Fearless: Harriet Quimby A Life without Limit

by Don Dahler

Overview

In the spirit of the bestseller Fly Girls comes the definitive and compelling true story of Harriet Quimby, the first American woman to receive a pilot's license.

In the early twentieth century, headlines declared that "the era of women has dawned." Against this changing historical backdrop, Harriet Quimby's extraordinary life stands out as the embodiment of this tumultuous, exciting era—when flight was measured in minutes, not miles.

This untold piece of feminist history unveils Quimby's incredible story: rising from humble beginnings as a dirt-poor farm girl to become a globe-trotting journalist, history-making aviator, and international celebrity. With her tragic death in 1912 at the age of thirty-seven, her story faded, with her many accomplishments—the first woman to fly solo over the English Channel among them—overshadowed by major events, including the sinking of the Titanic.

With black and white illustrations throughout, Fearless is the definitive biography of the first licensed female American pilot: one of the most inspiring hidden figures of history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781648961311
Publisher:	Princeton Architectural Press
Publication date:	06/26/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	22 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Don Dahler is a former correspondent for ABC and CBS and has received every major award for broadcast journalism, including two national Emmy Awards, two Edward R. Murrow Awards a Peabody Award and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award. A lifelong aviation buff and the son of an Air Force officer, Dahler lives with his family in New Jersey.

Table of Contents

Prologue: If you are afraid, you shall never succeed 11

Part 1

1 A tomboy full of verve and spunk 21

2 Weaving spiders come not here 32

3 Why, I just began to write 41

Part 2

4 Come full of faith in yourself 57

5 Hang on for dear life 69

6 It's the smile that's the hard part of dancing 75

7 We must see the sphinx by moonlight 90

8 A pretty woman is pretty whatever her dresses may be 98

9 An epoch-making event 107

10 King of the air 127

11 Indeed, at that time it was a miracle 137

Part 3

12 There's another good man gone 153

13 To become a companion of the birds 167

14 Only a cautious person should fly 187

15 I just wanted to be first 196

16 The cutest Utile witch 209

17 Pm like a cat-I think I've got two lives left 227

18 Can a man keep a secret? 240

19 I was not a bit nervous 253

20 Women are more fearless than men 266

21 We accept what will be, will be 281

Epilogue: Something tells me that I shall do something some day 296

Acknowledgments 307

Notes 310

Index 329

Image Credits 336

Editorial Reviews

"A tale of adventure, courage and defiance, Fearless evokes the drama of the pioneering age of flight in dangerous detail, while providing a pacy and engaging tribute to the heroism of the first woman who dared to rise so high above her given lot more in life."
— Clare Mulley, author of The Spy Who Loved

"A fascinating and consequential look at a pioneering turn-of-the-20th-century woman who lived life on her own terms. Fearless is indeed the right title for Harriet Quimby. Dahler's telling of Quimby's life story and validation of her as a multi-spectrum pioneer is welcome research."
- Dorothy S. Cochrane, Curator, General Aviation/Aeronautics Department National Air and Space Museum,

From the Publisher

2022-09-19
This biography charts the life of a pioneer American aviator.

Born in rural Michigan in 1875, Harriet Quimby enjoyed a life punctuated by firsts. She was among the first women to become a licensed driver, the first woman to secure a pilot’s license in America, and the first woman to fly solo over the English Channel. Dahler’s book records Quimby’s journey from being a “little girl from a Michigan dirt farm” to becoming an accomplished journalist, screenplay writer, and renowned aviator. The author describes the Quimby family’s move to San Francisco via Arroyo Grande, where the young girl developed a taste for writing. She began producing reviews for, among other publications, the San Francisco Dramatic Review, a role that would later see her relocate to Manhattan, where she would work as a theater critic. Dahler also focuses on Quimby’s love for speed, which began as a child, exploring the fields surrounding her family home at “full gallop.” The author draws on a range of secondary sources, including newspaper articles and newsreel stills—alongside Quimby’s personal recollections—to illustrate her landmark achievement of crossing the English Channel. Dahler calls this feat “almost as audacious and perilous as a trip to the moon would be fifty-seven years later.” The author also describes in chilling detail the events surrounding Quimby’s death at the age of 37 after falling from an airplane.Dahler’s writing is characterized by its effervescent eagerness to tell Quimby’s story. This urgency makes for a fast-paced, compelling narrative: “Harriet Quimby was about to take a literal, and literary, leap into the void. If she survived, and there was certainly no guarantee of that, her leap was to be a first for women.” The author adds further drama by using intense, poetic descriptions: “Wraiths of heavy salt air floated across the White Cliffs of Dover, bestowing their wet caresses on everyone and everything that waited day after day for a break in the fog and lashing rain.” Some readers may consider this aspect of Dahler’s approach slightly overwrought on occasion: “Their petrichor marked a subtle change of fortune.” Yet despite mild bouts of wordiness, the author succeeds in evoking a haunting atmosphere that lends extra texture to the biography. Dahler is also expert in providing intricate social and historical background to Quimby’s life story. In one passage, the author brings the streets of 1900s San Francisco—which Quimby would have walked—to life: “Streetlights bore ornate globed tops. Pedestrians in long dresses and top hats strolled along broad sidewalks.” This keen eye for detail makes for a vivid, multifaceted book. On discovering Quimby, Dahler remarks, “it was stunning to me that someone who accomplished so much was virtually lost to history because of a cruel and horrific twist of fate.” The author’s passion to celebrate and commemorate Quimby’s accomplishments is palpable throughout, making this an engrossing, enlightening, and thoroughly enjoyable biography.

Informed, eloquent writing; this meticulous account is a must for aviation historians and enthusiasts alike.

Kirkus Reviews