Empire of the Clouds

James Hamilton-Paterson captures a marvelous post-war moment when innovative new aircraft made their debut, and pilots were the rock stars of the age. He writes about that season of glory in a compelling book that fuses his own memories of being a schoolboy plane spotter with a ruefully realistic history of decline. It is the story of great and charismatic machines and the men who flew them: heroes such as Bill Waterton, Neville Duke, John Derry and Bill Beaumont who took inconceivable risks, so that we could fly without a second thought.