Daughter of the Air: The Brief Soaring Life of Cornelia Fort - Softcover

Simbeck, Rob

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802137911 ISBN 13: 9780802137913

Publisher: Grove Press, 2001

Synopsis

Praised by the Daily Oklahoman as "touching and entertaining," Rob Simbeck's biography of Cornelia Fort is wonderfully evocative and moving. Like Beryl Markham's and Amelia Earhart's, Cornelia Fort's daring life as a pilot was both inspiring and groundbreaking. Raised on her parents' Nashville estate and educated at a prestigious finishing school, Fort rejected the role expected of her in society to become a pilot. A member of the first women's flight squadron and one of the few to witness the bombing of Pearl Harbor from the air, she persevered in her courageous career, as one of the war's first female pilots, despite rampant prejudice toward women. Selling out just six weeks after its first printing, Daughter of the Air interweaves Cornelia Fort's own eloquent letters and diaries, historical documents, and the interviews of those who knew and flew with her, to create a vivid portrait of an infinitely courageous woman. It both tells Cornelia's remarkable story -- a life shaped by bravery, intelligence, and charm -- and describes the era's political and social atmosphere.

About this title

About the Author:

Rob Simbeck is a Nashville, Tennessee-based writer whose papers have appeared in numerous periodicals and newspapers, including Rolling Stone, Nashville Scene, Field and Stream, Guideposts, Kansas Quarterly, and The Washington Post. He is also the author of 50 Seasons: A History of the Nashville Symphony and Tennessee State Symbols.

From Kirkus Reviews:

A biography of aviator Cornelia Fort, from her wealthy Nashville (Tenn.) childhood to her pioneering career as a pilot and early death. Simbeck, a seasoned professional writer, has consulted letters, books, and articles of the time, interviewing many of Fort's family members and friends. Born in 1919, she grew up on her family's farm with three older brothers and a younger sister, leading an active, privileged life bound only by the strict rules of her father, a medical doctor, successful businessman, and major landownerfirst citizen of the city. After watching the country-fair daredevil acts of early barnstorming aviators, the father made his sons take an oath never to take up flying, but he never reckoned on Cornelia, his feisty debutante-to-be daughter. Against her father's wishes, she attended progressive Sarah Lawrence College and relished the lifestyle of the rich and famous in nearby New York City. After her father's death, she broke away from her family's social restraints and took flying lessons from a veteran aviator, becoming hooked on the freedom of the skies. Later she found herself as a licensed instructor with a student in the air over Pearl Harbor as the Japanese struck. After landing, Fort and the student jumped out and ran for their lives as the plane was riddled with bullets on the ground. Simbeck describes the early days of the US entry into WWII, as about 100 experienced female pilots were invited to form the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), to transport training planes from factories to air bases to free up men for combat training. Fort tragically died at 24 while trying new formation flying. As the war ended, the 1,100 female pilots were discharged as WASPS (Women's Airforce Service Pilots). An unusual story of a gallant young spirit who loved her country and died in its service. Another tribute to the ``greatest generation'' of WWII. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Grove Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0802137911
• ISBN 13: 9780802137913
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272