The
first American woman to fly a plane ignored the orders of
her flight instructor and unblocked the throttle he had
rigged to prevent her takeoff. She lifted above where he
stood on the tarmac for a few moments before returning,
triumphant, to the ground. From that moment, the history
of America's airwomen has been one such high-flying
rebellion after another. In chapters that intercut
profiles of the most important (and forgotten) American
women aviators with a more general history of aviation, Amelia
Earhart's Daughters revives this fascinating and
underdocumented slice of American women's history.
As Haynsworth and Toomey
explain, female aviators in the U.S. earned their way as
"barnstormers" in the first two decades of the
20th century, performing airborne stunts for the
enthralled masses at county fairs and exhibitions. When
America's role in World War II deepened after the bombing
of Pearl Harbor, enterprising women pilots pushed for and
finally found work as Women's Airforce Service Pilots,
delivering military planes for combat around the country
and overseas. Finally, women demanded and, after much
disappointment, gained a role in the U.S. aerospace
program. Although the authors' desire for completeness
sometimes leads to digression, these terrific, adventurous
women are well worth knowing. Read and be inspired! --Maria
Dolan
