At a time when the Anglo-American relationship was riddled with 
suspicion and competition, Lowell Yerex, a British subject who lived 
in America, had the misfortune of becoming entangled in it as he 
attempted to create a commercial airline empire in Central America. 
His experiences—rife with adventure, romance, and intrigue—made 
him a legend in air history and now provide a dramatic chapter in 
U.S.–British relations, as well as the history of Central America.

    To understand Yerex's remarkable career, Erik Benson focuses on 
the uniqueness of the entrepreneur's background, one that enabled 
him to empathize with both Great Britain and the United States and 
to foster working relationships with these rivals. Yerex's dealings 
with the two countries shed new light on the development of aviation 
in the 1930s and 1940s, at a time when Pan American ruled the 
skies of the western hemisphere, when revolutions and coups rocked 
governments, and when fortunes waited to be made and lost.

   Aviator of Fortune offers a detailed look at the life of Lowell Yerex: 
his successes and failures. Benson shows him as a tragic hero, 
influenced by fate and by his own ambitious desires. Today, his 
remains an important story, one that offers worthwhile reading for 
historians, aviation enthusiasts, and adventure seekers.

_________________________________________________________

ERIK BENSON, who received his Ph.D. from the University of 
Georgia, is an assistant professor at Cornerstone University in Grand 
Rapids, Michigan.


Number Sixteen: Centennial of Flight Series