The Lost Pilots: the spectacular rise and scandalous fall of aviations golden couple by Corey Mead (published by Macmillan, 10.05) The Sahara desert, February 1962: wreckage of a plane emerges from the sands revealing, too, the body of the planes long-dead pilot. Who was he? And what had happened to him? I love hearing stories of the challenges faced by pilots of yesteryear, back when flying was flying and pilots had to be creative to avoid catastrophe. In this excellently researched book, Corey Mead retraces the events surrounding Bill Lancaster and Jessie Millers attempt to set the long-distance record from England to Australia. This has all the ingredients of a real page-turner: crash landings, suspected murder and a steamy moment in a military bunker. With unexpected plot twists throughout, I frequently had to remind myself that this is indeed a true story. Starting in the 1920s, the book details the pairs journey from champagnefuelled parties to a life of poverty, trailblazing through an exciting period in aviation history, which sees the duo battered by both weather and the newspapers. The Lost Pilots restores Miller to her rightful place in the aviatrix hall of fame and firmly establishes Lancasters reputation as a skilled pilot. Mead had me hooked from the start and tore at my heart in the final pages. By First Officer Tori Bottomley AvTalk aviation podcast On Spotify and Apple Podcasts Brought to you by FlightRadar24s Jason Rabinowitz and Ian Petchenik, AvTalk has just celebrated its100th episode. Covering a range of topics, the hosts discuss anything an AvGeek might want to talk about in each 30 to 50-minute episode, along with the latest aviation news and occasional guest. I tend to zone out when listening to podcasts, so I wasnt expecting this to be my cup of tea, but listening to it on a long drive, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The hosts light-hearted chatter made for easy listening and they touched on some great material, including the surprising image of David Blaine floating up to 25,000ft, attached to a bunch of balloons and a transponder. Starting in reverse order, I began with episode 99, which discussed the conditions placed by the FAA for the return of the 737 MAX and an interview with guest Steve Giordano of Jet Test and Transport. By First Officer Tori Bottomley Would you like to review a book for The Log? If so, simply email TheLog@balpa.org BOO K /P O DCAS T R EVI EWS Our pick of the best flight-related tomes and podcasts