Norfolk Aeronautical Group

FATE IS THE HUNTER by Ernest K Gann (First published in the USA as a Cassell Military Paperback in 1961 and as a paperback in the UK in 2011).  Still available from Amazon and other booksellers at a range of prices.  A 1964 film version is also available on DVD.  

 

Gann wrote a wide range of books including the aviation classics “Island in the Sky” and “The High and the Mighty”.  He died in 1991.

The cover describes the book as “The Finest Book on Aviation Ever Written” and this sums up this book, which is an autobiography of the author’s flying career in peace and war, completely.  I first read it in the 1960s, and then bought another copy to re-read a few months ago – just as, if not more, enjoyable a read 60 years on, and with many of the airmanship lessons learnt and passed on by the author just as relevant today. As another review comments: “Gann brings you right into the cockpit, recounting both the triumphs and terrors of pilots who flew when flying was anything but routine.  This is a fabulous account of both the history of aviation and one man’s life in the air”.

It still gets a 5* rating from me.    

John Blakeley Oct 2022