Red Sky, Black Death: A Soviet Woman Pilot's Memoir of the Eastern Front
"Red Sky, Black Death" is the autobiography of an exceptional woman whose outspokenness raised eyebrows among superior officers and political commissars alike, and whose spirit conquered the wartime sky. Translated and edited by Margarita Ponomaryova and Kim Green, this episodic memoir gives a candid picture of a girl brought up under--and later defying--Josef Stalin's repressive regime. Anyone with an interest in World War II aviation will find it an unusual perspective on a less-covered aspect of the air war and one hell of an adventurous read. --Jon Guttman, "Aviation History"