The Great Air Race, a chronicle of a gutsy 1919 American aerial competition, is a labor of love for its author, but what truly makes it engrossing and thought-provoking is that John Lancaster doesn’t soft-peddle the race’s problematic aspects.
The transcontinental competition was largely the creation of Brig. Gen. William “Billy” Mitchell. Resourceful in deploying air power during World War I, he remained passionately committed to the belief that the United States’ “long-term security was at risk,” and that only an autonomous air force—separate from the army—could allay that risk. Mitchell felt that a race pitting the best military pilots in a coast-to-coast contest would dazzle Americans and their political leaders and further his plans for aviation’s future.
The participants included sixty-three aircraft and sixty-three-plus participants (the “plus” were passengers on the planes, mostly mechanics and navigators—and one dog). The (all-male, except for the dog) entrants were divided into two teams, one starting on Long Island and the other in San Francisco. The goal of the race was to fly cross-country—roughly, 2,700 miles—and then back to
