Good Books

Booklist for Aspiring Aviators

Brought to you by ALPA's Education Committee

While there’s no shortage of good books about flying and being a pilot, below is a list of some of our pilots’ top picks.

Piloting and Pilot Career Basics

How to Become a Pilot: The Step-by-Step Guide to Flying

The Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge

Stick and Rudder: An Exploration of the Art of Flying

The Airline Transition Manual

Everything Explained for the Professional Pilot

Pilot Medical Handbook

Technical and Training

Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms

The Airplane Flying Handbook

Rod Machado’s Private Pilot Handbook

Rod Machado’s How to Fly an Airplane Handbook

Aircraft Systems for Pilots

The Advanced Pilot’s Flight Manual

The Turbine Pilot’s Flight Manual

Aerodynamics for Aviators

Mental Math for Pilots

Fly the Wing: A Flight Training Handbook for Transport Category Airplanes

Interviewing for Piloting Jobs

Checklist for Success

Mental Math for Pilots

Reporting Clear?

Airline Pilot Technical Interviews: A Study Guide

Military Pilot’s Guide to Civilian Employment

Historical Reading

The Wright Brothers

Flight: The Complete History of Aviation

Wings: A History of Aviation From kites to the Space Age

Sky as Frontier: Adventure, Aviation, and Empire

The God Machine: From Boomerangs to Blackhawks, The Story of the Helicopter

Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All the Odds and Made Aviation History

Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama That Unfolded in the Skies Over America on 9/11

Inspiring True Flight Reads

Fate is the Hunter: A Pilot’s Memoir

Night: Beryl Markham Memoir

North Star Over My Shoulder: A Flying Life

Yeager

Lindbergh

The Aviators

The Long Way Home

Weaving the Winds

Women Who Fly: True Stories by Women Airline Pilots

Keep Your Airspeed Up: The Story of a Tuskegee Airman

General Flying Interest

Skyfaring: A Journey With a Pilot

Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers, and Reflections

Flight: 100 Greatest Aircraft

The Airline Profession and Industry

Flying the Line, The First Half Century of the Air Line Pilots Association

Flying the Line, Vol 2: The Line Pilot in Crisis: ALPA Battles Deregulation and Other Forces

Hard Landing: The Epic Conquest for Power and Profits That Plunged the Airlines Into Chaos

Specialty Flying and Interest

Memories From My Logbook: A Bush Pilot's Story

Mountain, Canyon, and Backcountry Flying

Notes of a Seaplane Instructor: An Instructional Guide to Seaplane Flying

Government and Regulatory (current year’s publication)

Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR)

Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM)

Children’s Books

Angela’s Airplane

Go, Planes, Go!

Good Night Planes

My Little Golden Book About Airplanes

The Noisy Airplane Ride

I Want to Be a Pilot (I Can Read Level 1)

Take Off! All About Airplanes (Time for Kids)

Planes (National Geographic Kids)

DK Eyewitness Books: Flight

The Big Book of Airplanes (DK)

Although many of these books can be found at your favorite bookstore or online retailer, several of the career and technical manuals are more likely to be located at sites such as Aviation Supplies & Academics (asa2fly.com), Sporty’s Pilot Shop (sportys.com), mypilotstore.com, and airlinetransition.org.

These suggestions are offered for your information and convenience. ALPA does not endorse any specific book or retailer.