Queen Bess

Praise

KIRKUS REVIEWS
“A timely and engaging introduction to a woman of stunning accomplishment and courage who deserves a place of high honor in the pantheon of early flying.” 
 
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
“Working from news clippings, interviews with aging friends and relatives, and the brief unpublished memoirs of Coleman’s older sister, she has sketched a vivid portrait of a woman who bucked tradition, racial prejudice and sexual discrimination in her determination to take to the skies.” 
 
QUARTERLY BLACK REVIEW OF BOOKS
“Bessie Coleman crammed a lot of living into her thirty-four years. Her spirit of adventure, coupled with dogged determination to break down racial barriers in the United States, has inspired other African American women and men to dare to dream.”

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
“Queen Bess is a valuable contribution to four kinds of history—of blacks, of women, of Chicago, and of aviation….Bessie Coleman was a great trailblazer, single-handedly opening the frontier of aviation for blacks. The Tuskegee Airmen, the famous black fighter pilots of World War II, can trace their beginnings to her example.”

AVIATION
“Doris L. Rich […] brings Bess Coleman to life and bestows her legacy with the recognition she rightfully deserves.” 

CHOICE
“The definitive study of a remarkable young African American woman.” 

AEROSPACE
“A gem.”

ANTIQUES AND AMERICANA
“A fascinating story.”