Women Aviators: 26 Stories of Pioneer Flights, Daring Missions, and Record-Setting Journeys

Gr 7–10—At a time when flight schools did not accept female students, women paid for private lessons and persevered to overcome prejudice and mistaken beliefs that they were not strong enough or intelligent enough to fly airplanes. Five of the first six licensed women pilots were French, with the first one being Raymonde de Laroche in March 1910. The following year, photojournalist and world traveler Harriet Quimby was the first woman in the United States to earn a pilot's license; Bessie Coleman became the first African American with a license in 1921; the first Asian American was Catherine Cheung in 1932. Others profiled are Amelia Earhart and the woman who taught her to fly, Neta Snook, and Valentina Grizodubova, the "Soviet Amelia Earhart." Also outlined are specific achievements, including the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), serving as air safety investigators, test pilots, aerial firefighters, bush pilots, and airline pilots. Each short biography begins with an introduction and a photo. This well-written volume is a solid contribution to women's history collections.—Patricia Ann Owens, formerly at Illinois Eastern Community Colleges, Mt. Carmel, IL