Customer Reviews

Three Across: The Great Transatlantic Air Race of 1927

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A very good book on four different types of brave men. The strangest is Charles Levine--not a brave man but a fearless one! "First I do, then I think" was his motto!

In today's nonstop jet age, it's hard to imagine life without air travel. Air transportation has certainly come a long way since the Wright Brothers. Today, you can easily jet across the Atlantic, but in 1919, aviation was still in its infancy and no one had flown across the Atlantic. So a hotel owner named Orteig offered the first pilot to fly nonstop across the Atlantic, from New York to Paris, a prize of $25,000. By 1927, the prize still had not been awarded and the feat was considered impossible. All over the world, people wondered if anyone would collect.

Three Across is an amazing story of the first three men and planes who flew across the Atlantic. The book chronicles air transportation from the historic flight at Kitty Hawk to the great Atlantic race. Three airplanes were lined up preparing for the amazing feat. Most predicted that Columbia, with the well-known test pilot, Clarence Chamberlin, at the controls, would be first. Another plane, America, was also a favorite. It was not only multi-engined, but had a crew of four headed by an authentic American hero, Commander Richard E. Byrd, the famed Arctic explorer. Little was known about the third plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, a surprise late entry. It was to be piloted by a lanky unknown young airmail pilot named Charles Lindbergh.

Finkelstein does a great job of filling the reader in on the history of each pilot, the difficulties of such a flight, and the crowds that gathered to witness history being made. The black and white photographs give young readers an idea of what flying at that time must have been like and remind us of the amazing steps aviation has taken since that first historic flight.

This exciting nonfiction book invites the reader to witness the early days of aviation history by relating the story of the transatlantic flight that made Lindbergh a household name. Although many of today's students may know who Charles Lindbergh was, the information about the other pilots who attempted the transatlantic crossing is not well-known. The fact that one of the aviators involved, Charles A. Levine, was Jewish provides the only Jewish content in this gripping story. The third adventurer in this 1927 race across the Atlantic for a $25,000 prize was the famous explorer, Richard Byrd. This well-researched story has all the adventure of a novel, but all the facts are documented and the text is sprinkled with archival photos and copies of telegrams and newspaper headlines. Although the Judaic content is thin, this book is an excellent example of nonfiction writing and is highly recommended. Ages 9 - 13. Susan Dubin

A hotel owner named Orteig offered the first pilot to fly nonstop across the Atlantic, from New York to Paris, a prize of $25,000. In 1919, aviation was in its infancy and that was a great deal of money, but by 1927 the prize still had not been awarded, and the feat was considered impossible.

This is the story of the first three men to shepherd their tiny planes across the great Atlantic.

Charles Lindbergh, "Lucky Lindy," who was virtually unknown, flew the Spirit of St. Louis. He had tried in vain to be the pilot of the Columbia, but was rejected. Charles A. Levine owned the Columbia, but decided on the well-known test pilot, Clarence Chamberlin, to be at the controls. The Columbia already held the world's endurance record, having flown over 30,000 miles. The third plane was the multi-engined America, piloted by Richard E. Byrd, the Arctic explorer, and held a crew of four.

All the world watched as the impossible feat became reality.

Finklestein captures the excitement of the times as he traces the rise of aviation from the first flight of the Kitty Hawk to the great Atlantic race. He tells the history of each man, their dreams of greatness, and the setbacks and problems they encountered. The book is illustrated with black and white photographs throughout that show everything from the instrument panels and crowded cockpits of the planes to pictures of the pilots and the crowds that greeted them at the finish lines.

I thoroughly enjoyed this sojourn back into history and comparing it to today's aviation miracles that are just taken for granted. THREE ACROSS tells of one of history's finest moments and belongs in every school library.

Reviewed by: Grandma Bev