“The Great Air Race,” by John Lancaster, recounts the early days of American aviation, when the budding industry struggled to get off the ground (literally) and keep aviators alive.

I'LL TAKE THE HIGH ROAD—Wolfgang Langewiesche—Harcourf, Brace ($2.50). "Flying," writes Wolfgang Langewiesche, "is now possible for any person of normal intelligence who ...

SOARING WINGS—George Palmer Putnam—Harcourt, Brace ($2.50). Lanky, tousle-mopped Amelia Earhart, whom the Pacific swallowed two years ago, flew the Atlantic twice: in 1928 with a pilot (she ...

In addition to the more than 100 photographs, the book contains interviews relaying personal accounts of the service personnel who wore the jackets during their time in the U.S. Army Air Corps.