"Tracey Curtis-Taylor is renowned as one of Britain’s foremost female adventurers – but she had to fight against the odds to make her dreams come true. From cheating death and saving her crew from a firing squad to overcoming a bitter campaign waged by a male-dominated aviation industry; from her relationship with a mysterious French spy to the shocking secret that drove her family apart. This is the action-packed, inspirational story of a woman who fulfilled her high-flying ambitions, was brought crashing down to earth in more ways than one, yet still survived to tell the tale. "
For a number of reasons, the name Tracey Curtis-Taylor is associated with controversy. In 2013, when she reportedly flew solo in a 1942 Boeing Stearman biplane from Cape Town to the UK through to a transcontinental flight across the USA where she survived a crash, her exploits have been the subject of attention grabbing headlines.
Curtis-Taylor has been described in reports of her remarkable achievements as a heroine and an inspirational example to women in a male-dominated world. In 2014, the Light Aircraft Association (LAA) awarded her the prestigious Bill Woodhams trophy for 'navigation, a feat of aviation, endurance and tenacity' and, in October 2015 she was appointed an Honorary Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy Reserve. Within a short time, however, rumours began to circulate that another, male, pilot had flown most of the legs of her journeys, that both pilots had used modern technology to assist with navigation and they had been accompanied by a support team at all times. Allegations made to the LAA were investigated and, in 2016, her award was rescinded – the only time this has ever occurred.
The effect this questioning of her achievements had appears to underpin the narrative in Bird and, in some ways, this account read to me like the case for the defence, the version of events and explanations the author would like to have been able to present to the LAA but was prevented from doing.
In this very personal account, Curtis-Taylor describes how she cheated death twice - once in a high-speed boating accident and again when her plane crashed in the Arizona desert – and how a shocking family secret drove her family apart. She fulfilled her dreams, she describes, but only after overcoming a series of near-critical setbacks. Bird is, most certainly an interesting read to the impartial and not just because it describes the author’s life, her flying and her experience, it also offer a revealing insight into her psyche, what drives her and how she deals with challenges and setbacks.
I have no doubt this book will be read by those who support and believe in Curtis-Taylor as well as those who don’t but who are interested to read what she has to say about the controversy that surrounds her. Will Bird persuade any in either camp to change their views? I’m guessing this bird’s flight will be a bumpy ride.
| Primary Genre | Biographies & Autobiographies |
| Other Genres: |
