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Piedmont Airlines: A Complete History, 1948-1989. By Richard E. Eller. (Jefferson, N.C., and London: McFarland and Company, Inc., c. 2008. Pp. [xii], 305. $49.95, ISBN 978-0-7864-3147-2.)
Piedmont Airlines, founded in 1948, offered commercial flight service to the southeastern United States from its headquarters in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Piedmont disappeared as an independent corporate entity in 1989, when the company was acquired by USAir. Richard E. Eller's new book traces the history and development of this successful regional airline.
Piedmont Airlines: A Complete History, 1948-1989 begins with an exploration of the introduction of aviation to Winston-Salem. Though a few early birdmen had conducted demonstration flights before World War I, aviation came to Winston-Salem only after the war, spurred by Reynolds tobacco family investments. Tom Davis, the founder of Piedmont, started in aviation with Reynolds...