London, Collins., 1958. First Edition. 20 x 13 cm. 254 pages. Illustrated. Original green cloth with gilt title on spine. In original decorated dust jacket. With a losely inserted letter by Collins Publishers to Field Marshal Alanbrooke. Very good condition. Minor shelf and edge wear. Some dust dulling. Internally bright and clean. Harold Charles Gatty (1903 - 1957) was an Australian navigator and aviation pioneer. Charles Lindbergh called Gatty the "Prince of Navigators". In 1931, Gatty served as navigator, along with pilot Wiley Post, on the flight which set the record for aerial circumnavigation of the world, flying a distance of 15,747 miles (24,903 km) in a Lockheed Vega named the Winnie Mae, in 8 days, 15 hours and 51 minutes. Gatty became the world's greatest authority on navigation, a life-long interest. He died suddenly at the age of 54 while this book was published. In the letter from Collins Publishers they refer to his unexpected death and the fact that Alanbrooke met Gatty at a dinner following the launch of one of his own (Arthur Bryant's) books. Includes Publishers compliment slip from 1958.
