Powder Puff Derby: Petticoat Pilots and Flying Flappers

by Mike Walker

This book follows the early years of women aviators from the end of World War I through the madcap years of the 1920s to the establishment of aviation as a serious part of defense and commercial activities during World War II. Award-winning writer Mike Walker writes about a time of immense social and technical change that radically transformed the position of women and became the golden years for the development of aviation.

304 pages, Paperback

First published July 11, 2003

Reviews

[Judy Zell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book, except for the second chapter which goes way back into the history of aviation to the Montgolfier brothers and the first woman to ride in a balloon. Most chapters feature just one or two women with more biographical information than racing. One chapter has an Irish woman and an English woman, both married to English Lords (i.e. money), who competed to set distance records. One flew from London to Capetown, while the other flew the same route in reverse, stopping for some big game hunting and formal dinners on the way. An Australian aviatrix ended up as the main witness in a murder trial in Miami which involved the 2 men who were living with her. I learned that Amelia Earhart wasn't the best of the early women fliers; she just had the best publicist, her husband, George Putnam. A fast, fun read.