Essential Reading on General Yeager

The following books are an essential read for anyone interested in the life of Chuck Yeager and the aircraft he flew.

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Yeager An Autobiography

Cover image of YEAGER. Cover image of the recently reprinted YEAGER an Autobiography.

By General Chuck Yeager & Leo Janos.

This book is a must read. From the moment you pick it up to the moment you put it down, you live the life of Chuck Yeager.

The phenomenal #1 hardcover bestseller is now available in paperback.

General Chuck Yeager, the greatest test pilot of them all-the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound...the World War II flying ace who shot down a Messerschmitt ME262 jet fighter with a prop-driven P-51 Mustang...the hero who defined a certain quality that all the hotshot fly-boys of the bostwar era aimed to achieve: The Right Stuff.

This book is available on-line from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Barnes & Noble.com. The recently reprinted paperback version is of a larger format than previous paperback versions and has an entirely new front cover (see above right).

Press On - Further Adventures In The Good Life

Cover image of PRESS ON.

By General Chuck Yeager & Charles Leerhsen.

General Chuck Yeager is a born outdoorsman. From flying daredevil missions over Germany in WWII and cracking records as a test-pilot to his annual trip into California's Sierra Mountains, he's always the restless adventurer, in search of a new experience. In PRESS ON!, you'll roam the world with Chuck Yeager---and go back with him to his West Virgina roots. You'll also hear from Chucks best friend - Colonel C E 'Bud' Anderson and Chuck's late wife Glennis. There are many interesting stories regarding Chuck's hunting and fishing trips and of course his time as a test-pilot.

This book is currently out of print, so check all good second hand bookstores.

Into The Unknown

Cover image of Into the Unknown.

By Louis Rotundo, Foreword by General Chuck Yeager.

For more than forty years, the story of the record-breaking flights of the world's first supersonic aircraft-the Bell X-1-has fueled the American imagination and has been embellsished by myths and faulty recollections. Challenging the accepted story of the X-1, INTO THE UNKNOWN describes the complete history of the X-1 program-from the origins of high-speed research in the 1930s to Chuck Yeager's pioneering flight through the sound barrier on October 14 1947.

A more weighty read, this book is entralling and goes into all the technical details of the X-1.

This book is available on-line from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Barnes & Noble.com.

Aces Wild

Cover image of ACES WILD.

By Al Blackburn.

They were in a two-man race to break the sound barrier. It was October 1947, a time before high-speed digital computers, when predictions of what would happen to fighter planes at such speeds were nebulous. Chuck Yeager & George Welch, two great fighter pilots from World War II, were about to explore the unknown in the bright blue sky over the Mojave Desert. ACES WILD: THE RACE FOR MACH 1 is the story of these two courageous men who dueled to become the first to fly in an aircraft at supersonic speed - "MACH 1".

An interesting book, which should be read by anyone interested in the early period of jet/rocket aircraft research.

This book is available on-line from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Barnes & Noble.com.

Forever Flying

Cover image of 'FOREVER FLYING'.

By R.A. "Bob" Hoover with Mark Shaw. Foreword by General CHUCK YEAGER.

Barnstormer, World War II fighter pilot, pioneering test pilot, aerobatic genius - Bob Hoover is a true American hero. Now, in FOREVER FLYING, he tells his amazing story, sharing all the thrills and chills, spectacular stunts and deat-defying exploits that have made him a living aviation legend. Chuck Yeager describes Bob Hoover as the greatest pilot I ever saw. At the Monterey County Air Show in 1988, General Jimmy Doolittle announced "Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you Bob Hoover, the greates stick-and-rudder pilot alive today... No, that's wrong, let me introduce to you bob Hoover, the greatest stick-and-rudder pilot who ever lived.

This book should be read by anyone who has a love of flying and aviation. This book is available on-line from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk andBarnes & Noble.com.

To Fly & Fight - Memoirs of a Triple Ace

Click here to order TO FLY AND FIGHT direct from CEBUDANDERSON.com.

By Colonel Clarence E. "Bud" Anderson with Joseph P. Hamelin. Foreword by General Chuck Yeager.

To Fly and Fight is about flying, plain and simple: the joys and dangers and the very special skills it demands. Touching, thoughtful, and dead honest, it is the story of a boy who grew up living his dream. You'll read about the man who flew two combat tours during WWII, flight tested aircraft at Wright Field & Edwards Air Force Base, did two tours at the Pentagon, commanded three fighter units, and flew ground-support combat missions in Southeast Asi. He was decorated twenty-five times. He lives in Auburn, Califrnia, with Ellie, his wife of more than fifty years.

