Customer Reviews

They Said It Couldn't Be Done : The Incredible Story of Bill Lear

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I am a pilot and I was curious to know more about the guy who designed the jet I once flew. I had known Bill Lear was quite an inventor and electronics whiz, but didn't realize to what extent. This book lays out a general foundation of Bill's early life, how he made (and lost) fortunes, and the political trouble he had with his inventions regardless of how technically superior they happened to be at the time. His story is "incredible", but the book ends prematurely in my opinion. The final chapters deal with his pursuit of a vapor engine but end abruptly without any clue as to what happened. (History has subsequently shown that the mass-market has not wholly embraced the idea) My hope is that the other books about Bill reveal what happened with the turbine project and why it never progressed.

The one thing I found amusing was that the name for his daughter, Shanda actually was suggested by his father-in-law. Glad to see he had a sense of humor.