Customer Reviews

Race with the Wind: How Air Racing Advanced Aviation

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Three years ago I was an editor for Motorbooks International searching for new books and authors to write them. One day I was looking at a book about the Spitfire and had an interesting thought, "How did the sport of air racing help advance aviation during the 1920s and 1930s?" To my knowledge, no book had answered that question before. I began asking around to find a person who could answer the question and perhaps write a book about it. Everyone I spoke to suggested Birch Matthews.

Birch was an engineer, an air racing enthusiast, and a complete gentleman. I called him out of the blue and this very nice man listened to my ideas very patiently and then explained in a genial way how my idea was flawed. He pointed out very carefully how my conclusions about the contributions of air racing and their result in fighters like the Spitfire were limited and unclear.

When he was finished I was convinced that my book idea was dead, but I also knew that I wanted to come up with a better idea just so I could work with this fascinating man. Little did I know that Birch was just getting started. He saw a kernel of truth in my initial uneducated questions and began researching. Weeks later he called me and said, "I think I've found a way to write your air racing book." As he explained his ideas I became more and more excited. Eventually we reached an agreement and he began writing. The result is this book.

Soon after Birch began working on "Race with the Wind" I left Motorbooks to pursue a different career. He and I lost touch but I continued to anticipate the release of his book and watched for it each month. When it finally appeared I was saddened to learn that Birch had died just a few weeks before it was printed. I never was able to tell him how great his work was and how much I enjoyed the short time that I knew him.

If you have any interest in air racing, early aviation history, or the fascinating tale of how humans went from flying motorized box kites to the jet engine in less than 50 years, you will want to purchase and read this book. It is a tribute to all that we've accomplished in the air and the talent of one decent imaginative gentleman named Birch Matthews.

This is THE definitive single resource for an introduction to the engineering progress and achievements in air racing during the period from the Wright Brothers through the "Golden Age" and the direct correlation to modern aviation. The material is very readable and not at all clouded with "engineering-eze". The photography, text and references make for a very complete presentation of the subject and the book is a must-have for any serious aviation enthusiast.