Roaring Thunder
A Novel of the Jet Age
-
-
4.6 • 5 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
The story of the jet age of aviation revolves around remarkable geniuses--including Sir Frank Whittle, the British inventor of the jet engine; Hans von Ohain, a German jet engine designer who comes to work for the U.S.; famed aeronautical engineer Kelly Johnson; the daring test pilot Tex Johnston, and many more--brilliant men who conceived these early extraordinary airplanes and had the courage to fly them to new horizons.
Roaring Thunder blends real life adventures of the industry giants with the fictional Vance Shannon and his aviation family. Shannon, a prototypical American test pilot, sees and guides the birth of American jet aviation, while his sons, Tom and Harry fly the new jets in combat. Their aviation careers are blessed by their skill and courage, and they help usher in the greatest advance in aviation history with the birth of the jet transport. The Shannons serve as counterparts to the real-life heroes, creating continuity and explaining the intricacies, successes, and setbacks of a brand new industry.
The dramatic, totally accurate story of the beginning of the jet age is presented against a background of personalities, real and fictional who bring the story to life, and represent the first stage in the first ever fiction trilogy about the history of the aerospace industry.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A former director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Boyne is prolific in aerospace nonfiction (The Influence of Air Power upon History) and fiction (Dawn Over Kitty Hawk). Here, we get both: the main character of this enthusiast's delight, Vance Shannon, is fictional, but Boyne gives more than walk-ons to the likes of Sir Frank Whittle and Hans von Ohain, who independently and nearly simultaneously invented the jet engine. Although much of the drama centers on the race to build jet fighters during WWII, the major developments come later, and Boyne's narrative follows the story until 1954, incorporating the evolution of the B-52 bomber and the Boeing 707 commercial jet airliner. A former air force pilot, Boyne writes convincingly about flying, but those who don't know an aileron from a nacelle will be baffled by the engineering jargon. There is an obligatory love story, but it's superficial and distracts from the main action. The love story that most readers will be interested in is that with aviation and the need for speed. Boyne doesn't disappoint there.
