Publication

2000-07-17 - Smithsonian

Language

English

Word Count

80,000 words, Guess

Page Count

320 pages

Physical Format

Paperback

Identifiers

  • ISBN-101560989009
  • ISBN-139781560989004
  • LibraryThing5170329
  • Better World Books9781560989004
  • Open LibraryOL9393089M

Description

He set polar flight records, organized a series of daring wartime air operations, and became a leader in Arctic aviation. But despite these achievements, Norwegian-American aviator Bernt Balchen saw his public image and military career repeatedly undermined by his one-time mentor, the famous and influential Admiral Richard Byrd. In this new biography, Carroll Glines describes how Byrd's respect for Balchen's talents gradually eroded even as Balchen steadily gained a wider reputation for courage and technical skill. Glines contends that Byrd derailed Balchen's postwar promotion to brigadier general, forcing his retirement from the military in 1956. He also documents how Balchen's publisher bowed to pressure from Byrd's supporters to remove material from a 1958 autobiography. Balchen had argued that Byrd's claims to have been the first to fly across the North Pole in 1926 could not be supported by speed and distance calculations.

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