Call Sign, White Lily (5th Edition): The Life and Loves of the World's First Female Fighter Pilot

WORLD'S FIRST FEMALE FIGHTER-PILOT SHATTERS THE GLASS CEILING TO BECOME HITLER'S WORST NIGHTMARE.(contains 90+ rare photographs) Call Sign, White Lily is the virtually unknown story of one young Russian woman's incredible accomplishments in a male-dominated society. The world-famous Hermitage in St. Petersburg calls Call Sign, White Lily, "among the greatest books and stories ever told about WW2." The year is 1941. Hitler ruthlessly invades Russia, destroying more than 70 percent of the country's infrastructure and air force. A determined, patriotic 17-year-old schoolgirl, Lilia Litvyak, demonstrates her flying skills to the Russian high command. She is assigned to an elite all-male squadron, making her the first female-fighter-pilot in the history of the world. By age 21, Lilia set military records that stand to this day: 268 missions,15 solo kills, and 22 assists. Despite the pain and suffering of battle, in her spare moments, Lilia laughed, read poetry, and fell madly in love with her soulmate, the dashing ace, Captain Alexey Solomatin, who perished before her eyes. Call Sign, White Lily, five years in the making, gives readers the opportunity to meet Lilia and her friends up close and personal in words and pictures, and learn why this remarkable young woman was decades ahead of her time.