‘Hump Pilot’ published

A new book, “Hump Pilot,” has just been published.

In the high-flying narrative flashing between the life of American pilot Ned Thomas and events of World War II, Nedda Thomas recreates her father’s most dangerous missions.

Lethal and capricious weather conditions, radio silence and the uncharted terrain of the “roof of the world” meant the pilots put their lives at risk every time they took off.

In the book from The History Publishing Company, Thomas pays homage to the pilots who made it possible for the U.S. to reach victory in the Pacific, interweaving the story of the dashing young pilot who also won the heart of the woman destined to become his wife.

Pilots of the Hump, as they called this critical air-supply route over the Himalayas, faced the most hazardous flying and highest fatality rates of any air-war mission in World War II. The airlift was the largest the world has ever known, setting the bar for all others to come, including Berlin and Korea.

“The Hump is a larger-than-life epic that deserves to be told,” Thomas says. “And how better than through the eyes of a man who experienced it, my father, Ned Thomas, who brought me up to speed on aircraft and flying in the Pacific Theater.”

Priced at $18.95, the book is available in bookstores and online.