Sonic Wind

Sixty years ago, cars and airplanes were still deathtraps waiting to happen. Today, both are safer than ever, thanks in part to one pioneering air force doctors research on seatbelts and ejection seats. The exploits of John Paul Stapp (19101999) come to thrilling life in this biography of a Renaissance man who was once blastedfaster than a .45 caliber bulletacross the desert in his Sonic Wind rocket sled, only to be slammed to a stop in barely a second. The experiment put him on the cover of Time magazine and allowed his swashbuckling team to gather the data needed to revolutionize automobile and aircraft design. But Stapp didnt stop there. From the legendary high-altitude balloon tests that ensued to the ferocious battles for car safety legislation, Craig Ryans book is as much a history of Americas transition into the Jet Age as it is a biography of the man who got us there safely.