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L.A. Birdmen: West Coast Aviators and the First Airshow in America
Although most credit Wilbur and Orville Wright with America’s first powered flight, two months before the brothers lifted off the sands of Kitty Hawk, a French immigrant named August Greth flew the California Eagle, an airship of his own design, across the skies of San Francisco. While the Wrights claimed they had invented a flying machine, Greth and the California aviators proved it in front of thousands of spectators at state fairs and festivals across the country.
L.A. Birdmen is the fascinating and forgotten story of America’s first aviators—Californians like August Greth, Tom Baldwin, Roy Knabenshue, John Montgomery, and James Zerbe. Possessing a rare blend of ingenuity, creativity, and bravery, these pilots captured the world’s attention in 1910 when Los Angeles hosted America’s first international airshow. Inspired by a flying exhibition held in Reims, France, Los Angeles promoter Dick Ferris convinced the city to host a competing event—a show that featured the world’s best pilots and machines and would firmly establish Los Angeles as the center of American aviation.
Featuring a fierce competition between French pilot Louis Paulhan and American Glenn Curtiss, the Los Angeles International Aviation Meet was a the pilots shattered existing aviation records, refuted those who doubted the viability of heavier-than-air flying machines, and performed death-defying stunts. The ten days of flying received national newspaper coverage and attracted more than 100,000 visitors, including future industry leaders like Glenn Martin and William Boeing.
L.A. Birdmen offers a high-flying account of the West Coast contribution to aviation, a little-recognized chapter in the story of American flight. In the first decade of the twentieth century, these dashing aviators—not the Wrights—were the public face of American aviation.
L.A. Birdmen is the fascinating and forgotten story of America’s first aviators—Californians like August Greth, Tom Baldwin, Roy Knabenshue, John Montgomery, and James Zerbe. Possessing a rare blend of ingenuity, creativity, and bravery, these pilots captured the world’s attention in 1910 when Los Angeles hosted America’s first international airshow. Inspired by a flying exhibition held in Reims, France, Los Angeles promoter Dick Ferris convinced the city to host a competing event—a show that featured the world’s best pilots and machines and would firmly establish Los Angeles as the center of American aviation.
Featuring a fierce competition between French pilot Louis Paulhan and American Glenn Curtiss, the Los Angeles International Aviation Meet was a the pilots shattered existing aviation records, refuted those who doubted the viability of heavier-than-air flying machines, and performed death-defying stunts. The ten days of flying received national newspaper coverage and attracted more than 100,000 visitors, including future industry leaders like Glenn Martin and William Boeing.
L.A. Birdmen offers a high-flying account of the West Coast contribution to aviation, a little-recognized chapter in the story of American flight. In the first decade of the twentieth century, these dashing aviators—not the Wrights—were the public face of American aviation.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published July 2, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 6, 2024
Crackpots, weirdos, and suicidal thrill-seekers. These are the men who started American aviation. Oh, and a Frenchman being very French.
Richard Goodrich tells the story of how the West Coast became the epicenter of aviation in his book, L.A. Birdmen. The first thing I loved about the book is how completely in the dark I was about almost all of it. The Wright brothers are the beginning of flying, but did you know they almost immediately became recluses and jerks? Jerks because they tried to sue everyone into oblivion instead of getting into the business of actual flying on a regular (and visible) basis.
The book isn't just about the birth and development of the airplane. Dirigibles (or blimp if you are an NFL fan) develop within the narrative and Goodrich does an exceptional job of making each person memorable. That is no small feat. By the time the narrative gets to the L.A. airshow, we have already been introduced to dozens of figures. The entire story leads up to the airshow and it does not disappoint. This book is a lot of fun and you don't need to be a science/aviation nerd to enjoy it.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Prometheus Books.)
Richard Goodrich tells the story of how the West Coast became the epicenter of aviation in his book, L.A. Birdmen. The first thing I loved about the book is how completely in the dark I was about almost all of it. The Wright brothers are the beginning of flying, but did you know they almost immediately became recluses and jerks? Jerks because they tried to sue everyone into oblivion instead of getting into the business of actual flying on a regular (and visible) basis.
The book isn't just about the birth and development of the airplane. Dirigibles (or blimp if you are an NFL fan) develop within the narrative and Goodrich does an exceptional job of making each person memorable. That is no small feat. By the time the narrative gets to the L.A. airshow, we have already been introduced to dozens of figures. The entire story leads up to the airshow and it does not disappoint. This book is a lot of fun and you don't need to be a science/aviation nerd to enjoy it.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Prometheus Books.)
June 20, 2024
This book was incredible! The Wright Brothers seem to get all the credit for inventing the first airplane, but that doesn't seem to be true (according to this book). There were so many aviation pioneers before and during the lifetime of the brothers. I learned so much! It was very interesting to read the descriptions and see the pictures of the early flying machines. I also enjoyed learning about the early pilots and the people that supported them. It was so enlightening to read about Southern California's role in early aviation because I live there. I'm glad my area of the United States was involved in early flight. It was a long book, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I highly recommend for all readers with an interest in aviation history!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews