Boutineau, Maryla Les femmes dans les nuages. Aéronautes - Parachutistes - Aviatrices. Volume 2: 1918-1945

Between 1914 and 1918, women aviation enthusiasts took a back seat to the military, but as soon as peace was restored, they took to the skies again. In 1921, Adrienne Bolland crossed the Andes. In 1930, Maryse Bastié set an endurance record by staying aloft for 38 hours and 55 minutes. In 1931, Maryse Hilsz flies from Paris to Saigon and in 1934, Hélène Boucher breaks the world speed record for all categories with 444 km/h.

In Germany, Marga von Etzdorf links Berlin with Tokyo and Elly Beinhorn circumnavigates the world solo. In the UK, Winifred Brown wins the King's Cup and Amy Johnson flies to Australia. New Zealanders' hearts beat for Jean Batten, their "Greta Garbo of the skies", while American Amelia Earhart is honoured for her crossing of the Atlantic in 1932. In the Soviet Union, many female aviators broke records and risked their lives for the glory of the regime. In 1941, young girls became military pilots in the Red Army, where they went down in military aviation history under the nickname "Witches of the Night". During the war, in the US and Britain, hundreds of women aviators helped men win battles by becoming fighter or bomber ferry pilots. In Romania, intrepid women pilots saved thousands of lives as flying nurses. In Germany, they put all their eggs in one basket to make technical progress possible. The book offers an overview of 40 countries and shows remarkable achievements made in both peacetime and wartime.