Amelia Earhart: A Biography

A biography of the famous aviatrix who disappeared in the South Pacific on an around-the-world flight attempt in 1937

Rich, Doris L.

Biographies & Memoirs

Laurel

Born in 1906 in Muskogee, Florida, Jacqueline “Jackie” Cochran was America’s greatest woman pilot: the first to break the sound barrier, first to fly a bomber across the Atlantic, possessor of more than 200 aviation records and the commander of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II. Born in 1906 in Muskogee, Florida, Cochran left school when she was eight to work in a textile factory, became a beautician then a salon owner before she was twenty, moved to New York four years later and earned her pilot’s license, becoming a flying saleswoman for her own cosmetics company. Some 25 years later, Cochran reached Mach 2--twice the speed of sound--in a Lockheed F-104, having already become a colonel in the Air Force Reserve. Intelligent, brash, determined, courageous, and ambitious, she counted presidents Eisenhower and Johnson among her friends, as well as national leaders in business, Congress, and military and commercial aviation. Drawing upon previously unpublished information about Cochran’s early years and her first marriage, and on her extensive correspondence with U.S. presidents, Air Force generals, aircraft designers, test pilots, and business tycoons, Rich shows Cochran’s many contrasts. Seen by enemies as an egotistical master of self-promotion, she was nevertheless capable of loyal and abiding friendships. And although her personality was sometimes abrasive, she used it to accomplish impressive results, including her work on behalf of an independent Air Force. She actively opposed early feminists and, though she was responsible for the groundbreaking formation of the WASP, she was instrumental in delaying the acceptance of women as astronauts. Rich brings clarity, detail, and objectivity to a life story that had until now remained vague, contrived from hearsay and controversy. This first extensive critical biography puts Cochran’s great talents and achievements in the context of her turbulent personal life to create a portrait of a remarkable, complicated woman.

Jackie Cochran: Pilot in the Fastest Lane

Community & Culture

University Press of Florida

"In Doris Rich’s latest aviation biography, barefoot, illiterate Bessie Pittman reinvents herself as Jacqueline Cochran, the brash beautician who set more speed and altitude records than any pilot in history. . . . Rich illuminates the lesser-known facts of this under-appreciated pioneer and lights a belated candle for her too."--Air and Space
“History has proven Earhart to be the favorite, but Cochran undoubtedly was the superior pilot: determined to be not just the best woman pilot but to be the best pilot, period, she broke countless aviation records for speed, altitude, and distance. . . . Rich gives Cochran her rightful place in aviation history.”—Publishers Weekly
“Often combative and abrasive, Cochran is a true American legend, and Rich’s biography will ensure that Cochran’s contributions will not be forgotten.”—Booklist
“At the time of her death on August 9, 1980, Jacqueline “Jackie” Cochran—recipient of America’s Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Legion of Merit—held more speed, altitude, and distance records (200-plus) than any other pilot, male or female, in the history of aviation. . . . Rich reminds us that this remarkable lady, despite her shortcomings, reached Mach 2—twice the speed of sound—piloting a Lockheed F-104 at the tender age of 58.”—Library Journal

A biography of the famous aviatrix who disappeared in the South Pacific on an around-the-world flight attempt in 1937

Science & Math

Technology

Smithsonian Inst. Pr.

Amelia Earhart : A Biography

Scholarly Audio

Traces the life of Bessie Coleman, America's first African-American woman aviator, who dreamed of opening a flight school for African Americans but died in an crash in 1926. By the author of Amelia Earhart: A Biography.

Queen Bess: Daredevil Aviator

Amelia Earhart IAL MO

Airlife Publishing Ltd.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rich, Doris L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Rich, Doris L.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rich, Doris L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Amelia Earhart: A Biography

Jackie Cochran: Pilot in the Fastest Lane

Jackie Cochran: Pilot in the Fastest Lane

Amelia Earhart: A Biography

Amelia Earhart : A Biography

Queen Bess: Daredevil Aviator

Amelia Earhart IAL MO