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Summary: The Perfect Gift for Airplane Enthusiasts
Review: Air Vagabonds proved to be a great gift for my brother-in-law who is a recreational pilot. What surprised me was how much I enjoyed it. Vallone has a way of buckling the reader right into the cockpit with his vivid recollections of the many adventures and mishaps experienced among this close-knit band of voyagers. The book also provides us with a geography refresher and a unique look into Africa's apartheid in the 70's. With every journey, I crossed my fingers for these memorable world travelers, hoping they had found favor with their "Trim God."
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Summary: Air Vagabonds: Oceans, Airmen and a Quest for Adventure
Review: As the daughter of a ferry pilot, I found this book very enjoyable. I grew up listening to my dad describe the adventures he and his fellow ferry pilots had while ferrying planes to Africa, Australia and Europe. Mr. Vallone's accounting of the life of a ferry pilot truely portrays the exploits, adventures and danger these men and women experienced.
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Summary: Air Vagabonds: Oceans, Airmen and a Quest for Adventure
Review: As the daughter of a ferry pilot, I found this book very enjoyable. I grew up listening to my dad describe the adventures he and his fellow ferry pilots had while ferrying planes to Africa, Australia and Europe. Mr. Vallone's accounting of the life of a ferry pilot truely portrays the exploits, adventures and danger these men and women experienced.
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Summary: The best pilot stories ever told
Review: By chance, I happened to meet one of the pilots documented in this book. He is every bit the character that is portrayed within these chapters. I have met hundreds of pilots in my career but none of them had flying stories that could compare to the ones told in this wonderful book. As you move from chapter to chapter you find yourself covering vast distances and soon the reader is alone over the Pacific consuming pages of the book as steadily as the ferry pilots airplanes consumed precious fuel. This is a book of true pilot stories that will captivate every airman and intrigue the layman.
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Summary: True Whisky Tango
Review: Growing up I received postcards from all over the world in true Whisky Tango fashion from my father describing the exploits of ferrying small planes across the oceans. Tony Vallone brings to life all of the aviation cowboys I only heard of as a kid and describes a little known industry that has more adventure in far off lands than one book can tell. Like most ferry pilots, Mr. Vallone is a fantastic story teller. From one flight to the next, he does an excellent job of documenting some of these exploits and also retells the history of Globe Aero, a small airplane ferrying operation at the beginning of its era.
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Summary: Facinating true-life adventures!
Review: Imagine ferrying airplanes across oceans and continents to their new owners -- solo! These pilots were having adventures on every flight, battling weather, engine problems, hostile governments, and every other obstacle. It's amazing to read about all the little ins and outs of each location, all the tricks for dealing with the geography and the government officials. It's a fun book, well-written. Like the best story-tellers, he keeps you coming back again and again wanting to hear yet another tale.
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Summary: Fascinating Story
Review: Thank you for writing the book, you did the subject justice. Aside from the documentation of the adventure, action, and intrigue the book was a history and geography lesson. The inclusion of the maps was a bonus! Well written and captivating in detail a book that can be enjoyed by every reader.
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Summary: Entertaining & Informative
Review: The author did a wonderful job sharing both his own experiences as well as those of his peers in this unique and unknown industry. Very entertaining - once I started it was difficult to put down. The maps were very helpful for those of us who have not traveled the world. I would recommend this to all!
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Summary: Entertaining & Informative
Review: The author did a wonderful job sharing both his own experiences as well as those of his peers in this unique and unknown industry. Very entertaining - once I started it was difficult to put down. The maps were very helpful for those of us who have not traveled the world. I would recommend this to all!
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Summary: Gripping
Review: The mark of a great non-fiction book is its ability to take a reader who has no prior knowledge, experience, or interest in a subject and draw him in so he can't stop turning the pages. Air Vagabonds does just that. Being neither a pilot, or particularly fond of non-fiction, I was somewhat cautious when this book was recommended to me by a friend. But once I started, I felt I was a part of this adventurous, lonely, and yes, sometimes foolhardy way of life. Did I think the book was compelling? I'm over Greenland. Ice is forming on my wings. The cockpit heater has failed and the inside temperature is below zero. I'm thinking to myself, my god, what the heck am I doing here? Then I look up and realize that I'm in the safety of my easy chair, reading.
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