Sky Girls: The True Story of the First Women's Cross-Country Air Race

by Gene Nora Jessen

"A beautiful and inspiring book...fascinatingly told." -- Donna Shirley, former head of the U.S. Mars program, NASA

The exhilarating story of the first women who boldly conquered the skies in the first female cross-country air race

The year is 1929, and on the eve of America's Great Depression, nineteen gutsy and passionate pilots soared above the glass ceiling in the very first female cross-country air race. Armed with grit and determination, they crossed thousands of miles in propeller-driven airplanes to defy the naysayers who would say it cannot -- not should not -- be done.
From the indomitable Pancho Barnes to the infamous Amelia Earhart, Sky Girls chronicles a defining and previously forgotten moment when some of the first women pilots took their rightful place in the open skies. For a country on the brink of defining change, they would become symbols of hope, daring, and the unstoppable American spirit. And for generations to come, their actions would pave the way for others to step into the brave unknown and learn to fly...
Written by female pilot and member of the original Mercury 13 Gene Nora Jessen, Sky Girls celebrates the strength and smarts of these trailblazing women, and sits perfectly on the shelf next to The Radium Girls, Hidden Figures, or Code Girls.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Feminism, Biography, Aviation, American History, Science

390 pages, Paperback

First published August 18, 2018

Reviews

[Katie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been interested in the stories of female aviators for awhile now and have already read a few nonfiction and historical fiction books about the early days of aviation. Sky Girls, published in 2002 as The Powder Puff Derby of 1929: The First All Women's Transcontinental Air Race, is a pretty comprehensive look at the race and its participants.

The book is certainly thorough with making sure each racer is covered throughout the book rather than just focusing in on a few. Even though I was familiar with some of the aviators beforehand, it was a little hard to keep track of everyone. I would have loved to have a cast of characters list at the beginning with a brief description of their background so I could flip back and forth when I couldn't remember who was who. However, I consider this only a slight problem because I would much rather have a well-researched book that goes into a lot of detail than a brief overview of the race.

I would say about 2/3 of the book covers the race itself while the last 1/3 goes into detail about the lives of the aviators afterward. I came to really love the Will Rogers newspaper column snippets as it provided an interesting view from a spectator's perspective. In general, the author did a good job including background info about the social climate during that time period and other aviation historical facts both before and after the race. There are a good amount of photos included in the book although because I was reading an advance digital copy, the photos were grayed out and I was unable to view them. But given I saw all the spaces and captions designated for the pictures, I think most readers will be pleased at the amount.

I would definitely recommend this book if you are interested in aviation and/or nonfiction books about women doing extraordinary things. It was a fascinating read and I'm glad this part of history has been preserved for future generations.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for allowing me to read a free advance digital copy! All views expressed are my honest opinion.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The year is 1929, and on the eve of America's Great Depression, nineteen gutsy and passionate pilots soared above the glass ceiling in the very first female cross-country air race. Armed with grit and determination, they crossed thousands of miles in propeller-driven airplanes to defy the naysayers who would say it cannot - not should not - be done. From the indomitable Pancho Barnes to the infamous Amelia Earhart, Sky Girls chronicles a defining and previously forgotten moment when some of the first women pilots took their rightful place in the open skies. For a country on the brink of defining change, they would become symbols of hope, daring, and the unstoppable American spirit. And for generations to come, their actions would pave the way for others to step into the brave unknown and learn to fly.

