Welcome to Litsy!

The incredible, untold story of the men who risked their lives in the first transcontinental air contest�and put American aviation on the map. The Great Air Race reclaims one of the most important moments in the history of American aviation: the transcontinental air race of October 1919 that saw scores of pilots compete for the fastest roundtrip time between New York and San Francisco in frail, open-cockpit biplanes. Riveting the nation, the aviators�most of them veterans of the Great War�pioneered the first coast-to-coast air route, braving blizzards and driving rain as they landed in fields or at the edges of cliffs. Bringing the pilots and the race�s impresario, Billy Mitchell, to vivid life, journalist and amateur pilot John Lancaster captures the challenges of flying in that almost prehistoric age�the deafening roar of the engine, the constant fear of mechanical failure, the threat posed by mere rain. As he demonstrates, the race, despite much drama and tragedy, was a milestone in the development of commercial aviation. The Great Air Race is a captivating story of man and machine, and the debut of a major new popular historian. (less)

The incredible, untold story of the men who risked their lives in the first transcontinental air contest�and put American aviation on the map. The Great Air Race reclaims one of the most important moments in the history of American (…more)