The Roaring 20: The First Cross-Country Air Race for Women (review)

To much of the American public in 1929, flight was still a dangerous proposition, best left to fighter pilots and daredevils and wealthy dilettantes, probably not to casual travelers and certainly not to women. The same social forces that produced bobbed hair and ascending hemlines, however, also produced a generation of risk-taking women who claimed their rightful place in the air. Their first chance to collectively strut their stuff came at the Aeronautical Exposition in Cleveland, Ohio, which would mark the terminus of a cross-country, women-only race that began in Santa Monica, California. Blair follows the contestants through the nine-day series of flights, doing full justice to strong personalities and harrowing incidents alike. There are crashes, suspected sabotage, lost pilots, faulty engines, dangerously bumbling spectators, fierce rivalries, generous cooperation, a marriage proposal, a tragic death, and an ever-narrowing field of aviatrixes. Plenty of period photos and press portraits embellish the lively text, and in a sassy and slightly sarcastic slap at Will Rogers' despised title of "Powder Puff Derby," the font and borders come tricked out with hot pink highlights. Thumbnail sketches of the twenty contestants, a timeline of "Women's Firsts in Aviation," source notes, suggested reading, and an index are included.