The Lonely Sky
London: Cassel and Company, 1956. Octavo, original blue cloth, spine embossed with silver lettering, [viii], 278 pp., four double-sided leaves of black-and-white photographic plates. Spine ends and lower-right corner of front cover bumped and rubbed, some small pale spots on spine and front cover, foxing on edges of text block and first few leaves, slight browning of leaves throughout common to some publications of the period, small sticker-mark on lower edge of front free endpaper, edges of dust-jacket a little worn and torn; overall a very good copy. First edition.
An enthralling account of the Skyrocket, America's experimental high-speed airplane and the test pilot who flew it. Co-author William Bridgeman is that pilot, and in the early 1950s, he took his craft to speeds of over 1,250 miles per hour, climbed nearly 15 miles vertically into the stratosphere, and executed near-suicidal power dives from 60,000 feet. With Skyrocket, Bridgeman became the first to explore the then-unknown region beyond the speed of sound. Item #5001
The front free endpaper has the following written on it in blue ink: "J. P. Chartres, 29.5.56"
Price (AUD): $55.00