"Amelia Earhart is, without a doubt, the world's most famous woman aviator, but she was not the first. Dozens of women pilots were in the vanguard of early aviation more than a decade before Amelia learned to fly an airplane. Before Amelia is the remarkable story of these women pioneer aviators who braved the skies during the first two decades.".

"While most books have only examined the women aviators of a single country, Eileen Lebow examines aviation in France, Russia, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. The story begins with Raymonde de Laroche, a French woman who became the first licensed female pilot in 1910.

De Laroche, Lydia Zvereva, Melli Beese, Hilda Hewlett, Harriet Quimby, and the other women pilots profiled here rose above contemporary gender stereotypes and proved their ability to fly the temperamental heavier-than-air contraptions of the day.".

"Lebow provides descriptions of the dangers and challenges of early flight. Crashes and broken bones were common, and some of the pioneers lost their lives. But these women were adventurers at heart. In an era when women's professional options were severely limited and the mere sight of ladies wearing pants caused a sensation, these women succeeded as pilots, flight instructors, airplane designers, stunt performers, and promoters.

This book fills a large void in the history of the first two decades of flight."--BOOK JACKET.