Philip Handleman

An interesting book about Tuskegee airmen, specifically Harry T. Stewart, Jr. As somebody who's into aviation but not military aviation or war history, I found the book slightly confusing and hard to follow, especially the first few chapters. The narrative jumped around and I wasn't always sure when it centered on Harry or on other individuals. There are more than a few typos in this book, which became distracting after a while.

This is definitely an uplifting book, but I felt the sentiment to be a little hollow. How many airline captains (or first officers) in this year, 2023, are black? The awarding of honorary captain from an airline to Harry Stewart seemed like nothing more than a PR move, although in this book it's written as if it proved that racism has been solved once and for all. I don't think the message of a book like this should be "we're done!," it should be "we still have a lot to do!"… (altro)

Besides the excellent photos, a true pictorial guide to Reno, the writing as the truly conveys the poetry that surrounds the human endeavor of the races. It is a real testimonial to the races, a passioned look at them, the machines, flyers, ground crew and everyone that make Reno happen. So, much more than a dry text, Handleman really achieved a text where we can almost feel the electric razor sharp voltage that makes your hair raise with excitement, the feeling that something greater is happening. For the air race enthusiast this should be a great book, because of the photos and the text. If looking for something more detailed, with listings of winners, secret engine setups or deep data on racing history this isn't the best choice. For the feeling of it then this is a must, one can almost here the roaring of the engines jumping out of the pages.… (altro)