Fate is the Hunter: A Pilot's Memoir

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Item specifics

Condition
Acceptable: A book with obvious wear. May have some damage to the book cover but the book is still ...
ISBN
9780671636036
Category

About this product

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Simon & Schuster
ISBN-10
0671636030
ISBN-13
9780671636036
eBay Product ID (ePID)
158334

Product Key Features

Book Title
Fate Is the Hunter : a Pilot's Memoir
Number of Pages
416 Pages
Language
English
Publication Year
1986
Topic
United States / 20th Century, Military / World War II, Adventurers & Explorers, American / General, Science & Technology
Genre
Literary Criticism, Biography & Autobiography, History
Author
Ernest K. Gann
Format
Trade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height
1.2 in
Item Weight
14.2 Oz
Item Length
9.2 in
Item Width
6.1 in

Additional Product Features

Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
86-020306
Reviews
This fascinating, well-told autobiography is a complete refutation of the comfortable clich that 'man is master of his fate.' As far as pilots are concerned, fate (or death) is a hunter who is constantly in pursuit of them. . . . There is nothing depressing about Fate Is the Hunter. There is tension and suspense in it but there is great humor too. Happily, Gann never gets too technical for the layman to understand., This purely wonderful autobiographical volume is the best thing on flying and the meaning of flying that we have had since Antoine de Saint-Exupéry took us aloft on his winged prose in the late 1930s and early 1940s. . . . It is a splendid and many-faceted personal memoir that is not only one man's story but the story, in essence, of all men who fly., Few writers have ever drawn their readers so intimately into the shielded sanctum of the cockpit, and it is here that Mr. Gann is truly the artist., This fascinating, well-told autobiography is a complete refutation of the comfortable cliché that 'man is master of his fate.' As far as pilots are concerned, fate (or death) is a hunter who is constantly in pursuit of them. . . . There is nothing depressing about Fate Is the Hunter. There is tension and suspense in it but there is great humor too. Happily, Gann never gets too technical for the layman to understand., Saturday ReviewThis fascinating, well-told autobiography is a complete refutation of the comfortable cliché that "man is master of his fate." As far as pilots are concerned, fate (or death) is a hunter who is constantly in pursuit of them....There is nothing depressing about Fate Is the Hunter. There is tension and suspense in it but there is great humor too. Happily, Gann never gets too technical for the layman to understand., Chicago Sunday TribuneThis purely wonderful autobiographical volume is the best thing on flying and the meaning of flying that we have had since Antoine de Saint-Exupéry took us aloft on his winged prose in the late 1930s and early 1940s....It is a splendid and many-faceted personal memoir that is not only one man's story but the story, in essence, of all men who fly., V.S. Pritchett New Statesman Mr. Gann is a writer saturated in his subject; he has the skill to make every instant sharp and important and we catch the fever to know that documentary writing does not often invite., New York Times Book Review Few writers have ever drawn their readers so intimately into the shielded sanctum of the cockpit, and it is here that Mr. Gann is truly the artist., This purely wonderful autobiographical volume is the best thing on flying and the meaning of flying that we have had since Antoine de Saint-Exupry took us aloft on his winged prose in the late 1930s and early 1940s. . . . It is a splendid and many-faceted personal memoir that is not only one man's story but the story, in essence, of all men who fly., Cornelius Ryan author of A Bridge Too Far and The Longest Day Fate Is the Hunter is partly autobiographical, partly a chronicle of some of the most memorable and courageous pilots the reader will ever encounter in print; and always this book is about the workings of fate....The book is studded with characters equally as memorable as the dramas they act out., Chicago Sunday Tribune This purely wonderful autobiographical volume is the best thing on flying and the meaning of flying that we have had since Antoine de Saint-Exupéry took us aloft on his winged prose in the late 1930s and early 1940s....It is a splendid and many-faceted personal memoir that is not only one man's story but the story, in essence, of all men who fly., This book is an episodic log of some of the more memorable of [the author's] nearly ten thousand hours aloft in peace and (as a member of the Air Transport Command) in war. It is also an attempt to define by example his belief in the phenomenon of luck -- that 'the pattern of anyone fate is only partly contrived by the individual.', Saturday Review This fascinating, well-told autobiography is a complete refutation of the comfortable cliché that "man is master of his fate." As far as pilots are concerned, fate (or death) is a hunter who is constantly in pursuit of them....There is nothing depressing about Fate Is the Hunter. There is tension and suspense in it but there is great humor too. Happily, Gann never gets too technical for the layman to understand., The New Yorker This book is an episodic log of some of the more memorable of [the author's] nearly ten thousand hours aloft in peace and (as a member of the Air Transport Command) in war. It is also an attempt to define by example his belief in the phenomenon of luck -- that "the pattern of anyone fate is only partly contrived by the individual.", Saturday Review This fascinating, well-told autobiography is a complete refutation of the comfortable cliche that "man is master of his fate." As far as pilots are concerned, fate (or death) is a hunter who is constantly in pursuit of them....There is nothing depressing about Fate Is the Hunter. There is tension and suspense in it but there is great humor too. Happily, Gann never gets too technical for the layman to understand., Fate Is the Hunter is partly autobiographical, partly a chronicle of some of the most memorable and courageous pilots the reader will ever encounter in print; and always this book is about the workings of fate. . . . The book is studded with characters equally as memorable as the dramas they act out., Mr. Gann is a writer saturated in his subject; he has the skill to make every instant sharp and important and we catch the fever to know that documentary writing does not often invite.
Table Of Content
CONTENTS PREFACE PROLOGUE THE TIP OF THE ARROW AN UNDESIRED RENDEZVOUS IN THE NIGHT I THE INNOCENTS AND OF THE FACTS OF AERIAL LIFE II A NOVITIATE TANGLED AND STUMBLING IN THE ROBES OF HIS ORDER III HUMILITY LEARNED IN WHICH A MASTER IS TOLERANT IV A CAPTAIN AT WORK V THE SEASONING WHERE THE MIND IS HONED AND SWEAT IS FOUND TO MIX WITH ICE VI OF NUMBERS AND THEIR POWER TO REDUCE THE PRESUMPTUOUS QUICKLY VII GYPSIES DOUBTFUL OF STATION AND INTENTIONS VIII RULE BOOKS ARE PAPER THEY WILL NOT CUSHION A SUDDEN MEETING OF STONE AND METAL IX VALHALLA THE TORTUOUS ROUTE THERETO X A LONELY, UNLOVED SHIP FINDING HAZARD THE MORE BITTER WHEN MATCHED WITH TRIFLES XI THE NUMBERS IN A WICKED, VENGEFUL MOOD XII COLD EXHAUSTING, UNRELENTING, MURDEROUS COLD XIII HEAT IN MOST MEN THERE LURKS A LESSER MAN, AND HIS PRESENCE SMELLS IN THE SUN XIV FORTUNE WHERE IS THE MAN WHO SURVIVES WITHOUT XV A HOLE SO SMALL, BUT OF EXQUISITE DESIGN XVI A PRETENDER HOW ONE FINE MAN IS ILL-USED BY FATE AND ANOTHER DARES DECEIVE IT XVII A CERTAIN EMBARRASSMENT THE URGE TO SHIFT BLAME BECOMES EVEN UGLIER WHEN THE ACCUSED HAS LEFT THE FEAST XVIII TRAGEDY AND ESCAPE THERE IS A DEGREE OF MERCY BEYOND WHICH ANY MAN IS RUDE TO INQUIRE EPILOGUE NOTES
Synopsis
Ernest K. Gann's classic pilot's memoir is an up-close and thrilling account of the treacherous early days of commercial aviation. "Few writers have ever drawn readers so intimately into the shielded sanctum of the cockpit, and it is hear that Mr. Gann is truly the artist" ( The New York Times Book Review ). "A splendid and many-faceted personal memoir that is not only one man's story but the story, in essence, of all men who fly" ( Chicago Tribune ). In his inimitable style, Gann brings you right into the cockpit, recounting both the triumphs and terrors of pilots who flew when flying was anything but routine.

