Smithy, The Life of Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, by lan Mackersey Trafalgar Square Publishing, P.O. Box 257, North Pomfret, VT 05053 orders: (802) 457-1911 $16.95, softcover, 7.75" X5", 479 pages, 42 b/w photos, 3 maps, index, notes, listing of principal flights, bibliography—ISBN: 0-7515-2656-8

     Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm, in 1928, flew their fabric-covered Pokker trimotor, named the Southern Cross, across the Pacific Ocean from Oakland, California to Brisbane, Australia with two stops in the Hawaiian Islands and two stops in the Fiji Islands. Also on board were two Americans, Jim Wamer as the radio operator, and Harry Lyon as the navigator. The flight was made from May 31 to June 9 and the longest leg was 3,150 miles from Barking Sands, Kauai to Suva, Fiji which was about 700 miles more than the distance from Oakland to Honolulu. The two Americans had to sign contracts staling that they would not give interviews until they returned to the USA. The two Australians arrived at Brisbane as heroes. Sydney's Airport bears Smitty's name and he is on the Australian $1 coin.

     This book tells the story of Smitty's many flights and the formation of the original Australian National Airways (ANA) by Smith and Ulm. ANA operated from January 1, 1930 to the last week of February 1933 when the airline went into voluntary liquidation. This is one of those books that is filled with interesting historical stories that hold the readers attention.

-Walt Bohl

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