Heroes without legacy

the long version

Aside from Amelia Earhart, America's earliest airwomen and their achievements remain largely unknown to the public. While enjoying widespread media attention in the twenties, thirties, and forties, America's female pilots lapsed into obscurity following World War II, denying current generations of women a promising cadre of role models. This book pays tribute to these spectacular pioneers: Katherine Stinson, Louise Thaden, World War II's Women Airforce Pilots, and many others. Heroes Withowut Legacy examines basic features of the dramatic and exciting period between 1912 and 1944, when aviation began to mature both technically and commercially and when airwomen were competing head-to-head with men in record-breaking flights. During this period, women were among the entrepreneurs and innovators. They participated in the establishment of transportation routes and the transition from open cockpit biplanes to machines with practical cabins. Examining the important role they played in fields as diverse as racing and aerial navigation, Dean Jaros probes the reasons why the substantial accomplishments of these women have been so neglected and reflects on whether the airwomen themselves might not have affected their own future in more positive ways. Rather than popularize or glorify the airwomen, Jaros provides an interpretive assessment of these individuals and the circumstances that influenced their lives. Illustrated with eighteen photographs, most never before published, Heroes Without Legacy not only addresses a glaring historical deficiency but documents a recent resurgence of interest in these women aviators.