North Star over My Shoulder: A Flying Life (English Edition)

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		North Star over My Shoulder: A Flying Life (English Edition)
		North Star over My Shoulder: A Flying Life (English Edition)

It is rare to find one person whose life embodies the history of an industry the way Bob Buck's life encompasses the history of commercial aviation in America. Buck first flew in the 1920s, inspired by the exploits of Charles Lindbergh. In 1930, at age sixteen, he flew solo from coast to coast, breaking the junior transcontinental speed record. In 1936 he flew nonstop from Burbank, California, to Columbus, Ohio, in a 90-horsepower Monocoupe to establish a world distance record for light airplanes. He joined Transcontinental and Western Air (T&WA) as a copilot in 1937; when he retired thirty-seven years later, he had made more than 2,000 Atlantic crossings -- and his role had progressed from such tasks as retracting a DC-2's landing gear with a cockpit-based hand pump to command of a wide-body 747.
Buck's experiences go back to a time when flying was something glamorous. He flew with and learned from some true pioneers of aviation -- the courageous pilots who created the airmail service during flying's infancy. At the behest of his employer Howard Hughes, Buck spent three months flying with Tyrone Power on a trip to South America, Africa, and Europe. He flew the New York-Paris-Cairo route in the days when flight plans called for lengthy stopovers, and enjoyed all that those romantic places had to offer. He took part in a flight that circled the globe sideways (from pole to pole). He advised TWA's president on the shift to jet planes; a world expert on weather and flight, Buck used a B-17G to chase thunderstorms worldwide as part of a TWA-Air Force research project during World War II, for which he was awarded the Air Medal (as a civilian) by President Truman.
In North Star over My Shoulder, Bob Buck tells of a life spent up and over the clouds, and of the wonderful places and marvelous people who have been a part of that life. He captures the feel, taste, and smell of flying's greatest era -- how the people lived, what they did and felt, and what it was really like to be a part of the world as it grew smaller and smaller. He relates stories from his innumerable visits to Paris, the city he loves more than any other -- echoing Gertrude Stein's view that "America is my country, and Paris is my home town" -- and from his trips to the Middle East, including flights to Israel before and after it became a state. A terrific storyteller and a fascinating man, Bob Buck has turned his well-lived life into a delightful memoir for anyone who remembers when there really was something special in the air.

网友对North Star over My Shoulder: A Flying Life (English Edition)的评论

This beautifully told life story is a gift. I worked in the flying industry as a stewardess/flight attendant during the same time period and am grateful for a narrative that fills in the gaps between the cockpit and the cabin where the view of sky and clouds were obscured by small cabin windows and the hectic world of inflight service. To be brought back to the stars and our connection with celestial navigation has helped me to recover lost parts of myself and discover new possibilities. Thank you, Bob Buck.

I am a big fan of aviation books in general, and this one did not disappoint whatsoever. Possessing a similar writing style to E.C. Gann, Mr Buck weaves a most engaging tale of his flying life. Mr. Buck describes a series of fascinating and unusual "special missions" in great and enjoyable detail; they all bear a second read. He always returns to the technical and practical aspects of his flying, which I think keep the book on track. He was clearly a masterful aviator but he remains humble throughout the book. Early in his career, he discerned the connection between flight and learning about new places, to the degree that this aspect of his flight became very important to him. He became -in his words- "a person of the world" once he realized that people were just people, pretty much anywhere. My own 34 year Army career also taught me this as I travelled to over 30 countries during my service. In terms of the very many places he visited, his description of Paris -clearly one of his favourite cities- is one of the best I have ever read. I lived there in the same time frame and can really identify with his words. This book is excellent reading -and highly recommended- for anyone interested in aviation history, skilful flying, weather flying, test flight and early commercial aviation.

A great look at airline flying from the DC-2 to the 747 through the eyes of TWA pilot that flew them all. His extracurricular activities, globetrotting for WWII transport, weather research and Howard Hughes related special assignments make an interesting read.
A great book for anyone interested in aviation.

NORTH STAR OVER MY SHOULDER
Bob Buck
ISBN 0-7432-1964-3
Bob Buck's book about a long life in professional flying is enjoyable reading. Buck has an unpretentious writing style. One who reads his book may gain insight about the pilot's perspective on that next trip across the Atlantic and hope that someone like Buck is flying the plane.
Much difficulty and uncertainty faced the pilots of early passenger planes like the DC-2 and DC-3. The engines were temperamental and navigation was crude. Pilots often maintained their orientation by following railroad tracks, highways, and rivers in the day and by the stars at night. The crew accommodations at the end of the flights were anything but luxurious.
Buck met some interesting people along the way, such as the actor Tyrone Power, who flew cargo planes in WWII. They once flew around the world together, and Power, who died at the age of forty-four, was a decent person, who attributed the adulation of the crowds to the parts he played rather than to himself. Howard Hughes was another that Buck knew well. He was a rather polite man, Buck found, but one who insisted on being involved in every project down to the smallest detail. People were often kept waiting for decisions in Hughes' far-flung enterprises. Buck also briefly met Amelia Earhart, who came along in the heyday of spectacular flying. He thinks that she tried to fly planes beyond her experience. She had about eight accidents during takeoffs and landings, and she, generally, was not regarded by other pilots as a good pilot.
Buck also writes about the early flyer and writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, who wrote the books, THE LITTLE PRINCE and the image-rich WIND, SAND, and STARS. Of a flight along the coast of Africa, where Saint-Exupery had flown the mail, Buck writes "I looked down, on the lonely barren land, thinking of him and the other pilots flying their ancient Breguet XIVs ... that periodically failed and dropped them down on the lonely sandscape, and sometimes into unfriendly arms."
During this book, Buck is seldom on the ground for long, and there are enough stories of airplane excursions to satisfy the most avid fans of aviation. But Buck also includes interesting details about some of the places visited. For example, about a flight to the island of Iwo Jima, where 24,000 were killed in WWII, Buck observes that the island was "a flat featureless place; it held no beauty, no tenderness, nothing forgiving, it was simply a place to kill and be killed."
Buck recollects the days of flying by the stars, and he writes that the romance and skill of being guided by them is something that future flyers will never experience. Sometimes, he says, he stands outside on a clear, winter night and just looks up at "my old friends Sirius, Vega, and Polaris".

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