Fearless: Harriet Quimby a Life Without Limit

By Don Dahler

Book Overview

In the spirit of the bestseller Fly Girls comes the definitive and compelling true story of Harriet Quimby, the first American woman to receive a pilot's license.

In the early twentieth century, headlines declared that "the era of women has dawned." Against this changing historical backdrop, Harriet Quimby's extraordinary life stands out as the embodiment of this tumultuous, exciting era--when flight was measured in minutes, not miles.

This untold piece of feminist history unveils Quimby's incredible story: rising from humble beginnings as a dirt-poor farm girl to become a globe-trotting journalist, history-making aviator, and international celebrity. With her tragic death in 1912 at the age of thirty-seven, her story faded, with her many accomplishments--the first woman to fly solo over the English Channel among them--overshadowed by major events, including the sinking of the Titanic.

With black and white illustrations throughout, Fearless is the definitive biography of the first licensed female American pilot: one of the most inspiring hidden figures of history.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1648960359
• ISBN13: 9781648960352
• Release Date: June 2022
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

A Tribute to the Aviatrix

Along with building RC planes and plastic models, I am also an avid reader of non-fiction aviation books. I recently discovered and read Don Dahler's biography on the first American woman to earn her pilot's license. The book title is Fearless: Harriet Quimby: A Life Without Limit (Chronicle Books, 2022 336 pages). First let me say that I have known the author for 40 years. His father was a pilot and he grew up in aviation. Don reported on 9/11 from his New York apartment which had a commanding view of the World Trade Center buildings. Don and I once did some video coverage in Kenya together, showing Southern Baptist volunteers living in tents and evangelizing among people who had little to nothing. He went on to be a world-class journalist and ABC anchor. He capitalized on his Robert Redford looks, brillant mind, and ability to craft interesting stories of humans doing extraordinary things whether on an Afghan battlefield or lining up a putt on a warm summer morning. Don caught me offguard with this book. He not only made Harriet Quimby come alive through her columns, but set her story in the context of Michigan, San Francisco, and New York City. It is not exactly an "airplane book" as many books go. Harriet was not an engineer. She was a well-trained pilot in the days when planes had little researched dynamics and pilots flew by the seat of their unbuckled-in pants. Harriet had a knack for writing a weekly column in a well-read newspaper back in the day. Many portions of her columns were included to share her mind that led up to her interest and eventually mastery of flying. She became an aviatrix and flew the English Channel. And that's where the story began. However, Don created a tapestry of vignettes that sometimes stayed with Harriet, but often took a side path to let you meet film moguls like D. W. Griffith, who just might have been a love interest. There were many other characters in the early days of aviation that you'll meet and delve into what was driving them as they saw into the future of powered flight. Don is a wordsmith and makes sure you never get lost meandering over the pages. Just as a pilot has the freedom to fly anywhere, a pilot is also keenly aware of his limitations and frailty before weather patterns, flying systems, and open ground. This aviation book, therefore, is different, but a gritty look at a time gone by, upon which we all owe a debt of gratitude for the life (and lives of others) that became invested often to the point of death.

Live by your own rules

4 stars, Live by your own rules FEARLESS: HARRIET QUIMBY A LIFE WITHOUT LIMIT by Don Dahler Harriet Quimby comes from humble beginnings and soars to the skies, by pursuing her own hopes and dreams. First by conquering journalism and then by taking up flying. This was back in the day when airplane prototypes were simply fabric-covered wooden wings, which sounds terrifying to me. Ms. Quimby believed in real journalism, not that fake variety that we see so much of in today's culture. She died as she had lived, fearlessly at age 37. I received a complimentary copy of #fearless from #papress I was under no obligation to post a review. #womenpioneers #aviation #prototypes #journalism