Fly Girls

Keith O'Brien - paperback This is the thrilling untold story about pioneering women who fought to compete against men in the high-stakes national air races of the 1920s and 1930s—and won. In the years between World War I and World War II, airplane racing was one of the most popular sports in America. Thousands of fans flocked to multiday events, and the pilots who competed in these races were hailed as heroes. Well, the male pilots were hailed. Women who flew planes were often ridiculed by the press, and initially they weren’t invited to race. Yet a group of women was determined to take to the sky—no matter what. With guts and grit, they overcame incredible odds both on the ground and in the air to pursue their dreams of flying and racing planes.Fly Girls follows the stories of five remarkable women: Florence Klingensmith, a high school dropout from North Dakota; Ruth Elder, an Alabama housewife; Amelia Earhart, the most famous, but not necessarily the most skilled; Ruth Nichols, a dau