Calculated Risk: The Extraordinary Life of Jimmy Doolittle Aviation Pioneer and World War II Hero - Hardcover

Hoppes, Jonna Doolittle

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1891661442 ISBN 13: 9781891661440

Publisher: Santa Monica Press, 2005

Synopsis

Famous for leading the Tokyo Raid, America's first strike against Japan in World War II, Jimmy Doolittle led a remarkable life as an American pilot. This firsthand account by his granddaughter reveals an extraordinary individual—a scientist with a doctorate in aeronautical engineering from MIT, an aviation pioneer who was the first to fly across the United States in less than 24 hours and the first to fly “blind” (using only his plane’s instruments), a barnstormer well known for aerobatics, a popular racing pilot who won every major air race at least once, recipient of both the Congressional Medal of Honor and Presidential Medal of Freedom, a four-star general, and commander of both the 8th, 12th and 15th Air Forces. This memoir provides insights into the public and private world of Jimmy Doolittle and his family and sheds light on the drives and motivation of one of America's most influential and ambitious aviators.

About this title

About the Author

Jonna Doolittle Hoppes is the granddaughter of Jimmy Doolittle. She teaches classes at the United States Air Force base in Los Angeles and has written about her grandfather in Smithsonian Air and Space magazine. She lives in Huntington Beach, California.

Reviews

A barnstormer, a prize-winning air racer, a key strategist and flier in major WWII bombing campaigns, an eventual air force general and a pioneer of engineering test piloting (blind flying and the outside loop)—Doolittle (1896–1993) is a familiar figure to air buffs. This affectionate but not uncritical biography by one of Doolittle's granddaughters usefully supplements existing material, particularly the autobiography I Could Never Be So Lucky Again. It recounts almost a century of achievements, from surviving an abusive childhood in Alaska to high school athletics, learning to fly and marrying his high school sweetheart during WWI. Along the way, before getting to Doolittle's notable achievements in WWII and afterward, we get wife Josephine's perspective on such things as their sons raising birds in their room, long winter flights in a family plane with no heating and her husband flying with both ankles in casts and having affairs with New York models. Even allowing for a granddaughter's partiality and occasional lapses of style, Josephine Doolittle emerges as a heroic figure in her own right (a pioneer in what would now be called counseling PTSD veterans) and in every respect a worthy match for her husband, who seems to deserve all the praise he has received. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

General Jimmy Doolittle is best remembered for leading an air strike over Toyko in 1942. He also was the first aviator to fly cross-country in under 24 hours (in 1922) and the first to fly blind, using only his plane's instruments. He won numerous speed trophies, was awarded many medals, and commanded three air force groups during the war. This book is a memoir written by Doolittle's granddaughter, in which she recounts her grandfather's early life in Nome, Alaska, and his years in the service. He served on an aerobatics team, studied the mechanical side of flight, and promoted strategic bombing that significantly altered the course of World War II. The author also describes her grandmother's public role, including attending War Bond rallies, USO functions, and Red Cross fund-raisers. Doolittle drew on such sources as her grandfather's wartime letters to his wife and hundreds of letters sent to them over the years. A personal account of a very public man. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Santa Monica Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1891661442
• ISBN 13: 9781891661440
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 334