Yeager: An Autobiography
by Chuck Yeager
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Book Summary Information
Author: Chuck YeagerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1986-09-01
ISBN: 0553256742
Number of pages: 448
Publisher: Bantam
Book Reviews of Yeager: An Autobiography
Book Review: Yeager - Great Autobiography!
Summary: 4 Stars
Yeager is an amazing autobiography about Chuck Yeager, one of the best fighter pilots and test pilots the world has ever known. The book covers his life from his childhood up until his life today. Incredibly, he is still alive to tell the tales of his bravery and courage in flying. I chose to read this autobiography because I have always been interested in the speed of sound and had heard about the incredible contributions of General Chuck Yeager. Usually I am not interested in autobiographies, but this one proved me wrong. General Chuck Yeager had really stunning events happen in his life, and I felt like I was right there with him! Specifically, Yeager's time in World War Two and when he broke the sound barrier were two of those stunning events.
One of the most significant events of his life was when Yeager was involved in World War Two. During this time of his life, he was a pilot in the Army Air Corps. His job was to fly and protect bombers during their missions. If German fighter pilots came too close, he would go after them. This happened numerous times and proved that Yeager was an outstanding fighter pilot. Yeager was great at "dog fighting" and soon became an "Ace" which meant he had five kills. By the end of the war he had made Ace several times over. He was considered one of the best pilots and was assigned lots of missions. During one mission in World War Two, he was shot down over Germany and had to crash-land his plane. "It is slightly past noon on Sunday, March 5, 1944, I am a wounded, twenty-one year old American fighter pilot, shot down and on the run (page 33)." He had to hide from the Germans and try to escape. It took him a while to get free and away from Germany, but thanks to the help of some Germans who did not agree with the war (and many other people along the journey), he did survive.
This event was important to him because he was in a very harsh situation and could be killed immediately if he was spotted. He had a family to go back to and didn't want to get caught. He knew it was critical to find a way to escape and he did, even though the process ended up taking months!
Another key event in his life was when Yeager was asked to fly a ship called the X-1 and try to break the sound barrier. No one had ever done it before and most pilots ended up crashing and dying. The U.S. Air Corps didn't know if it could be done safely or not. They thought the barrier could be a "wall" and he could explode. Yeager still wanted to attempt to break the barrier. In order to do this, his X-1 jet would be dropped from a bomber (and start his engine while in the air) and he would fly from there so he could conserve as much fuel as possible. "The moment of truth: if you're going to be blown up, this is likely to be when. You light the first chamber (page 152)." Just before reaching supersonic speed (approximately .93 Mach), the airplane would get really bumpy and almost go out of control. This is when Yeager would go back down to the hanger and get data from the flight and find out why this was happening. Every day he would go a little faster. One day when Yeager was flying the plane at about .97 Mach, the plane began shaking heavily with shock waves bouncing off the wings. All of a sudden, it got smooth. Yeager looked at his air speed indicator and it had reached "one". Yeager had broken the sound barrier!
This event was important to Yeager (and the rest of the scientific community) because he was the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound. He had set the record for flying speed-an incredible achievement that took guts and determination. This was a major breakthrough for developing jets in the future.
Chuck Yeager had a lot of experiences in his life that taught him much about himself. He learned he was one of the best pilots in the world and his determination helped him become one of the best test pilots. As it turned out, Yeager had a great reputation for flying airplanes and was asked to test many prototype planes for other countries. He was the one to decide if the plane was air worthy or not. He also learned that because of his courage, the world would now make faster aircrafts for other people to fly. Chuck Yeager made a lot of aeronautic breakthroughs for the world, which helped contribute to our lives today.
Summary of Yeager: An Autobiography
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 jet with a prop-driven P-51 Mustang . . .the hero who defined a certain quality that all hotshot fly-boys of the postwar era aimed to achieve: the right stuff.Now Chuck Yeager tells his whole incredible life story with the same "wide-open, full throttle" approach that has marked his astonishing career. What it was really like enaging in do-or-die dogfights over Nazi Europe. How after being shot over occupied France, Yeager somehow managed to escape. The amazing behind-the-scenes story of smashing the sound barrier despite cracked ribs from a riding accident days before.
The entire story is here, in Yeager's own words, and in wondeful insights from his wife and those friends and colleagues who have known him best. It is the personal and public story of a man who settled for nothing less than excellence, a one-of-a-kind portrait of a true American hero.
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