Great Flying Stories Includes Biggles

by J G ; De Roald & Others Forsyth, Frederick (ed) Johns, W E ; Poe, Edgar Allen ; Wells H G ; Ballard

Finding out how to fly was man's last great adventure, Frederick Forsyth writes, and in this wonderfully entertaining volume he gathers and introduces an extraordinary array of tales of our love affair with flight. H. G. Wells's "My First Aeroplane" hilariously evokes the days when a flying machine was a proper toy for a gentleman. "The Unparalleled Adventures of One Hans Pfaall" by Edgar Allan Poe is a weird fantasy - part Baron Munchhausen and part Rip Van Winkle. W. E. Johns's "Spads and Spandaus" recounts an American flier's baptism by fire at the hands of the famed Baron Richthofen. H. E. Bates, "Flying Officer X, " contributes "How Sleep the Brave, " the adventures of a bomber crew shot down over the North Sea and their struggle to survive in a pitching dinghy. Richard Bach, author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, is represented by "Cat, " in which a strange Persian cat keeps watch over the comings and goings of a USAF squadron. In "They Will Never Grow Old, " Roald Dahl takes us into the tight cir of a British air squadron in the Middle East in World War II and spins the haunting story of a pilot who is given up for lost and returns, under the most mysterious circumstances, to describe a flight beyond this world. Rounding out the collection are tales by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Len Deighton, J. G. Ballard, F. Britten Austin, and John Buchan. In the words of Frederick Forsyth's stirring introduction, "The last of the lonely places is the sky, a trackless void where nothing lives or grows, and above it, space itself. Man may have been destined to walk upon ice or sand, or climb the mountains or take a craft upon the sea. But surely he was never meant to fly? But he does, and findin out how to do it was his last great adventure."

Genres: Fiction, Aviation, Short Stories

312 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I was a pilot in a previous life. I had to read this book.

A simple collection of short stories, some tedious, some enjoyable, all dealing with flight. It's a fun read if you find it in a collection somewhere, but nothing too special.

The biggest problem I had is that it would go from a story that had me laughing and enjoying its ridiculousness, right into a story that tried to be supremely serious. If you're goinf to read it, only read one at a time, then put it down for a bit.

[Stuart Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great stories of flying, mostly from WWI and WWII but some even earlier. Some really odd authors like H.G. Wells and Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who wrote before the Wright brothers ever flew. Others who you would not associate with flying like Roald Dahl and Len Deighton, but with some classic flying writers like Flying Officer X. The wildest was the Poe story, which I at first believed to have been heavily influenced by Jules Verne. Some research revealed that Verne was a huge fan of Poe, and that it was Verne's stories that were influenced by Poe and not the other way around. Some straight up flying stories, some more like ghost stories, and a few 19th century steampunk adventures. Very entertaining.

[Fátima Fernandes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma destas histórias, da autoria do próprio editor, THE SHEPERD, é um dos melhores contos que conheço, e é certamente a história de fantasmas de que mais gosto.

[Darnoc Leadburger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an odd one to write a review of over a month after reading it. It's an odd book in itself - it's a collection of 'great flying stories,' which means there's a mix of historical/war fiction, macabre fiction, an even early science fiction via H. G. Wells. The latter were some of my favorite, but a couple of the horror-tinged tales - specifically Poe's and Doyle's - stuck with me too. The more 'realistic' ones haven't stuck with me very well a month later, but nothing was real boring to read.

[Natt Cham · Rating 3 out of 5]

จากปก ทีแรกคิดว่าเป็นนวนิยายที่เขียนโดย Frederick Forsyth และเป็นแนวสงคราม แต่พอเริ่มเปิดอ่านกลับพบว่าเป็นหนังสือระบบเรื่องสั้นเกี่ยวกับการบินที่แต่งโดยนักเขียนเลื่องชื่อหลากหลายท่าน ซึ่ง Frederick Forsyth รวบรวมไว้ได้อย่างน่าสนใจ โดยเฉพาะเรื่องสั้นคลาสสิคหลายๆ เรื่องซึ่งจัดได้ว่าเป็นแนว Scientific Romance เรื่องในเล่มประกอบด้วย
- เครื่องบินลำแรกของผม ("My First Aeroplane") เขียนโดย เอ็ช. จี. เวลส์ *****
- ฮันส์ พาลล์ผจญภัย "The Unparalleled Adventures of One Hans Pfaall" ,เอ็ดก้าร์ อลัน โป *****
- มหาภัยเหนือฟ้า ,เซอร์อาร์เธอร์ โคแนน ดอยล์ ****
- เหนือฟ้ายังมีฟ้า ,กัปตันดับบลิว. อี. จอห์น ***
- ผู้ยิ่งใหญ่ ,เอ็ช. อี. เบทส์ **
- บินทะลุมิติ, โรอัลด์ ดาห์ล ****
- คนนำทาง, เฟรเดอริค ฟอรร์ไซธ์ *****
- ภารกิจยามเช้า, เลน เดตัน ***
- เกาะในฝัน, เจ. จี. บัลลาร์ด ***
- แมวนำโชค, ริชาร์ด บาค ****
- ผู้บุกเบิก, เอ็ช. จี. เวลส์ ***
- เส้นทางนรก, เอ็ช. อี. เบทส์ ***
- ข่าวสำคัญ, เอฟ. บริทเทน ออสติน **
- พระเจ้าขอมา, จอห์น บูแชน **

[Paul Doyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read of diverse stories about flying written over a large time period. Some stories were clearly based on personal experiences, others clearly fictional. An interesting compilation.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 2 out of 5]

174 - 2015