A Gift of Flight: The William E. Boeing Story

America Through Time

De: David Williams

Narrado por: Brian Callanan

The William E. Boeing Story: A Gift of Flight is the first ever full-length biography of William E. Boeing, the father of commercial aviation. Boeing's story is an exciting one, complete with bootleggers, kidnappers, and disastrous run-ins with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and future Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black. Boeing's story covers every aspect of early aviation, starting with his first ride in a balloon in 1896 to the christening of the revolutionary jet-powered Dash-80/707 in 1955. Along the way Boeing developed some of the world's most iconic airplanes including the P-26 Peashooter, the Boeing 247, the B-17 Flying Fortress and the mighty B-29 Superfortress.

The Boeing family have given author David D. Williams unprecedented access to the Boeing family archives which contain thousands of never- before-seen photos, diaries, and personal letters. This treasure trove of primary sources has allowed Williams to create an extraordinarily vivid and accurate portrait of this influential yet private man.

©2023 David D. Williams (P)2023 David D. Williams

Good Biography

This is a really good biography. I listened because of a recent visit to the Flight Museum in Seattle, which includes the Red Barn, part of the original Boeing factory, and has a lot of history about Boeing.

Bill Boeing was obviously an astute businessman. Everything he touched seemed to prosper--at least eventually. The best part of the book is probably about the early days of Boeing aircraft. Bill had to finance it himself until it was prosperous. Then FDR and Hugo Black decided to try to make a villain out of him. Fortunately, they were not successful, and of course that changed when we needed Boeing planes for the war, even though Bill had left the business (he would become involved again). Bill apparently never forgot it though, and it's understandable.

This is certainly not a critical biography. It draws heavily on Bill's wife's diary. Bertha Boeing was meticulous in keeping her diary and was far more than just along for the ride.

The book seems to rush to a conclusion. One reason may be that Bertha's diaries for the last years of Bill's life have not been found. But given the other reference materials available, that does not seem to be a worthy excuse. The story just sort of peters out at the end.

A word on the narration. It is not terrible, but a lot of the book quotes from Bertha's diary. The narrator adopts a simpering, cloying voice when he narrates any direct material from Bertha or other women. I wish the producers had either used a female co-narrator or had coached the narrator to avoid this. It becomes distracting and a bit irritating. There are also some annoying mispronunciations: "Luft Waff" for "Luftwaffe"? You do not have to speak German to know that is wrong.

Historical!

An excellent story and good narration. Definitely would recommend to any aviation buff. Highly recommended.

Absolutely a great story and excellent narration.

I can never look at a Boeing made airplane the same way. What an amazing story of business and personal lives that shaped the iconic American company.

Interesting story

Mostly correct, oh Audible wants 18 words I’m not gonna counties, so I’ll guess I’ve set 18 words right now.

Amazing story well told

Listen up carefully. Lots of good life and business lessons about development of one of the formative business of 20th century.

Remarkable character

A remarkable man in modern times.
Boeing changed civil aviation. His is a remarkable story.
This audio book is an insight into a little known piece of history.
Well written and superbly narrated.

Swell. An excellent book !

So much of this book hits home with me.Having grown up in Spokane near Felts Field and moved to Puget Sound area in the early 70’s, I remember so much of reference’s.My brother worked at Boeing and I knew one of the Boeing “girls” on Bainbridge Island. Just a great read !
xoxoxoo

Excellent story, research, and dialogue. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Excellent story, research, and dialogue. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Would certainly like to read more like this.