Chasing the Demon

A Secret History of the Quest for the Sound Barrier, and the Band of American Aces Who Conquered It

De: Dan Hampton

Narrado por: John Pruden

Chasing the Demon has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.

A crossroads of aerospace development and world history

This audio book was an insightful and fascinating account of how world events and aircraft development were, and continue to be, intertwined. In addition to the technical concepts presented, which is done in easily-understood terms, substantial background is given on the historical figures and personalities, some well known and others not so much, including early theorists, engineers, and pilots, which provided the contextual backdrop to the larger story.

The narrator also did a great job with keeping the listener’s interest, and making this an enjoyable experience.

History lesson

The lead up to the x1 story is quite long and detailed. Not bad just not exactly what I was expecting.

Good

Interesting historical context, but went on too long at times. I would have liked to hear more about later generations of test pilots from different eras contrasted against the originals, and what this suggests about changing American culture.

Not at all what it purports to be

If you’re looking for a book in the vein of “The Right Stuff,” do yourself a favor and buy The Right Stuff. This is my first Dan Hampton, so I can’t compare it to other works, but I expected a story of the background of the pilots and the development at Edwards AFB, and even after reading negative reviews gave it the benefit of the doubt and went in excited. In truth, the bulk of the book is about the World Wars with a vague theme of the desire to fly faster, the last eighth focusing on the X-1 and the jets that pushed it up. If the book were titled tidbits of military aviation history and why I believe Yeager wasn’t first even without valid documentation, it would have been less of a letdown.

History lesson..

This is good aviation history lesson but took a long time to get to breaking the sound barrier.
Need to hang in there to get to the point if the book.