Overview

This successful book describes one of the most momentous flights of all time, the first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in 1919. Alcock and Brown's first non-stop 1919 Atlantic flight was arguably the most significant aviation feat after the Wright Brothers' 1904 flights. The first crossing of an ocean, the longest distance ever flown by man, it was a triumph of navigation, flying skill and rare courage. Mancunians Alcock and Brown survived continuous cloud, snow and ice and a near-fatal stall in their open-cockpit Vickers Vimy, as well as a deafening damaged exhaust and non-functioning wireless. With no modern aids and depending solely on dead reckoning, they landed in Derrygimla, Galway, only 20 miles north of their target destination, having covered 1,880 miles in their 16-hour marathon from Newfoundland to Ireland, the longest distance flown by man. AUTHOR: Old enough to have met Brendan Behan, Norman Mailer and Bertrand Russell, Brendan Lynch is a former racing cyclist and driver. He is a member of the Irish Writers Union, PEN and the Guild of Motoring Writers. A follower of pacifist philosopher Russell, he spent a month in Brixton prison for anti-nuclear weapon activities. He has reported and contributed motorsport features to media ranging from The Times, Observer and Daily Mail to the Irish Times, The European and overseas periodicals. 38 b/w images

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9780750990004

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[An] engaging account of one of the most remarkable feats in aviation history 'Yesterday We Were in America' is a very fine book; I only wish I had written it -- Len Deighton [A] popular account of Alcock and Brown's pioneering flight, which combines readability with accuracy

Author Information

A former racing cyclist and driver, Brendan Lynch has had a keen interest in aviation since he first heard the story of Alcock and Brown’s exploits around a childhood fireside. He started research on this book after meeting Steve Fossett and witnessing the American’s 2005 re-enactment of the flight in a replica Vimy. Brendan cannot fly but he once looped the loop in a Formula Ford race at Lydden circuit. Living equally dangerously on the ground, he was a pacifist disciple of Bertrand Russell and was imprisoned for Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament activities. Yesterday We Were in America is his eighth book. His first, Green Dust, won the Guild of Motoring Writers’ Pierre Dreyfus Award.

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