Forever Flying: Fifty Years of High-flying Adventures, From Barnstorming in Prop Planes to Dogfighting Germans to Testing Supersonic Jets, An Autobiography

Excellent service in delivering this book! Had seen Mr. Hoover perform, entertaining and informative story about an aviation icon. A must read!

If you are a pilot or aviation enthusiast, you must read this book. Bob Hoover was the best stick and rudder pilot of all time and his testing and training saved hundreds of lives.

I had the pleasure of seeing Bob Hover at air shows in the late 80/early 90. I thought his energy management was impressive to say the least. I did not realize the he gets to hang out with famous engineers and pilots of WWII and beyond, friend and ex-foe! These very interesting pioneers, aces, and great engineers formed parts of his life story. A must read for aviation fans.

R.A. "Bob" Hoover is a Living Legend of Aviation and a true American hero! His greatest contribution to the world of aviation has most likely been as a test pilot. Test pilots are a rare and brave breed. They are paid to put their lives on the line so that pilots who follow them, as well as passengers, do not.There is an saying that "There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots." Hoover comes very close to disproving that piece of wisdom, but in fact what appears to be boldness on his part is usually the result of careful analysis and planning. He understands the limitations of what he can accomplish and he does not accept what he considers to be an unacceptable risk. Because of that he has lived into his eighties and become a legend among those of us who revere the world of flight.His is a life well lived and he has seen them all at one time or another from Charles Lindberg, Roscoe Turner, and Amelia Earhart to Jimmy Doolittle, Chuck Yeagar, Neil Armstrong, Wally Schirrah and a host of other well known aviation names.His autobiography is somewhat unassuming, although there is certainly an element of pride and awe in his description of what he has accomplished, not the least of which was a very trying and near fatal experience as a prisoner of war, during WW2 which had nothing to do with flying and everything to do with being a man of integrity.Oh, does he have stories to tell and he does it with the same enthusiasm he brought to his profession. He is simply an American icon and this book is a real treasure.

An amazing look into the life of an aviation icon!!

Having seen Bob Hoover perform at an airshow in my hometown several years ago, I was excited when this book was recommended to me by a friend. Bob Hoover is one of, if not the greatest pilot, to ever live. This book takes you on a journey with Bob as he tells the story of his life in aviation.If you're a pilot, have ambitions of being a pilot, love warbirds and jets, or simply enjoy a great story with a bit of American history, you will enjoy Forever Flying. Bob takes you into the cockpit of multiple aircraft and you can almost feel the "G" forces as he pulls through loops and rolls and other aerobatics. He even takes you up in a stolen plane!! Not going throw any spoilers out there, but I developed a whole new level of respect and admiration for Bob Hoover.As they say on Ebay, I highly recommend this one!!!

I very much enjoyed this book for the essence of what is "Hoover". It was a fast read, and I almost wanted a little more but I was left very happy to have the chance to read Hoover's own words - not be told about Hoover eloquently from a professional writer, but hear it from him - and this was priceless to me. If I can critique anything it is the fact that the book is at times disjointed, but the story is captivating none the less especially considering my earlier comment. In fact a notable amount of the book is told by others through archived letters written to or about Hoover from other significant aviation and aerospace names from his era; a nice touch. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the history of the times he lived and of course aviation fans will always find a reason to enjoy this subject.

Bob Hoover is the kind of fellow we all used to look up to, strong, bold and prepared to handle the unexpected. A man who really did stuff that made a difference for our future. Reading this book demonstrated the huge difference between the current American pop culture and the culture of our youth 65 years ago. There was a time when we looked to the future years instead of the next Saturday night, a time when young men dreamed of making a difference for the world instead of a dream of getting by until tomorrow. I was so disappointed to find this book for one cent. It should have cost $10.00. While its Bob Hoovers story it really is a story of how America once was and how it can be again.

For me the main interest of this book is that "Bob" Hoover did so much of his military test flying in the immediate post-war period. He used to dog-fight against Airacomets flown by Chuck Yeager, he tested the Sabre and its naval sister the FJ-2 Fury, flew Bearcats and Cougars and the amazing F-100 Super Sabre. And a lot more. The way things were, part of his job was to survive literally dozens of crashes - and often get airborne again the same day. Respect! Unfortunately the writing is of a very different standard than that of, say, Tom Wolfe. Clearly, writing books is a real profession, just as test flying is. The clumsy writing is compensated by the range of Hoover's experiences, hence the 3 stars on average.

A great book about the greatest aviator of our time.

excellent

Great read ,have passed it on to other aviator friends.

Funny, inspiring, and excellent book; even for non-pilots!I would recommend it to anyone fascinated by aviation, as this is biography of a legend.