DamonMeyer

North to the Orient - Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Great narrative about her and Charles scouting routes in the early 30's from east coast US to Japan and China along great circle routes. Sitting behind her husband, handing notes back and forth, being the morse code radio operator, flying through crazy situations where nobody ever took planes before, mixing it up with foreign cultures, all while riding awesome open cockpit seaplane powered by a humongous radial...what could be better. This was a time when any self respecting adventurer/aviator named their plane - you can see Sirius at the NASM (on the Mall, not the Udvar-Hazy annex at Dulles).

A Gift of Wings - Richard Bach. More aviation and less of the metaphysical philosophy stuff (not that there's anything wrong with that) you find in Messiah, One, etc. The cool appeal of this book is the occasional pencil drawings, and the short story format...you can slip this paperback in the flight bag and barely notice it, but it's great to bite off small chunks when you have some time, and the FOM for the plane you're flying holds no further appeal on this leg.

Boyd - Robert Coram. Makes you cheer for the dysfunctional family guy who was responsible for bringing the Viper to reality, and developing the science of acting and reacting faster than the opponent into a high art that spread from combat to business.

The World's Worst Aircraft - Bill Yenne. Yeah, we all know how awesome the Blackbird is, but when you've had your fill of blah blah about awesome airplanes, check out this really funny book about the worst of the worst. Lots of juicy details about some real abominations, and some that would have been just mediocre if not for really bad luck, timing, or whatnot.

Planespotta

I second Flightlines. Reading it right now, and I can relate to so many of the emotions and circumstances he's talking about. He truly loves aviation and flying the line, and it shows.
Sky Masterson's next book, Destination Tempest, is coming out soon, too. Definitely worth checking out . . .

jefe86

Moondog's Academy of the Air and Other Disasters by Peter Fusco. Funny stuff.

Stretch 8

No airplanes, but.....for anyone living in Florida, or anywhere else for that matter, and want some good fiction, I recommend any book by either Carl Hiaasen or Randy Wayne White. Great stuff.

Redox Equation

I wrote one last year called "The Outer Whorl." Twenty essays about flying pre and post 9/11 and whether it was worth it to take up flying in the first place. Does not aspire to be Gann but rather an evaluation of who I have worked with and the ride along the way.

http://www.airlinepilotcentral.com/r...070720244.html

Other advatanges however...Has been recommend by sleep doctors around the globe for its surefire cure for insomnia. Paperback version may be thrown at spouse in piques of anger, and reports have filtered back that it has no equal as a leveler under uneven table legs.

86pilot

Bob Hoover has a great book, I don't recall the name of it though.

Brian Wilson

+1 for Skunk Works. Amazing what those guys were designing in the 50's. Makes you wonder what the military is designing today. Also I just finished "Lone Survivor" probably the best book I have ever read, not aviation but a truly amazing story that made me glad the Navy Seals are on our side.

wxflyer

I also recently read Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell, and agree, one of the best books I've ever read. Those guys are simply amazing.

JetPiedmont

I'm a novel reader, so most of mine are fiction, but here's a little of both:

Fiction:

"Airport" by Authur Hailey. The movie was pretty good, too

"Night Fall" by Nelson DeMille. Fictionalized account of the TWA 800 investigation. I highly reccomend any book by DeMille.

"Titan" by Stephen Baxter. Novel about a manned flight to Saturn's largest moon. He also wrote "Voyage", a beautiful read, about a manned mission to Mars.

"Illusions" by Richard Bach. A metaphysical read by a former Air Force pilot.

Non Fiction:

"The All American Boys" by Walter Cunningham. Non fiction by one of the astronauts of the Apollo program. Insider view of the rivalry and lives of the people involved.

"SkyGods" by Robert Gandt. History of PanAm by a National Airlines pilot.

"Splash of Colors" by John J Nance. Downfall of Braniff by an insider.

Most of these are out of print, but you can get them at Barnes & Noble - Books, Textbooks, Used Books, DVDs, Music, Toys, Home & Gift in the "used and out of print" section. eBay probably has some too.

rotorhead1026

I think I saw some sports books here (Canseco? YGBSM ), so I'll add one ...

Fatso, by Artie Donovan, who was a defensive lineman with the (Baltimore) Colts. It's one of the funniest books I have ever read, and will be an education for some of our younger football players / fans. I don't thinks it's in print, but should be easy to find.