Supersonic Flight: revised edition: Breaking the Sound Barrier and Beyond: , The Story of the Bell X‐1 and Douglas D.558

The highest praise I can give this book is that it was written for the 25th anniversary of the first supersonic flight but its re‐issue for the 50th anniversary is entirely appropriate: nothing more significant has been published since it first appeared in 1972, with the possible exception of Chuck Yeager’s own memoirs (1985) which were written with a refreshing frankness and verve which typified the circumstances of his famous flight. The tradition of an academic historical approach to aviation history is more evident in the USA than in the UK where aviation history tends to be written by “insiders”...