Forgotten Eagle: Wiley Post, America's Heroic Aviation Pioneer [Hardcover]

Bryan B. Sterling (Author), Frances N. Sterling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 10, 2001

Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic, as the world remembers, and Amelia Earhart, who never completed her round-the-world flight with navigator Frederick Noonan in their twin-engine Lockheed, became a legend. Yet the contemporary of these two pioneers in early aviation, Wiley Post--the pilot who circled the earth alone in a single-engine plane, who flew at sub-stratospheric altitudes and discovered the jet stream, and who designed the prototypes for astronauts' space suits--has been largely, and perhaps officially, ignored in history and American folklore. Until now. Based on thirty years of research, this biography by Bryan and Frances Sterling reconstructs the adventurous life of Wiley Post from his poverty-stricken boyhood on a farm in Texas to a certificate from the Sweeney Auto School in Kansas City, Missouri, to a brief career in armed robbery that sent him to prison in 1921. It was in the oil fields of Oklahoma that ex-con Post lost his left eye, a handicap that he did not allow to impede his career as a parachute jumper, stunt pilot, barnstormer, and record-setting ace aviator. Post's incredible career ended in 1935, with a fatal crash in Barrow, Alaska, that also killed his passenger, the great American humorist Will Rogers. As in their comprehensive account of the enigmatic Wiley Post's life, the Sterlings leave no official record or government file unturned in their thoroughgoing investigation of the mystery that has long surrounded this maverick aviator's death.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This workmanlike pop history centers on this incident on August 15, 1935: an airplane took off from a short and icy lagoon near Barrow, Alaska, rose sharply and banked to the right; moments later, it plunged into two feet of water, killing both men aboard. One of them was American showman and writer Will Rogers, whose life (and death) the Sterlings have covered at length (Will Rogers in Hollywood, etc.). The life, times and coincidental death of the fated plane's pilot, Wiley Post, are documented here in minute detail. After an oil derrick accident cost him an eye and nearly his commercial flying career, the often brazen Post persevered and became one of America's foremost aviators. In 1931, he and Harold Gatty set a world record by circling the globe in just over eight days; two years later, Post bested himself by pulling off the same feat solo. During both circumnavigations, he discovered and relied on a constant and exceedingly strong jet stream above 20,000 feet. Post's important discovery in atmospheric dynamics also led to the creation of a pressurized pilot suit the prototype for what astronauts wear in space. But for all Post's accomplishments, he hasn't been remembered. The Sterlings present a wealth of information here be it minutiae from the crash investigation or Post's exploits as a highwayman and daredevil. While their subject never ceases to entice, the high flier's tale is weighed down by ponderous detail; the pace suffers and the living man doesn't quite come into focus.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

If people have heard of Wiley Post at all, they've likely heard of him in connection with the 1935 crash of the plane he was piloting with humorist Will Rogers aboard, a crash in which both men were killed. This connection with his famous fellow Oklahoman has earned Post a minor footnote in history, but he deserves more. In his relatively brief career, Post was a real innovator and competitor in the world of aviation. He designed a record-setting high-pressure suit, for example, and, in addition to being a winning air race pilot, he flew around the world in 1931, beating the record established by the Graf Zeppelin airship. The story of this flight, originally published in 1931, was reissued in 1989 as Around the World in Eight Days to favorable reviews (LJ 3/1/90). This is the first biography of Post, and the Sterlings, who have written several books on Will Rogers, have done a careful, serviceable job of describing his upbringing in Texas and Oklahoma, his involvement in oil field work, and his subsequent aviation career. Highly recommended for public libraries in the Southwest and to other libraries where there is interest in aviation history and American biography. Charles V. Cowling, Drake Memorial Lib., Brockport, NY

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers; 1St Edition edition (December 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786708948
• ISBN-13: 978-0786708949
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,389,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very thorough account, December 8, 2002

By 

Schmerguls "schmerguls" (Sioux City, Ia USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Forgotten Eagle: Wiley Post, America's Heroic Aviation Pioneer (Hardcover)

This biography is carefully researched, with the footnotes where they belong--at the foot of the page. The authors have done a lot of research and their telling of the dramatic life and feats of Wiley Post makes for a fascinating book. The account of the two round-the-world flights is full of awesome momnets. There is a lot of technical flying data, and for the non-flyer this gets a bit long, as does the exhaustive account of the events following the crash on Aug 15, 1935. From the time that Wiley Post dies there are still 120 pages in the book, but much is interesting and the account of the world-wide grieving is poignant and well-done. There are good illustrations, tho also I would have liked a map of the the area where the crash occurred. But overall, this book tells the story well, and is well worth reading if you are interested in the life of a daring and gutsy early flyer, who should be remembered.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gives a more thorough account of the aviation pioneer, June 30, 2008

By 

James D. Crabtree "Doc Crabtree" (Fort Leavenworth, Kansas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Forgotten Eagle: Wiley Post, America's Heroic Aviation Pioneer (Hardcover)

Unlike other aviation pioneers Wiley Post could not seem to translate his record-making flights into financial security for himself and his family and so he always seemed to push himself further and further in order to accomplish something that would place himself in a position where he could write his own ticket. This push nearly ended his life more than once and certainly contributed to the tragic accident in Alaska which ended his story.

The authors did a wonderful job on this book, researching Wiley's background and putting everything in perspective for the reader. The deliberate sabotage attempts on several of Wiley Posts flights is something I was not aware of and which I felt could have been pursued more.

Certainly a book for those who want to know more about this early flier and American hero.