Sky Rivals

Book excerpt: During the Golden Age of Aviation in the 1920s and 1930s, two great pilots stood above the rest: one-eyed Oklahoma farm boy Wiley Post, shy and awkward on the ground but a daredevil in the sky; and Jimmie Mattern, a handsome, charismatic Hollywood stunt pilot from Texas. The whole world followed their exploits through screaming newspaper headlines as they flew in planes made of little more than wood, canvas, and bailing wire, competing to be the first solo flier to circumnavigate the earth. Only one would succeed, though the other would become more famous than he could have ever imagined. And both would change the face of aviation forever.