Twelve (or so) of the Very Best Aviation Books You So Need to Read

Fighter Pilot:  The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds by Robin Olds

The Man. The Myth. The Legend. The Mustache! Robin Olds, with his daughter Christina Olds and Ed Rasimus, tells his story with all the panache, humor, and honesty you would expect from a man with a larger-than-life reputation to which he often more than lived up. The book reveals personal details but brims with anecdotal tales of life in the Air Force during the 1940s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. Highly recommended! Published by St. Martin’s Press in 2010. ISBN-13:  9780835042192

First Blue:  The Story of World War II Ace Butch Voris and the Creation of the Blue Angels by Robert K Wilcox

Ray Marlin “Butch” Voris became a Naval Aviator and fought in the Pacific, eventually scoring eight aerial victories. But Butch’s biggest fights were ahead of him. Forming the Blue Angels was a monumentally difficult task- but a task at which Voris excelled. He commanded the Blues twice, fought in Korea, and retired as Captain Voris, after which he worked for Grumman on the F-14 Tomcat and the Lunar Lander. A career you with which you should be familiar. Published by Thomas Dunne Books in 2004. ISBN-13:  9780312322496

Forever Flying:  Fifty Years of High-Flying Adventures, from Barnstorming in Prop Planes to Dogfighting Germans to Testing Supersonic Jets by Robert A Bob Hoover

Bob Hoover was indeed a barnstormer, World War II fighter pilot, pioneering test pilot, and an aerobatic genius. As a storyteller Hoover is every bit as precise as his aerobatic routines- and every bit as entertaining. Hoover drops plenty of names too, from Chuck Yeager and Jimmy Doolittle to Gabby Gabreski, Tony Le Vier, and Clarence “Bud” Anderson. Anyone who ever saw Hoover fly his yellow Mustang or the Shrike Commander twin will never forget the experience. Hoover’s book is like that too. Published by Pocket Books in 1996. ISBN-13:  9780671537609

Rupert Red Two:  A Fighter Pilot’s Life From Thunderbolts to Thunderchiefs by Jack Broughton

Jacksel Markham “Jack” Broughton was a highly-decorated pilot who was combat-qualified in every Air Force fighter from the P-47 to the F-106. His controversial but honest books about his experiences in Vietnam, Thud Ridge (1968) and Going Downtown:  The War Against Hanoi and Washington (1988), were also great reads, but Rupert Red Two ties his entire Air Force career together and belongs on your bookshelf whether you already own with his other works or not. Published by Zenith Press in 2008. ISBM-13:  9780760332177

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