Lincoln Beachey: The Man Who Owned the Sky

Rating:
Summary: Exciting, intriguing, and inspiring
Review: Frank Marrero writes from his heart, and that is a truly valuable quality in any historian. I learned about an admirable and legendary man, in a field at which I wouldn't have looked twice if it weren't for Mr. Marrero's folklorish and mythical style of writing. Beachey does indeed deserve such love and praise. I hope many more people research and write about him, and such writings would in no way take away from Mr. Marrero's devoted tribute.

Rating:
Summary: The best book on the most colorful aviator of all time
Review: It is exciting whenever anyone unearths a buried treasure and shares it with the world. Frank Marrero has done just that. Lincoln Beachey, the man who was key in starting the U.S. Air Force, is now deservedly on center stage.

This exciting and fast-paced read is informative, educational, and even surprising. This is a peak into the past that will delight anyone, whether or not they have any interest in aviation.

Rating:
Summary: A great lunch-time read for aviation/history buffs
Review: While previous reviewers may dispute some of the facts recited, it remains that this is a great read about a man whose accomplishments deserve to be remembered. Indeed, a list of his feats would shame many of the more well-remembered aviators whose fame was based more upon subsequent movies than fact.

For instance: Beachey flew upside-down around the Washington Monument, buzzed the Capitol Building until Congress adjourned to see what was happening, and then landed on the White House lawn to meet Mrs. Teddy Roosevelt. It served his purpose perfectly as a lead in to his words to Congress "If I had had a bomb you'de be dead." He was an ardent supporter of aviation as a national defense tool and worked to prove it his whole life.

Mr. Marrero does not purport to offer a scholarly work, nor does he intend that this be a benchmark. Instead, we have a long-overdue refresher of what should never have been forgotten.

I enjoyed the book I borrowed sufficiently that I bought my own copy for my collection. And while I would not put it on the same literary level as, say, Hemmingway (hence only an 8), I would recommend it to anyone.