North Star over My Shoulder: A Flying Life

For people in aviation, this book is a great read. It profiles the life of Bob Buck who started out at the time of Lindbergh and became one of the best airline pilots. His history follows aviation from the beginning of the airlines when they flew DC 2s and DC 3s through all sorts of weather that today's airliners fly way above. During the middle of his career, he piloted the famous Connies between the USA and Europe. This followed by piloting the first Boeing 707s transcontinental. His career was capped by being one of the first pilots to fly the Boeing 747s. Throughout this book he describes all sorts of different adventures, such as flying a 707 around the world over the poles. He was also instrumental in flying research aircraft for weather research. I don't think there was any pilot who could chalk up so many different accomplishment in his lifetime of flying. If you are a pilot, you will enjoy this book and be amazed by the flying that can be done over one's lifetime.

This memoir is a history of commerical passenger aviation, and a darn good read of one man's life and love of flying, beginning when he was a teenager. Bob gave me a copy of his memoir when it first came out. I've gifted it a number of times, and just re-read parts -- it holds up and remains a glimpse into the life of the early pilots of those wondrous huge air ships. I miss sipping some good French wine with Bob and hearing his rumbley voice commenting on everythig from the problems of current aviation to his favorite restaurants in Paris..

I have learned to trust Thrift Books. I ordered this copy of "North Star over My Shoulder" as a gift for an elderly retired airline captain; it allows him to relive some of his personal experiences.

NORTH STAR OVER MY SHOULDERBob BuckISBN 0-7432-1964-3Bob Buck's book about a long life in professional flying is enjoyable reading. Buck has an unpretentious writing style. One who reads his book may gain insight about the pilot's perspective on that next trip across the Atlantic and hope that someone like Buck is flying the plane.Much difficulty and uncertainty faced the pilots of early passenger planes like the DC-2 and DC-3. The engines were temperamental and navigation was crude. Pilots often maintained their orientation by following railroad tracks, highways, and rivers in the day and by the stars at night. The crew accommodations at the end of the flights were anything but luxurious.Buck met some interesting people along the way, such as the actor Tyrone Power, who flew cargo planes in WWII. They once flew around the world together, and Power, who died at the age of forty-four, was a decent person, who attributed the adulation of the crowds to the parts he played rather than to himself. Howard Hughes was another that Buck knew well. He was a rather polite man, Buck found, but one who insisted on being involved in every project down to the smallest detail. People were often kept waiting for decisions in Hughes' far-flung enterprises. Buck also briefly met Amelia Earhart, who came along in the heyday of spectacular flying. He thinks that she tried to fly planes beyond her experience. She had about eight accidents during takeoffs and landings, and she, generally, was not regarded by other pilots as a good pilot.Buck also writes about the early flyer and writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, who wrote the books, THE LITTLE PRINCE and the image-rich WIND, SAND, and STARS. Of a flight along the coast of Africa, where Saint-Exupery had flown the mail, Buck writes "I looked down, on the lonely barren land, thinking of him and the other pilots flying their ancient Breguet XIVs ... that periodically failed and dropped them down on the lonely sandscape, and sometimes into unfriendly arms."During this book, Buck is seldom on the ground for long, and there are enough stories of airplane excursions to satisfy the most avid fans of aviation. But Buck also includes interesting details about some of the places visited. For example, about a flight to the island of Iwo Jima, where 24,000 were killed in WWII, Buck observes that the island was "a flat featureless place; it held no beauty, no tenderness, nothing forgiving, it was simply a place to kill and be killed."Buck recollects the days of flying by the stars, and he writes that the romance and skill of being guided by them is something that future flyers will never experience. Sometimes, he says, he stands outside on a clear, winter night and just looks up at "my old friends Sirius, Vega, and Polaris".

If you are even slightly curious about aviation, this book is a must read. You will not be disappointed.This is the fascinating autobiography of the life and flying career of an airline pilot who started flying small planes in his teens then graduated to TWA flying airliners around age twenty during the 1930's. This was when commercial aviation was just catching on with the American public.From prop-driven DC-2's to flying 747's when he retired, Bob Buck tells of "what it was like then" and "what it is like now."Adding to the rich flavor of this engrossing book are the experiences with friends and acquaintances he made during his journey through life.There is a whole chapter about flying through South-America, Africa and Europe with, actor, Tyrone Power as his co-pilot and mostly visa-versa. Apparently, Tyrone was an exceptional pilot and a great person, they became life long, close friends.The author also tells interesting anecdotes about interactions with other famous and historic figures such as Howard Hughes, Charles Lindbergh, Lana Turner, Marilyn Monroe, Irving Berlin and Jackie Kennedy, just to name a few.Also described in great detail are his experiences flying for the military during WWII as a TWA employee. During these desperate times, the limits of safety were often pushed tightly against breaking point, as he was forced into the realm of the calculated risk.My brother-in-law is a captain with Delta. He has been flying for more than twenty years. Even though we are close, I often feel as if I only know half of who he is, because he leaves for work and comes home a few days later. Aside from an occasional comment or brief mention of an experience, I know little of his life as an international airline pilot. Now, I have a much better idea.

Hubby loves anything related to aviation, a great read

Begging letter: Please, please , if you ever read a book about flying ,make it this book. The author has captured every sense of essence of flying and put it in words. As a frustrated pilot , but one who has never ventured far from the flightline I love his prose and description of all things of the air. Doesnt matter whether the craft is a wooden glider , or a fully fledged 747 , the magic is there and I can understand how this book has stood the test of time and inspired so many flyers , maybe even the one you flew with last time you were airborne.Classy and evocative piece of writing.... had I read this as a young air cadet I might have persevered , but you know how it is ...family , work , etc etc all those distractions. Now it evokes memories and thoughts ad astra .Buy it read it and enjoy it , I am confident it will be the start of a love affair with flying.

All aviation buffs will love this book. Capt.Buck's lucid writing style is incomparable. It's a journey precisely logged and thoroughly chronicled.

Es la historia de la aviación en Estados Unidos, en especial de la compañía TWA contada en primera persona por Robert Buck, comandante de la misma.El libro está en ingles pero no es difícil su lectura.Recomendado para todos los pilotos, los que se quieran hacer pilotos, y entusiastas de la aviación.

This book is telling the history of US based commercial flying, through the first hand experiences of Bob Buck, a veteran airline pilot with exceptional achievements, starting at the pre-WW2 era, all the way well into the jet age.The story telling is excellent and it is hard to put the book down to take a break.It is highly recommended for anyone interested in aviation, even the slightest, and those enjoying stories about travelling the world.