The Great Air Race: Glory, Tragedy, and the Dawn of American Aviation is the story about a most remarkable event in U.S. aviation history that has largely been forgotten. The event was a transcontinental air race in October 1919 in which some of the U.S. Army Air Service's most skilled pilots, flying an array of airplanes, were split into 2 groups. One group of airmen would be tasked to fly from east to west (from Roosevelt Field in Mineola, NY to San Francisco), and then fly back East, subject to certain time constraints. The other group of pilots would proceed from San Francisco to Roosevelt Field, and back west again, following a line of control stops set up by the Air Service where planes from both groups would be refueled and repaired (if necessary) while pilots could rest and be apprised of the latest weather conditions.

The brainchild for this transcontinental air race came from Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, the Air Service's No. 2 , in charge of its Training and Operations Group. Since returning from France ---where he had successfully commanded the largest aerial armada yet deployed in combat during the Battles of Saint Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne --- Mitchell was determined that the Air Service should become an independent air force. To that end, he pressured his supporters in Congress to introduce and pass legislation establishing an independent American air force based upon Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF). The legislation would be taken up by Congress in the fall.

So, as a way of emphasizing his belief that an air force was vital to the nation's security and helping to foster the development of a domestic aviation industry and commercial aviation, Mitchell announced that the Air Service would stage a transcontinental air race in the fall of 1919. This race would serve to highlight how much aeronautics had developed during the recently concluded World War and stimulate the public's interest in aviation.

The reader is brought into that long ago world through the stories of several of the airmen (one of whom was also an ordained minister) who took part in the race, shedding light on the thrills, perils, and hazards they faced. As a longtime aviation enthusiast, I was fascinated to learn about the state of aviation technology of that time. A pilot and his mechanic had to be acutely attuned to the ways and whims of the airplane, from its engine, its control surfaces, and bracing wires (which helped to support and keep together the 2 wings of the airplane; in 1919, the biplane was the standard aircraft in use; it wouldn't be until the 1930s that monoplanes would supplant biplanes in both military and commercial aviation). What's more: airplanes in 1919 did not have brakes! YIKES! In landing a plane, a pilot had to be highly skilled in reducing speed so that when he touched down at an airfield, he could safely and smartly park the plane and cut its engine.

The Great Air Race also has lots of photos of the people and airplanes that were in the competition as well as a national map showing the control stops and distances (spelled out in miles) that were involved. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story.