If it is true that we are born with traits that predispose us to certain career paths, then Harold "Blackie" Blackburn must have been given an abundance of the flying gene. Despite having grown up in a farming community in western Nebraska and having attended an agricultural and mechanical college, he would end up spending the majority of his life flying over fields rather than plowing them. The metal wings of more types of planes than most pilots would ever fly in their lifetimes would help him ride the winds of five continents, a feat made even more amazing due to his terror of heights. Only in his later years would he turn his hand to the soil on his Pennsylvania farm, long after he had made his mark in the world of aviation.

Although airplanes intrigued him and the military was already becoming a part of his life during his college days, for a time it appeared that music might prove to be his career path. Yet despite the rising success of Hal Blackburn and His Orchestra, Blackie's heart was not in it. So after selling his band to his clarinet player in 1928, he began to prepare to enter the Army Air Corps. The organizational, managerial, and interpersonal skills he had learned as a band leader would serve him well in later years whether as a charter pilot, a flight instructor, a World War II flyer, and one of the pioneering pilots of Trans World Airlines.

The author's well-written and richly detailed biography not only chronicles the life of an interesting man but also offers some fascinating glimpses into aviation history, especially those that took place behind the more well-known events of World War II. The result is a treat for both war buffs and airplane enthusiasts.

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