This is the remarkable biography of one of America's great heroes—the man who led the daring raid on Tokyo; the aeronautical genius who revolutionized airplane design; the colorful flyer whose air exploits have thrilled generations of Americans ever since he soared to fame in the early twenties.
It was World War I that made a flyer of Jimmy Doolittle. As a youngster growing up in California, his first interest was prizefighting—not airplanes or studies. Though a bantamweight, he never hesitated to meet a challenge in the ring, as later he could never resist a challenge in the air. With the help of a powerful punch and a windmill style, he earned his way through college by fighting under assumed names.
The news of America's entry into the War whetted Doolittle's taste for adventure. He enlisted as an air cadet, and took so easily to flying, that riding inside a plane wasn't always enough for him. That was before "never take an uncalculated risk" became his byword, and he stunted into one escapade after another. But like another great airman, Billy Mitchell, he had faith in the future of air power. At the war's end, he decided to stay in the Army.
Doolittle's one-stop flight from Florida to Los Angeles in 1922 is now part of history, as are his later speed triumphs. The Amazing Mr. Doolittle also reveals his outstanding contributions to the design, engineering and science of flying. It recalls his boyhood in Alaska where he learned to box; his youthful romance with auburn-haired Josephine Daniels, the girl he married; his wartime friendships with blustery General Patton, President Eisenhower, General "Hap" Arnold and other leaders, and with his flying buddies of World War I and II, Bruce Johnson and Jack Allard. It follows him from war through his peacetime racing feats and daredevil experimental flying, from the army to the world of industry. The historic role he played there, gambling his career at Shell to have gasoline standardized at 100-octane, makes a stirring tale in itself.
Covering a half-century and more of nostalgic, memorable years, covering World War I and World War II—including for the first time a complete account of the Tokyo raid for which he received the Congressional Medal of Honor—and up to the present, here is the full, almost incredible story of a high-spirited youngster who grew up to be recognized as the country's foremost aeronautical expert. It is the amazing story of a twentieth-century hero.
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