Conquerors of the Sky [Unknown Binding]

Thomas Fleming (Author)

Product Details

• Unknown Binding
• Publisher: A Tom Doherty Assoc. Book (2003)
• ASIN: B004VT4IJ0
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

More About the Author

"How do you write a book?" 24 year old Thomas Fleming asked bestselling writer Fulton Oursler in 1951. "Write four pages a day," Oursler said. "Every day except Sunday. Whether you feel like it or not. Inspiration consists of putting the seat of your pants on the chair at your desk." Fleming has followed this advice to good effect. His latest effort, "The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers," is his 50th published book. Twenty three of them have been novels. He is the only writer in the history of the Book of the Month Club to have main selections in fiction and in nonfiction. Many have won prizes. Recently he received the Burack Prize from Boston University for lifetime achievement. In nonfiction he has specialized in the American Revolution. He sees Intimate Lives as a perfect combination of his double talent as a novelist and historian. "Novelists focus on the imtimate side of life. This is the first time anyone has looked at the intimate side of the lives of these famous Americans, with an historian's eyes." Fleming was born in Jersey City, the son of a powerful local politician. He has had a lifetime interest in American politics. He also wrote a history of West Point which the New York Times called "the best...ever written." Military history is another strong interest. He lives in New York with his wife, Alice Fleming, who is a gifted writer of books for young readers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Adequate, But Dreadful, April 11, 2004

By 

Robert A. Bushnell (Polson, MT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Conquerors of the Sky (Hardcover)

When the first sentence talks about scotch whiskey acting sullenly, you know you're in for a dreadful non-treat. It doesn't get any better. The author builds his story about a large aircraft company, where the principals are flitting about. Not in real life!

The writing is disjointed, unable to keep a thread going. It seems the author uses up his supply of adjectives on each page. I got to page 24, then quit in disguist. If this book ever makes paperback, which would be a waste of even more paper, that would be a discredit to Tom Doherty Associates.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Decent story, lousy writing, March 22, 2003

By 

James E. Beckman (Leonardo, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Conquerors of the Sky (Hardcover)

Fleming's story is decent enough, but it's just a stringing together of a variety of familiar incidents involving various aircraft manufacturing companies and aviation pioneers. Even that is marred by the inclusion of several howlingly inaccurate items about aircraft and aerodynamics, revealing the author's lack of expertise in the subject. And to top it off, the writing is execrable, and that's being nice about it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pass over this one, October 28, 2004

By 

Scruffy Scirocco (Vancouver, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conquerors of the Sky (Mass Market Paperback)

If you're looking for a romance novel, this is the place. If you're looking for a novel about flying, fliers, and aircraft, go look for something by Tom Wilson. If James Michener had set out to write Peyton Place, this would be the result. The male characters are angst-ridden caricatures, the females are all sex-obsessed nut-jobs. The flying sequences are virtually non-existent. There were two - count `em, TWO! -- flying sequences from WWII! The author has never been there, and knows nothing about the culture or history of flight. I gave up halfway through the book. This one's bound for the used book store as a trade-in.