America’s finest aviation story in the hands of our finest aviation historian, The Flight is Dan Hampton’s biggest, most dramatic book yet.
On the morning of May 20, 1927, a little known pilot named Charles Lindbergh waited to take off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island. He was determined to claim the $25,000 Orteig Prize promised to the first pilot to fly nonstop from New York to Paris—a contest that had already claimed six men's lives. Just twenty-five years old, Lindbergh had never before flown over water. Yet thirty-three hours later, his single-engine monoplane, The Spirt of St. Louis, touched down in Paris. Overnight, Charles Lindbergh became the most famous aviator of all time.
The Flight is a long overdue, flyer’s-eye-view look at Lindbergh's legendary journey. Decorated fighter pilot and bestselling author Dan Hampton offers a unique appreciation for Lindbergh’s accomplishment: Hampton has flown the exact same route many times, knowledge that informs and shapes The Flight. Relying upon a trove of primary sources, including Lindbergh’s own personal diary and writings, Hampton crafts a dramatic narrative of a challenging, death-defying feat that many had believed was impossible.
Moving hour by hour, Hampton recounts Lindbergh's uncertainty over his equipment and his courage as he traverses the vast darkness of the Atlantic with no radar. Moving between the sky and ground, Hampton intersperses the tale of the flight with Lindbergh’s personal history as well as some of the stories of those waiting for him on the ground, praying he would make it safely across.
About the Author :
The New York Times bestselling author of Viper Pilot, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Dan Hampton flew 151 combat missions during his twenty years in the USAF (1986-2006). For his service in the Iraq War, Kosovo conflict, and first Gulf War, Col. Hampton received four Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor, a Purple Heart, eight Air Medals with Valor, five Meritorious Service Medals, and numerous other citations.
Review :
"A historic flight recounted in vivid detail. ... Offer[s] a cockpit's-eye view of the flight. This you-are-there perspective effectively evokes the tension, risk, and skill involved, from the moment Lindbergh settles into his wicker seat, takes off from Roosevelt Field, crosses the coast of Newfoundland, and soars alone into the night above the roiling sea. ... A celebration of a heroic feat sure to interest fans of aviation history." - Kirkus Reviews
"Vivid. ... Offer[s] a cockpit's-eye view of the flight. This you-are-there perspective effectively evokes the tension, risk, and skill involved, from the moment Lindbergh takes off from Roosevelt Field, crosses the coast of Newfoundland, and soars alone into the night above the roiling sea." - Kirkus Reviews
"Hampton's soaring Flight goes in the cockpit with Lindbergh. ... An engrossing account. ... Hampton is a voice of expertise in the air. ... [A] well-crafted tale of adventure." - USA Today
"I loved Dan Hampton's book. ... I couldn't put [it] down. ... Leaves the reader with a portrait of a brilliant, restless, complex and difficult man who had gone from obscurity to world fame and fortune overnight." - Missourian
"Outstanding. ... Riveting. ... Recommended. ... A painstaking account [that] succeeds in placing readers in the cockpit of the Spirit of St. Louis. ." - Library Journal (starred review)
"Often referred to as the deadliest F-16 pilot, outspoken bestselling author Dan Hampton is back ... with his upcoming book about Charles Lindbergh's historic voyage--aptly titled The Flight. ... Hampton wrote one of the best air-combat memoirs of all time, Viper Pilot." - Tyler Rogoway, TheDrive.com
"Delivers an 'in-the-cockpit' account of Charles Lindbergh's first transatlantic flight from New York to Paris." - Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"Gripping. ... An hour-by-hour account of the Lone Eagle's grueling passage through the thunderstorms and ice clouds of the North Atlantic. ... Hampton is just the talent to rescue Lindbergh from neglect." - Rinker Buck, Wall Street Journal
"For those wanting to read about the legendary journey in the style of an expertly crafted modern suspense thriller, Hampton's book delivers." - Aviation History