Sky Girls is a reprint of the 2002 release The Powder Puff Derby of 1929: The First All Women's Transcontinental Air Race. Early aviation has always interested me, especially when it comes to women pioneers in the field. This history book is a decent entry to get you get interested in the topic. It covers the entire length of the race from California to Ohio and gives us a taste of the pilots involved including Amelia Earhart. Personally, I wish the author's narrative followed a few of the pilots more closely rather than jumping around between the entire group of racers involved. There are also a lot of photos and maps included (or at least there are supposed to be since the ARC mostly just had blank spaces representing where those are supposed to appear in the final copy which definitely made me feel a little out of the loop). Overall, my favorite aspect of this book is that at the end it features more in-depth profiles on all of the racers by concisely going beyond the narrow scope of the race. I also liked the fact that the author, a pilot herself, also goes a little further in the history of female aviation pioneers by touching on their involvement in WWII, commercial airlines, and space. By the way, she even features a profile of Jerrie Mock, the first woman to fly solo around the world in 1964 completing Amelia Earhart's goal. She was awarded the Federal Aviation Agency Gold Medal by President Johnson for her achievements. Even cooler yet, she was a local central Ohioan from Newark.

Thanks again, NetGalley!

[Spad53 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a super book. It’s about the 1929 Women's Air Derby, also unfortunately called the Powder puff derby. And here is a problem already, this name was invented by Will Rogers, a famous radio reporter of the time, and he was one of the good guys! He was a great friend of the women pilots and in 1929 that was a name that worked. Here 19 women pilots raced from Santa Monica, California to Cleveland Ohio in appalling conditions really. They battled heat, complete lack of navigation aids and radio, lack of sleep, and not to speak of Carbon monoxide poisoning which killed Marvel Crosson and nearly killed Louise Thaden who finally won the nine day race. They were heroes all of them.
I knew about this race, as should any aviation nut (most don’t though) but I hadn’t realized how enormous it was. All the famous women pilots were in it, including Amelia Earhart, and the crowds were bigger than met up for Charles Lindbergh, and that was another of the problems, there was no crowd control. Organisation was good for sponsors who wanted to meet the pilots, but awful for the pilots, who wanted to sleep, not go to banquets. Sexism was rampant of course , some comments from men in this book make me ashamed of being one.
But this was 1929, and only the beginning of women’s struggle to work as pilots. In 1978 I was struggling to learn to fly, my landings were awful, I realise now that my instructor wasn’t right for me, then along came Malin one of the first female instructors, and she was so great, she had me flying solo in no time, what a difference.

Gliding in 1976 at Camphill


In 1981 I had Volvo’s first female manager, and she helped me get into the computer dept, since then I had lots of great women managers, if only they’d known in 1929.
As for the book, yes it was excellent, except for rambling off towards the end. I learnt a lot of stuff new to me. 1929 was a tremendous year for aviation.

[CatReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gene Nora Jessen (1937-2024) was an American female aviator and of the Mercury 13, a group of female pilots who underwent testing to potentially become the first female astronauts in the early 1960s before this project was unfortunately scrapped. Her 2018 book Sky Girls, which took her over a decade to research, is a history of the Women's Air Derby of 1929, the first American air race open only to female pilots.

The first two thirds of the book covers the race itself in chronological fashion -- twenty women set off from Santa Monica, California and made their way through a series of scheduled layovers to Cleveland, Ohio, over the course of nine days -- with fourteen pilots successfully completing all legs, and, as was common with experimental aircrafts at the time, one (Marvel Crosson) unfortunately suffering a malfunction and fatally crashing. Though Amelia Earhart is arguably the best known early female aviator of that era and did participate in this race, she finished in fourth place (out of ten) among pilots operating heavy airfact; the winners were Louise Thaden (heavy aircraft class) and Phoebe Omlie (light aircraft class). Comedian Will Rogers covered the race for national newspapers and nicknamed the race the "powder puff derby," which unfortunately stuck. At the conclusion of the race, seeking to sustain support for female aviators, the pilots founded the Ninety-Nines, an international organization of women pilots that's still around today.

The remaining third of this book is a detailed record of what became of each pilot after the race, as well as a general history of female aviators -- this was clearly a passion project of Jessen. Though this section read as a somewhat dry info dump to me, it's clear that a tremendous amount of work and research went into it. The book contains many photos of the race and the pilots, and a forward by Eileen Collins, the first American woman to command a NASA shuttle mission.

