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Rating: 
Summary: Best book I have read in a long time.
Review: I appreciated the honesty in this book. Especially concerning the struggles and sacrifices it takes to become number one in your field. This book has inspired me to go as far as I can in the aviation world.
Rating:
Summary: More than an aerobat
Review: In the office of my flight instructor, there is a framed autographed poster hanging on the wall showing an Extra 300S banked at a reasonable angle in a climb. Closer inspection reveals that the background of sky and ground is reversed, the plane is actually at the top of a loop, heading downward. The top left headline reads, "Man was not meant to fly like this" and the sassy bottom tag line reads, "Man doesn't." A picture of Patty Wagstaff, flashing a provocative, over the shoulder smile, completes the image. That poster was my final nudge to begin aerobatic training, and I purchased this book to gain insight into the life of someone who not only mastered the field of competitive aerobatics, but also learned how to market her skills effectively. I wanted to know how she did it, and where the drive came from. The answer is surprising, and painful. One begins to wonder if she would have bothered if her family of origin had been more normal, more pleasant, or if she had been allowed to give her talents free rein. Would we be celebrating her artistry in watercolor, instead of aerial performance? The first third of the book is gritty, and reads like an exercise in emotional therapy, of a boomer coming of age when society was tearing itself up. Start reading it by playing some CD's of the era, or the Forrest Gump soundtrack, turn on the UV lamp and light up an incense stick. For the remainder, pull your harness extra tight and hang on. It is a fast ride, from learning to fly at 30 to entering her first contest at 34 to becoming US National Champion at 40. The value she places on having good friendships is obvious, as she names and credits everyone who helped her along the way. She was a teachable ex-hippie, who quickly made peace with machinery and power. She also had the inestimable advantage of a husband who introduced her to flying and enabled her gypsy lifestyle to enter contests and airshows. Not many of us can say, "Honey, I need a new $200,000 plane to be competitive this year." Well, we can say it, but it won't happen for most of us. Pilots will enjoy the technical footnotes, but I recommend this book for anyone wanting to know what it takes to excel in any field, or to recover from a less than perfect start in life. Patty's answer? It takes all that you have.
Rating: 
Summary: A "must read" for anyone who flies or dreams of flight.
Review: Patty Wagstaff shares her life with us in much the same way Ernest K. Gann did in his autobiography "Hostage to Fortune". The story of her early life and what brought her to her discovery of flight is fascinating. Her descriptions of aerobatic flight are detailed yet one senses the difficulty of putting into words the emotions associated with it. She describes her aerobatic routines as a dance in the sky. "Fire and Air" is a very rewarding read for anyone who has ever contemplated the meaning of flight.
Rating: 
Summary: Who actually wrote the book?
Review: Well, as a female student pilot and someone who has been obsessed with flying since I was 5 years old, I was REALLY disappointed when I read this book. First of all, it becomes obvious to the reader that not one person wrote this book, as one goes through different sections. There is absolutely no coherence in it and it does no good to literary contributions. Secondly, I don't think that it was appropriate for the authors to elaborate on the details of her dysfanctional family. We don't really want to know the ugly stuff. Third, I found myself, while reading the book, saying "yeah, right..."; many things just don't add up. And, perhaps she is a great aerobatic pilot, no doubt about that, but basically it is a way to care for her fast-paced personality rather than the flying itself. At least this is what I got from the book. What about women in aviation, in general? There was so much more to be written in this book! I'd be more interested to read something from her pilot-sister Toni...
Rating:
Summary: Who actually wrote the book?
Review: Why is flying so great? That is the question I've often asked myself. Some biographies of super-pilots don't go much further than to say that flying was all the author ever wanted to do since he was a kid, and then fail to make clear what it really is about flying that touches them so deeply. In this book, however, the author sheds more light on the issue. She tells us about the feelings and emotions that flying an airplane evokes. Wagstaff really tries to make you feel what goes on in her head (or heart) when she flies, why she gets such a kick out of flying. To me, that was the aspect of the book that really stood out for me. For the rest, the book was just a fascinating read. Wagstaff has lead an amazing life, and she writes well about it.
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding read
Review: Why is flying so great? That is the question I've often asked myself. Some biographies of super-pilots don't go much further than to say that flying was all the author ever wanted to do since he was a kid, and then fail to make clear what it really is about flying that touches them so deeply. In this book, however, the author sheds more light on the issue. She tells us about the feelings and emotions that flying an airplane evokes. Wagstaff really tries to make you feel what goes on in her head (or heart) when she flies, why she gets such a kick out of flying. To me, that was the aspect of the book that really stood out for me. For the rest, the book was just a fascinating read. Wagstaff has lead an amazing life, and she writes well about it.
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