Black Wings: Courageous Stories of African Americans in Aviation and Space History

I first learned about the Tuskegee Airmen, the African-American fighter pilots of WWII, and their famous red tail P-51 Mustangs after meeting the late Don Hinz at a local airfield. Hinz and his project to restore one of these P-51 planes piqued my interest, and curiosity led to my delving into the history of black American aviators. Now, we have Von Hardesty's wonderful book Black Wings to describe this history, beginning with the barnstorming days of aviatrix Bessie Coleman and concluding with the highly specialized men and women of the Astronaut Corps. It is a poignant and inspirational story of people who dreamed of flying and their attempts to break through discrimination and barriers, including flight schools that refused to teach them and an elitist all-white U.S. Army Air Corps whose officers insisted that blacks couldn't successfully pilot military aircraft. This 180-page book features 200 remarkable historic and contemporary photographs, many depicting the segregated days of flying: black aviation clubs, a movie flier announcing a "colored" cast, and a 1931 air show billed as a "colored air circus," among others. I recommend this book wholeheartedly, a great addition to readers' collections. Kathleen Winters, author of Anne Morrow Lindbergh: First Lady of the Air

This book looks at a little-remembered group of black men who, with their abilities and initiatives and creativity, became a valuable working unit of the military. The photographs are great. Written very well, with empathy and understanding, from the author's meetings with relatives and friends of these fliers.