Overall, a comprehensive resource for those interested in the history of aviation, specifically female aviators. One element I very much appreciated is that Jessen largely referred to the women by their last names throughout!

Further reading: aviation history (some with overlapping content with this book):
The Great Air Race: Glory, Tragedy, and the Dawn of American Aviation by John Lancaster (about a 1919 air race with only male participants with a much higher fatality count)
East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart by Susan Butler
Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History by Keith O'Brien
The Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II by Katherine Sharp Landdeck - about the World War II WASPs
Fighting for Space: Two Pilots and Their Historic Battle for Female Spaceflight by Amy Shira Teitel (about the Mercury 13)
Dare to Fly: Simple Lessons in Never Giving Up by Martha McSally
Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission by Eileen Collins

My statistics:
Book 9 for 2026
Book 2315 cumulatively

[Genetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

SKY GIRLS is the thrilling account of the female fliers who made history in 1929's first all women's transcontinental Air Derby while naysayers criticized them for competing in a sport thought fit only for men. Women had flown airplanes for over twenty years but had never been allowed to race before. And this race of over 2,700 miles in 9 days tested their skills, their strength, and their stamina.
Aviation was so different in those early days of flight that Gene Jessen goes into great detail to show the spunk and bravery the women needed to fly small aircraft against the elements from California to Ohio. Each of them suffered mishaps along the way. Some flew open-cockpit planes, exposing them to scorching heat, high winds, and rain. Without modern flight instruments, many landed at the wrong airport, some crashed or forced a landing in a field due to mechanical difficulties, a few inhaled toxic fumes inflight, one had to put out a fire while flying her plane, and one lost her life on the journey. While male aviators faced these same prospects, many thought women should not be allowed to expose themselves to the dangers. These trailblazing pilots paved the way for future generations of women to experience the thrill of flight.

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is a reprint of The Powder Puff Derby of 1929: The First All Women's Transcontinental Air Race published in 2002. The story of the race is gleaned from news reports and each chapter is headlined with Will Rogers quotes. The most valuable part of the book is the pilot biographies at the conclusion.

[Charley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. I had only ever heard of Amelia Earhart. Of course I knew there were other female pilots. But they don’t have the legendary name. It was kinda hard to follow the story of the race throughout. It jumped between so many different pilots and their experience, sometimes I felt lost in the order the story was told. But overall worth the time to learn something new.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first women of aviation are brought to life against the backdrop of a cross-country air race in 1929.n 2o women began the race, which made it a little hard to keep track of all the characters. Amelia Earhart is is the most well known today, and she came in 3rd, and would have been 4th except a racer dropped out after an accident damaged her plane. Gene Jessen takes the reader through each of the 9 days of the race, and begins each chapter with an excerpt of Will Rodger's column as he followed the race. The epilogue briefly describes the rest of each woman's life, and the afterword discusses other important women in the history of aviation. It took a lot of courage and skill for anyone to fly an airplane at that time as so many things could go wrong. It was a hard field for women to break into as many people wouldn't teach women to fly or hire them once they had learned. One woman in the story disliked transport companies because they didn't hire women on the faulty premise that women would not trust other women to fly them (303)*. Once women were finally hired by airlines as pilots in the 1970s they had to "retake all their pilot certificate and rating exams after recovering from the "illness" of childbirth" (304).* This quotation from naval aviator Lt. Kara Hultgreen sums up the feelings of women aviators, "'Someone forgot to tell me when I was young that being born a girl was a birth defect'" (593).* This is a fascinating look at a little piece of women's and aviation history.

*Page numbers are according to the Libby App (Overdrive) reading on my phone.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was full of amazing, badass ladies doing amazing, badass things. The idea of flying cross-country in the present is nervewracking to me, but these women were excited by the adventure and willing to take the risks in wooden bi-wing planes in 1929! When everything was new and experimental, when things were still being invented and safety regulations hadn't been thought up yet because no one knew what the dangers were.

