friendships and offered one another unabated encouragement. O'Brien vividly recounts the dangers of early flight: In shockingly rickety planes, pilots sat in open cockpits, often blinded by ice pellets or engine smoke; instruments were unreliable, if they worked at all; sudden changes in weather could be life threatening. Fliers regularly emerged from their planes covered in dust and grease. Crashes were common, with planes bursting into flames; but risking i njury and even death failed to dampen the women's passion to fly. A vivid, suspenseful story of women determined to defy gravity—and men—to fulfill their lofty dreams. Copyright Kirkus 2018 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Reviews

"Women are lacking in certain qualities that men possess," an Oklahoma airline executive announced in the summer of 1929, as he demanded that female aviators give up flying. Female aviators faced enormous odds in the early years of aviation. Determined to compete on an equal footing against men, they met resistance at every turn. Yet female fliers such as Louise McPhetridge Thaden, Ruth Nichols, Amelia Earhart, Florence Klingensmith, and Ruth Elder continued to compete, although they, like male fliers, often died trying. This group biography of these brave fliers also includes the stories of a few other young women whose tales—and lives, like Klingensmith's, were cut short by airplane crashes. By following the women as a group, chronologically, rather than separating the biographies out individually, O'Brien also provides a fascinating look at the evolution of aviation—surely pushed forward through the groundbreaking efforts of women, as well as men. This effort t hrillingly celebrates the giant steps forward that female aviators made for women's equality in the years just after suffrage was achieved. In 1936, Louise Thaden and her co-pilot, Blanche Noyes, won the prestigious (and lucrative) Bendix Trophy for their coast-to-coast flight, beating out a highly qualified field of men and other women, gratifyingly defying most men's expectations. The story begins in 1926, the year of Bessie Coleman's death; its focus on these five white women elides the additional challenges faced by woman aviators of color. Accurate, deeply engrossing, and well-documented. (Nonfiction. 11-18) Copyright Kirkus 2019 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Library Journal Reviews

Journalist and author O'Brien's (Catching the Sky) latest offering takes on airplane racing in the 1920s and 1930s. Specifically, the author looks at women "fly girls" racing open cockpit airplanes. He describes these fly girls as "wives and mothers, divorcees and heiresses, teachers and bankers, daredevils and starlets." From this intriguing mix, he profiles five individuals who broke barriers to participate in the Bendix Trophy race: Ruth Elder, Amelia Earhart, Ruth Nichols, Louise McPhetridge Thaden, and Florence Klingensmith. Of these women, only Thaden won the race, in 1936, flying from New York to Los Angeles. O'Brien details in crisp and engaging writing how his subjects came to love aviation, along with their struggles and victories with flying, the rampant sexism they experienced, and the hard choices they faced regarding work and family. Some of their stories ended abruptly with tragedy, while others detailed a long life. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers with an interest in aviation history, women's history, cultural history, and 20th-century history.—Crystal Goldman, Univ. of California, San Diego Lib.Movers and shakers in the margins; page-turning poems; the women who made aviation history

Library Journal Reviews

O'Brien, a finalist for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing, profiles five women who joined in the national air races of the 1920s and 1930 despite resistance: high school dropout Florence Klingensmith, Alabama divorcee Ruth Elder, frustrated upper-cruster Ruth Nichols, mother-of-two Louise Thaden, and Amelia Earhart. With a 50,000-copy first printing.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Journalist O'Brien (Outside Shot) tells the exciting story of aviators who, though they did not break the aviation industry's glass ceiling, put a large crack in it. He focuses mostly on five important fliers: Louise Thaden, a studious pilot, mother, and wife; Ruth Nichols, who was brave and willing to do anything to be the best; Amelia Earhart, the smartest of the bunch, with average flying ability, but the weight of powerful money behind her; Ruth Elder, gorgeous and bright, who went on to star in films; and Florence Klingensmith, a high school dropout and a naturally talented pilot and mechanic who could challenge the men head-to-head in speed racing. They fought against rudimentary technology, severe weather, and undermining men to accomplish their goals. Primary among their many antagonists in this account is Cliff Henderson, millionaire promoter and organizer of the national air races, who first manipulates women to promote his sport and then has them banned from competing in it. The women's victorious fight against his ban opens the door to even greater success and recognition as equals to men in the air. This fast-paced, meticulously researched history will appeal to a wide audience both as an entertaining tale of bravery and as an insightful look at early aviation. Agent: Richard Abate, 3 Arts Entertainment. (Aug.)

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 8 Up—This is an excellent adaptation of O'Brien's original and exceptional Fly Girls, a history of five women pilots in the golden age of flight. The women faced enormous odds in a nascent, dangerous, and male-dominated profession during an era when society believed a woman's proper place was at home. There is enough detail to satisfy both curiosity and research needs for middle to high schoolers, but also not too much text. The fascinating personal and public stories, historical details, facts, and photos will enable teen readers to develop an interest and empathy for these young women in an earlier era fighting for the right to make their own choices, both at work and at home. Many chapters focus on one pilot as the book moves through time, weaving the narratives together. This format, coupled with a helpful glossary, extensive endnotes citing sources, and an index, make it an excellent research tool. VERDICT This compelling story will appeal to teen readers of all persuasions. There is something for everyone from civil science to the science of flight, to daring and death-defying exploits.—Gretchen Crowley, formerly at Alexandria City Public Libraries, VA