Before Amelia : Women Pilots in the Early Days of Aviation

before Amelia Is The Remarkable Story Of The World’s Women Pioneer Aviators Who Braved The Skies During The Early Days Of Flight. While Most Books Have Only Examined The Women Aviators Of A Single Country, Eileen Lebow Looks At An International Spectrum Of Pilots And Their Influence On Each Other. The Story Begins With Raymonde De Laroche, A French Woman Who Became The First Licensed Female Pilot In 1909. De Laroche, Lydia Zvereva, Melli Beese, Hilda Hewlitt, 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 Excellent Descriptions Of The Dangers And Challenges Of Early Flight. Crashes And Broken Bones Were Common, And Many 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. library Journal in The Early Days Of Aviation, The Wright Brothers Refused To Sell Their Airplanes To Women Because, In Their Opinion, Women Lacked The Requisite Coolness And Judgment To Fly. Despite Such Obstacles, A Number Of Women In The First Decades Of Flying Managed To Become Accomplished Pilots And To Play Various Other Roles In Aviation. Lebow's Book Surveys The Careers Of These Remarkable Women, Both In The United States And Internationally. She Looks At Women Such As Hilda Hewlett Of England, Who Was Not Only A Pilot But Cofounded England's First Aviation School In 1910 And Produced Her Own Line Of Aircraft. Lebow (a Grandstand Seat: The American Balloon Service In World War I) Is An Accomplished Writer Particularly Adept At Doing Archival And Historical Research And Then Bringing It To Life. Much Of The Attention In The Area Of Women In Aviation Has Gone To Later Figures, Like Amelia Earhart, While The Earlier Pioneers Of The Pre-world War I Era Have Been Largely Overlooked. Lebow's Well-researched Book Fills That Gap. It Is Engaging To Read, With Useful Chapter Notes And Ample Illustrations. Highly Recommended For Women's Studies And Aviation History Collections. Charles Cowling, Suny At Brockport Lib. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. 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. 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. Eileen F. Lebow. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 295-300) And Index. Annotation. "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."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved "Amelia Earhart is, without a doubt, the world's most famous woman aviator, but she was not the first. Before Amelia introduces the world's remarkable women pioneer aviators who braved the dangers and challenges of the first two decades of flight. The story begins with Ramonde de Laroche, a French woman, who became the first licensed female pilot in 1910. De Laroche, Russia's Lydia Zvereva, Germany's Melli Beese, Britain's Hilda Hewlett, America's 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"--Publisher's description ON OCTOBER 22, 1909, at Chalons, France, a fragile aeroplane maneuvered across the field, turned, and, with motor at full gas, rushed and lifted into the air for a distance of some three hundred meters before settling down again.