Things to Consider:
Please remember, this is my fun writing for me and fellow avgeeks. It is not copy edited and grammar and spelling may be a little rough. Enjoy!
The Review
I recently had the good fortune to
obtain an advanced copy of There I Wuz! Adventures from 3 Decades
in the sky Volume 1 by Eric
“Cap'n Aux” Auxier, published by EALiterary Press. It is a
compliation of aviation stories from Auxier's aviation career, as
well as guest stories from other aviators. I felt this is
an excellent book for anyone involved in the “avgeek” aviation
enthusiast community.
The
first indication one has as to the qualifications of the author is
that the forward is written by Karlene Petit, international airline
pilot, author, and television news commentator on aviation matters.
The second indication is the lineup of guest authors, which
also includes fellow author/pilot Mark Berry.
The
bulk of the text is not one continuous story, or even a series of
stories. All of the stories are separate, yet they still seem to tie
together the overall theme of Auxier's career in aviation. There is,
however, a large dose of humor in most of the stories, such as found
in the story I Nearly Wet My Pants,
a story about a flight where Auxier's bladder “overpressure relief
valve” was tested to its limit.
Several
of the stories will be recognized from Auxier's blog,
www.capnaux.blogspot.com,
which has now moved over to www.capnaux.com.
There are also some previously unpublished accounts as well. You'll
notice from the title that this is Volume 1.
One of the stories, in particular Gone with the Hurricane,
directly states that the rest of that story will be told in Volume 2.
This particular story sees less of the typical Cap'n Aux humor, and
more of the serious, reflective Eric Auxier. The story reveals a
little bit of why Eric Auxier is the man he is today.
If you're an
outsider to aviation and just wanted to read a book about an airline
pilot's career from start to finish, than this is not your book.
However, if you're curious about some of the behind the scenes
aspects of aviaiton, than this book will certainly offer you a great
cross section of stories from the pointy end of the plane. This
particular work caters to the “blog” crowd, as there are lots of
links to guest authors work that can be found on line.
As a devout
“avgeek” and lifelong aviation enthusiast, I found There I Wuz
to be extremely entertaining, enlightening, and just plain funny. I
would recommend this book to “avgeek” and outsider alike,
offering not just the stories in print, but resources for finding
further adventures on line.
*Full
Disclosure: I was provided an editor's copy of the book by Eric
Auxier free of charge. This, however, in no way has influenced my
opinionn of the text. My opinons remain my own. I'd be happy to tell
Eric his book stinks if that were the case, but it's certainly not.