Richard Hallion, The Air Force historian, says: "It is, I think, the finest pilot memoir of World War II, and I have made it mandatory reading for all my historians."

This book is available on-line from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk,Barnes & Noble.com.and from Bud's own website at CEBUDANDERSON.com.

357th Fighter Group

Cover image of 357TH FIGHTER GROUP.

By James Roeder, published by squadron/signal publications.

Superb history of the 357th Fighter Group or "Yoxford Boys". Detailing from the formation of the 357th FG in 1942 to the end of WW2. The 357th FG was in combat for just over one year and in that time, was credited with 701.5 enemy kills, which was the fourth highest in the entire 8th Airforce. The strike rate of the group was second to none and produced more "Aces" than any other FG during WW2. The book has color plates and many previously unpublished B/W photographs of the pilots and their machines. A superb read.

This book is available on-line from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk andBarnes & Noble.com.

The Quest for Mach One - A first-Person Account of Breaking the Sound Barrier

Cover image of THE QUEST FOR MACH ONE.

By Chuck Yeager, Bob Cardenas, Bob Hoover, Jack Russell & James Young. Introduction by Walter Boyne, Afterword by Jeffrey Ethell.

For the first time, the riveting and heroic story of the teamwork behind the dawn of the space age - told by the men who made it happen.

The members of the Mach One team come together to chronicle the entire X-1 program. they are Chuck Yeager, test pilot; Bob Cardenas, mother ship pilot; bob hoover, backup and chase pilot; and Jack Russell, Yeager's X-1 crew chief.

THE QUEST FOR MACH ONE is illustrated with period photographs-many from the author's personal files - is a must-have for aviation buffs, patriots, and anyone interested in the pure progress, integrity, and courage that marked this period in aviation history.

This book is available on-line from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Barnes & Noble.com.

The X-Planes - X-1 to X-45

Cover image of THE X-PLANES.

By Jay Miller. Introduction by Brigadier General Charles E 'Chuck' Yeager.

A totally new and revised third edition of the phenomenally successful book by Jay Miller. "THE X-PLANES" is an absolute must have for any serious aviation enthusiast with an interest in the pioneering X-Planes. The previous edition, published in 1988 has been totally updated and revised.

With more than double the amount of pages over its predecessor (110 of the new pages cover X-32 to X-45), the amount of new content is extremely impressive. Each aircraft is described fully with coverage of history, specifications, propulsion systems and disposition in a logical, highly readable format. Accompanying the test are over 900 photographs, many of which are previously unpublished. Each X-Plane is also illustrated by an accurate and detailed multi-view drawing.

Click here to purchase the book direct from Amazon.

Meeting The Challenge Of Supersonic Flight

Cover image of MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF SUPERSONIC FLIGHT.

By James O. Young, Air Force Flight Test Center History Office, Edwards Air Force Base, California.

This is a wonderful book written and put together for the fiftieth anniversary of supersonic flight in 1997. It contains previously unpublished photographs, secret technical drawings and the actual flight trans-script of the worlds first flight through the sound barrier on October 14th 1947.

Unfortunately, this book is not available commercially, but you may be able to get a copy(signed) from Ed & Connie bowlin's site Aviaton Autographs.com.

Chuck Yeager Breaks The Sound Barrier

Cover image of CHUCK YEAGER BREAKS THE SOUND BARRIER.

By R. Conrad Stein, published by Grolier.

A fine little book intended for children, it has some interesting facts and photographs about General Yeager and would be equally at home in any serious Chuck Yeager fan's collection. This book is available on-line from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Barnes & Noble.com.

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HPM Publications.

Cover image of 5 GREAT POSTWAR AMERICAN X-PLANES. Cover image of MACH BUSTERS X-1 TEST PILOTS.

HPM Publications have many excellent books written by author Henry Matthews (images of two of his titles are above) on the subject of experimental aircraft and their pilots. Please visit a friend of this site at HPM Publications. and help support this aviation enthusiast who has has done so much to bring the true facts to the fore. I have four of Henry's titles including the two above, plus "Jack Woodman - the First Rocket Starfighter Pilot" and "The Saga of Bell X-2: First of the Spaceships". Please help Henry continue to publish his superb books and purchase one via his website.


Photographic Books

These books are full of beautiful photographs, and while not being strictly about General Chuck Yeager, they have either the text or forewords written by him.

There Once Was A War - The Collected Color Photography Of World War II

Cover image of THERE ONCE WAS A WAR.

