Here is the story of an authentic, native-born American heroine--a real life "lil' Orphan Annie"--who battled her way through adventures that Annie never dreamed of. Photographs.
NOTE: This is not a 24 page book. It is 24 pages of illustrations. For some reason on every website, it has been stated wrong. It is a good 351 pages at least.
I don't know about everybody else, but when I pick up an autobiography, I want the truth. If I want fiction, I pick up a fiction. Knowing what I do about aviation and its history and yes, even mechanics, I started having some doubts about whether this was a true story or not and came online to do my research. My suspicions proved true. As
NOTE: This is not a 24 page book. It is 24 pages of illustrations. For some reason on every website, it has been stated wrong. It is a good 351 pages at least.
I don't know about everybody else, but when I pick up an autobiography, I want the truth. If I want fiction, I pick up a fiction. Knowing what I do about aviation and its history and yes, even mechanics, I started having some doubts about whether this was a true story or not and came online to do my research. My suspicions proved true. As a fellow reviewer already stated, Jackie's childhood is fabricated. She was not really an orphan, but was born Bessie Lee Pittman with two parents. She did, indeed, grow up on mills in Florida but apparently, her food and clothing situations were greatly exagerated. She did not wear a flour sack or starve. Seeing as her entire childhood is fabricated in order to I suppose, gain public sympathy, I don't doubt that some of her accomplishments may be somewhat exagerated as well.. Are we really supposed to believe that a woman that didn't make it thru the second grade managed to solo fly and dead stick land a plane a mere 48 hours after first sitting in one? Not to mention, she manages to fly to Canada without even knowing what a compass is. If this is true, I hope the school that issued her license has since been shut down. Scary to think there may be pilots up there that don't know what they're doing!
I won't deny this was an amazing woman that set a lot of records and paved the way for other women in aviation, but I want an honest account of her life, not just a good story.
Also something I am curious about is how she managed to conveniently leave out the fact she was married once before Floyd (to a man named Robert Cochran.. that is how she got the name, not from a phone book) and had a 5 year old son that burned himself to death in her backyard. I think that is something that belongs in one's autobiography.
I made to page 100 and felt like I was reading mythology.
...more
While she lived there was no shortage of men working to hold her back. Since her death the population of impediments has shrunk only a little. The writing here isn't generally riveting but it's a comprehensive, well told story of a woman who achieved greatness despite it all.