Why are we fascinated by
pilots? That’s the question Birdmen explores
while examining the literal ups and downs of America’s earliest aviators. It
was also the question that I was trying to answer in my personal life at the
time, since I was actually dating a pilot while reading this book. Aviation
still has a huge hold on our imaginations; although as we discover in Birdmen, today’s pilots pale in
comparison to both the glamour and tumultuous risks of the first flyers.
Lawrence Goldstone’s
non-fiction saga focuses on the famous Wright Brothers and their rival of
choice, Glenn Curtiss. However, Birdmen
also recounts the tragic fates of countless enthusiastic young aviators who
plummeted to their deaths performing death-defying spins and dives. Horrifyingly,
the vast majority of these young pilots paid for these acts of fearless
defiance with their lives. However, what is really sickening is discovering
that scarcely a century ago ravenous audiences at airshows resembled bloodthirsty
spectators at a Roman amphitheatre. They would egg on these ambitious young
fliers, only to see them crash. Far from mourning these heroic adventurers,
crazed fans would leap over and steal every scrap of morbid memorabilia left, sometimes
even before the pilots were dead. It was a shocking world, filled with amazing
showmanship and equally terrifying spectators.
Perhaps aviation has always
been and always will be prone to disaster. During the reading of Birdmen, my relationship with my pilot
derailed. The mysterious Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 also disappeared during
this time, leading me to discover that a passenger of the previously doomed Air
France Flight 447 flight was also alumni of my high school. It’s all a chilling
reminder that no matter how eagerly we take to the skies, even today the skies
are still a fascinating yet dangerous place to be.
--Mike Fan
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