As a profile of these women, this book is a smashing success--the different personalities of the various ladies shine through despite the hazards of non-fiction: little dialogue, a lot of information dumping. But Jessen manages to avoid a ton a info-dumping, though she does occasionally wander away from the story of the women and their race to talk about the history of aviation in general. But even that was interesting, if not fascinating, and well-written to be engaging.

Considering I'm not non-fiction's biggest fan, I found this book engaging and interesting; the source material made it easy: these women were amazing pioneers of the air, truly brilliant souls who went above and beyond (pun intended, heh) in their quest to savor the adventure of flying. And what an adventure they had.

[Guy Worthey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a fan of history and female aviators and I loved loved loved this true history. Written by a pilot, certain passages in this book evoked vivid pictures of aviation in the days of doped-fabric wings and open cockpits. Goggles protected the eyes from wind, birds, and a steady mist of oil from the roaring engine. The concrete descriptions of the pilots were likewise entertainingly memorable. Oh, that Pancho Barnes!

One /might/ want to read the epilogue first - it's a string of brief biographies of each pilot. The main narrative is chronological with a zillion side trips about people, places, events, and settings of note, and sometimes it's a bit too fragmented to follow very well. Aside from that structural defect, the overall writing is superb, with excellent use of language to convey the flavors of people and early aviation.

As a whole, the book paints a brilliant picture of the Powder Puff Derby of 1929 and also gives context for everything from the economics of aviation to feminism. I shed tears here and there as I read, and I learned a shipload of new things including spinoff books to read. Highly recommended!

[The Booked Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1929 nineteen female pilots took to the skies for the first women's cross-country air race starting in Santa Monica, California and ending nine days later in Cleveland, Ohio. The pilots pushed on despite the race being riddled with accidents, delays, suspicion of sabotage and even loss of life. The women were met with press and thousands of curious onlookers at close to a dozen stops en route to the finish line. Some of the headlines and rhetoric written about these trailblazers are enough for modern day women to grit their teeth. Though each competitor was standout in their own right mostly the name Amelia Earhart will stand out for those not familiar with aviation's early celebrities. "Sky Girls" is filled with fantastic pictures and each chapter begins with a quote from Will Rogers pulled from his commentary on the race. The race itself takes up the majority of the book but for me the last section which gives space for readers to learn about the lives of each of the competitors was the most compelling. A great non-fiction read for anyone wanting to learn more about female contributions to American history.

[Lisa Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Interesting history on early women's aviation. The main part of the book is relatively short and a quick read. It tells the story, leg by leg, of the first women's cross country air race from Santa Monica to Cleveland in 1929. The book is laid out well and it is fun to go on the adventure as they go from town to town. Absolutely crazy what they did with the equipment they had - I cannot imagine! Once the race is done there is a long epilogue profiling each of the racers then an equally long afterword profiling women in aviation in business, military, helicopters, space, etc... Good history, but a little long and boring after the fun of the air race. My daughter loved this book and insisted I read it! Good recommendation!

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, this would be a 3.5 star book. It is not as good as Fly Girls but it does Chronicle the first Women's Powder Puff derby. It skirts many of the Political issues and the pilots fights with Cliff Henderson but it does deal with the day to day dramas. All the stops blend together as there is always a crisis, an event the pilots don't want to attend and the total lack of sleep. Where the book succeeds is in the individual pilot's stories and delving into their personalities.

[Susan J. Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book!!! The race itself, was fascinating to learn about, but the author gives a biography of each women before this race, which really helps to understand them. We are then given a follow up after the race, as to how each lived the rest of their lives, which for most, was amazing.

The historical aspects of this era were fascinating, so much that I did not know or realize.

Some of the information about the planes themselves was over my head, but overall, I loved the book.

[Apriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved learning about the fearless women of the first Powder Puff Derby! The book was full of interesting facts but could have used another round of editing as I found parts repetitive and there were a few typos. That being said I would recommend this book to anyone interested in trailblazing women.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting story of the first women's air race. A friend and I went to hear the author speak and loved it. I could have listened to her stories all day. The book is unlike anything I've read and I really found it inspiring to read the stories of so many trailblazers in women's aviation.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! My father taught me a lot about flying when I was younger, so I am familiar with flying terms and maneuvers described in this book. It was very helpful to have the background knowledge.

[Julie Barnard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book about some of the women who flew airplanes in a race from Santa Monica to Cleveland, Ohio in 1929. Amelia Earhart was one of them; the others I had never heard of. It was a little long and a little tedious sometimes, but definitely worth reading.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-researched and written, this book is a high flier! An entertaining and informative read. The audio version, however, is marred by the narrator's inability to pronounce many proper names correctly.

[Pam Ostdahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally enjoyed this book. There is so much in history I never have heard about. Sky Girls opened my eyes to the world of flying and women. I suggest all women read this book.

[Bev Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true story and I loved it. Finally found out why the W.A.S.P. program was cancelled a year before WW2 ended. Shame on JAQUELANE. COCKRAN AND HAP ARNOLD for not negotiating.

[Kimberly Codispoti]

Did not finish. Was expecting more story, less news style chapters.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading about women aviators and books that explore what women were doing in a time where we are taught that women were at home running families. Women were never just at home running families! Knowing that women have been flying almost as long as there have been airplanes should not be surprising, yet given how tough it was for WASP to get the recognition they deserve, any aviators prior to the 1940s definitely are under served. Except Amelia Earhart, though it is questionable if she would have ever been recognized if she had not disappeared.

That being said, this book focuses on too many aviators of the time that it becomes weighed down with facts and numbers rather than following a few aviators to create a narrative. It reads as more of a profile of the aviators rather than a narrative of the time period.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
Going into this book the only women pilot I could tell you was Amelia Earhart and mainly just the last few years of her flying career before she tragically went missing.

Now I know about so many other amazing women and how America's aviation revolution really started and what helped fuel it.
In 1929 A Cross-Country air race happened that showed both men and women competing in different areas. The race eventually became known as the powder-puff derby but that didn't take away any of the amazing achievements that the women completed during the race or how so many of them ended up rising to some level of fame.

Some of the women mentioned in this book.
Pancho Barnes (Florence Lowe)
Louise Thaden
Evelyn "Bobbi" Trout
Neva Finlay
Thea Rasche
Phoebe Fairgrave
Edith Magalis Foltz (Stearns)

Overall I really loved this non-fiction book. Getting to learn about the cross-country air race that so many women competed in was amazing. I loved seeing so many women empowered especially during this time in history. They were able to get sponsorships and had their family's supporters. I also found it fascinating how many of them were married to pilots who had helped them learn how to fly. The women also had to know how to repair there own planes and how to take care of them, which is something not typically talked about or allowed during this time period as well. I loved seeing so many rebellious women kicking butt and showing that anything was possible.

I now really want to find books about each of these women to learn more about them, especially Thea Rasche, Edith Magalis Foltz, and Pancho Barnes because they absolutely fascinate me and I want to know more about there careers outside of this race.

The map in this book is really great! I loved how it showed each race stop and how far they had already flown and how far they still needed to go. (I think this could work great for teachers to plan lessons around possibly?)

We also get to see little snippets of what Will Roger's said about the race and his support for the women's race in general. That was really fascinating to me and something I loved being able to tell other family members about who remember hearing Rogers on programs in their childhood.

[38Spitfires · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books! I've read this so many times! This book tells the story of the 1929 Women's Air Derby, the first transcontinental air race for women. The race began in Santa Monica, CA and ended in Cleveland, OH. 20 brave women flew in the race, facing bad weather, sabotage, and more.

[Cristie Underwood]

The author did an amazing job researching about these women and their attempts at making and some of achieving history at a time when many women didn't work, let alone pilot planes! Very interesting and full of information that I had never heard.