Research Catalog

Title

Before Amelia : women pilots in the early days of aviation / Eileen F. Lebow.

Author

Lebow, Eileen F.

Publication

Washington, D.C. : Brassey's, Inc., ©2002.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xi, 315 p. : ill.; 24 cm.

Summary

"Amelia Earhart is, without a doubt, the world's most famous woman aviator, but she was not the first. Dozens of women pilots were in the vanguard of early aviation more than a decade before Amelia learned to fly an airplane. Before Amelia is the remarkable story of these women pioneer aviators who braved the skies during the first two decades." "While most books have only examined the women aviators of a single country, Eileen Lebow examines aviation in France, Russia, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. The story begins with Raymonde de Laroche, a French woman who became the first licensed female pilot in 1910. De Laroche, Lydia Zvereva, Melli Beese, Hilda Hewlett, Harriet Quimby, and the other women pilots profiled here rose above contemporary gender stereotypes and proved their ability to fly the temperamental heavier-than-air contraptions of the day." "Lebow provides descriptions of the dangers and challenges of early flight. Crashes and broken bones were common, and some of the pioneers lost their lives. But these women were adventurers at heart. In an era when women's professional options were severely limited and the mere sight of ladies wearing pants caused a sensation, these women succeeded as pilots, flight instructors, airplane designers, stunt performers, and promoters. This book fills a large void in the history of the first two decades of flight."--Jacket.

Subjects

• Biographies
• History
• collective biographies
• Geschichte 1910-1916
• Flugzeugführerin
• Aeronautics > History
• Women air pilots > Biography

Genre/Form

• collective biographies.
• Biographies.
• History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 281-302) and index.

Contents

Acknowledgments -- 1. In the beginning -- 2. L'aéroplane est là! -- 3. Vive les femmes! -- 4. Den Tragödien unseres berufes -- 5. The imperial eagle sprouts new wings -- 6. The English catch the bug -- 7. America gets wings -- 8. Official bird -- 9. A second bird takes to the air -- 10. Star quality -- 11. Superstar II -- 12. Little sister -- 13. More rare birds -- 14. The challenge is there -- appendix. The fliers -- Notes on sources -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the author.

ISBN

• 1574884824
• 9781574884821

LCCN

2002002635

OCLC

• ocm49283745
• 49283745
• SCSB-1262644

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library