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    It was shipped so fast. It was packaged well. I had no fear of damage based on how well it was packaged. Honestly I thought it looked better in person than in the pictures. So it was as advertised, but better. It is now a part of my collection that I care deeply about. It's beautiful and I'm so grateful I was able to find one for such a great price. Thank you so much for taking care of it and me! I'm very sorry I'm late on the feedback, I've had a lot going on lately that I never had time.
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4.8
23 product ratings
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  • Most favourable review

    Great stories from a commercial pilot in the early years of commercial flights.

    Ride along in the cockpit with Gann and experience the excitement and close calls along the way.

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: thrift.books

  • Frontier flying stories

    This is the greatest book you can find to understand the growth of flying before computers took over. Seat of the pants, sense of bonding with the aircraft. All this long lost in modern times, flying gone the way of the family farm. I buy this book to show friends the good old days of joy in flying.

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: thrift.books

  • A good book that has broken up in various stories of pilots. Some who are experienced some who are beginners.

    I found the book very interesting, especially the stories of pilots that had close encounters and near death experiences while flying.

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: ontimebooks

  • Dangers before jet aircraft

    As a military pilot with little prop time, this book brought home the perils of flying prior to the introduction of jet aircraft. Props were confined to the lower altitudes where most of the weather is. Jets often fly above the weather except for take off and landing, Very well written.

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: thrift.books

  • Fate is the Hunter. Very good reading.

    Great story, Fate is the Hunter. The book was in good shape. Shipping was prompt.

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: worldofbooksusa