A non-stop flight across the Atlantic might seem routine today. But it is only possible because of those who went first.<\/p>\n
‘Capturing not only the perils faced by the intrepid airmen who attempted the flight, but also their humanity’ JOHN LANCASTER, author of The Great Air Race<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Newfoundland, 1919. <\/i>Buffeted by winds, an unwieldy aircraft struggled to take to the air. Cramped side by side in its open cockpit were two men, freezing cold, but resolute. They had a dream: to be the first in human history to fly, non-stop, across the Atlantic Ocean. But there were three other teams competing against them . . .<\/p>\n
The young aviators who would get off the ground had already defied death many times during World War One. David Rooney’s evocative and deeply researched account shows how it was their thrilling wartime experiences that ultimately led them to the ‘Big Hop’, and brought old friends together for one more daring adventure.<\/p>\n
These Atlantic pioneers weren’t scientists or upper-class officers. They were ordinary men, risking their lives in the name of progress, who ultimately ushered in the age of global connection in which we live now.<\/p>\n
‘Fabulous … Works on every level, balancing technological know-how with superb characterisation’ JACKY HYAMS, author of Hurricane: The Plane that Won the War<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Newfoundland, 1919. Buffeted by winds, an unwieldy aircraft – made mainly from wood and stiff linen – struggled to take off from the North American island’s rocky slopes. Cramped side by side in its open cockpit were two men, freezing cold and barely able to move but resolute. They had a dream: to be the first in human history to fly, non-stop, across the Atlantic Ocean. But there were three other teams competing against them, and as the waves raged a few miles below, memories of wartime crashes resurfaced. Mining letters, diaries and evocative unpublished photographs, David Rooney’s deeply researched account of the audacious contest shows how it was the airmen’s thrilling wartime experiences that ultimately led them to the ‘Big Hop’, and brought old friends together for one more daring adventure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[75],"product_tag":[7739,3067,492,649,892,1822,349],"class_list":["post-109050","product","type-product","status-publish","product_cat-history","product_tag-aerospace-aviation-technology","product_tag-aircraft-general-interest","product_tag-biography-historical-political-military","product_tag-biography-science-technology-medicine","product_tag-history-specific-events-topics","product_tag-impact-of-science-technology-on-society","product_tag-social-cultural-history","pa_book_author-rooney-david","pa_cover-hardback","pa_dewey-629-1309163-edition23","pa_imprint-chatto-windus","pa_language-english","pa_pages-8634","pa_publisher-chatto-windus","pa_readership-general-trade-code-k","first","onbackorder","taxable","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"yoast_head":"\n