By Jeffrey Ethell, with text by Chuck Yeager & Bud Anderson.

The most important historical event of the 20th century was a war that seemed to be fought in black-and-white. Our collective memory of the years 1941-1945 exists in monochrome, because that is the way most of us saw it-and continue to see it-in the films and still pictures of the day.

Here, then, is a colorful recollection of World War II in over 200 photographs, taken for the most part, by amateur lensmen-ordinary soldiers, sailors and airmen who wanted to record and preserve their time in the largest conflict in history.

In the text by Chuck Yeager & Bud Anderson, they have a wonderful remininscence of jpining the military, flight training, flying missions during WWII and go on to talk about their time in Vietnam.

Beautifully written with truly magnificent photographs, you must buy this book.

This book is available on-line from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Barnes & Noble.com.

WINGS

Cover image of WINGS.

Photography by Mark Meyer, introduction by Chuck Yeager.

Publishing sometimes offes rare opportunities. WINGS is one of them. Printed here is a collection of aviation photographs that is unique in its range, comprehensiveness, and artistic quality. With air-to-air, cockpit, and ground photographs representing all the major commands of the United States Air Force, this work is a remarkable achievement in a technically demanding, high-speed environment. Mark Meyer often refers to the airplanes as "flying objects of art". His images demonstrate why. the pictures in WINGS are an exciting addition to both aviation art collections and to private library collections.

Chuck Yeager helped to shape and enhance the performance of every aircraft that appears in this book & and his introduction is wonderful reading.

This book is available on-line from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Barnes & Noble.com.


Other media realating to Chuck Yeager

This site is totally non-commercial. All I seek to accomplish is this, if you are as interested in Chuck Yeager as I am, you will probably wish to obtain all of the titles I have mentioned above. If I have enlightend you as to the number of titles that are available on this subject, then I am very happy to have done so.

I have all these above titles and the others which I will mention here are also in my collection.

Books

THE RIGHT STUFF by Tom Wolfe, available from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Barnes & Noble.com.

Video & DVD

THE RIGHT STUFF

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The Right Stuff is a wonderful movie by Philip Kaufman based on Tom Wolfe's book THE RIGHT STUFF. The Movie stars Sam Shephard as Chuck Yeager,with Levon Helm as Jack Ridley, Barbara Hershey as Glennis Yeager, Kim Stanley as Pancho Barnes. Other cast members include Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid and Fred Ward.

The movie covers the time from Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier, flying the Bell X-1A, the selection of the first Astronauts, Alan Shepard's, Gus grissom's, John Glenn's & Gordo Cooper's flights in the Mercury/Redstone/Atlas. Also featured is Chucks terrifying accident in the NF-104 spaceflight training aircraft. General Chuck Yeager also has a cameo role as Fred the bar-tender.

If you have never seen this movie or don't yet have it in your collection, buy it now!

THE RIGHT STUFF is available on VHS cassette and DVD from Amazon.comand Amazon.co.uk.

The movie JET PILOT starring John Wayne & Janet Leigh features flying sequences by Chuck Yeager and inludes the last ever flight of the Bell X-1 serial number 46062 (Glamorous Glennis)and is also available from Amazon.comand Amazon.co.uk

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X-Planes - BEYOND THE WALL, tells the story in moving pictures of how the sound barrier was finally broken. Is available from Amazon.comand Amazon.co.uk

The Gathering Of Mustangs & Legends

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Mustangs & Legends

THE GATHERING OF MUSTANGS AND LEGENDS was made to cover the historic meeting at Kissimmee last year when over 100 Mustangs took to the air, surely the greatest number since the end of WWII. this unique video features exclusive interviews with world-famous Mustang pilots and owners attending the event, including Chuck Yeager, Bob, Hoover, Bud Anderson, Richard "Pete" Peterson, Lee Archer (Tuskegee Airman)and Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman & Bill Anders. Great footage of a great event. This video is available from Amazon.comand Amazon.co.uk

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Other Pages in this site.

Home Main page Photo page 1 Photo page 2 Yeager during WW2 Chuck Yeager photo gallery Yeager & The Bell X1 Supersonic Flight Transcript X-1A Flights Links Gen Yeager's Personal Appearances General Yeager's Biography FS98 Downloads Chuck's Wild ride in the X-1A The X-Planes & Chuck Yeager Fred J. Ascani XF-92A Model Builder's information Yeager and the NF-104A Yeager and the M2-F1

Breaking The Sound Barrier by NOVA

Derek Horne

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