{"product_id":"whitney-straight-paul-kenny-9798212018456","title":"Whitney Straight: Racing Driver, War Hero, Industrialist; The Authorised Biography","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhitney Straight made his own way in life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBorn in New York with a silver spoon in his mouth, he would earn his living in the board rooms of some of Britain's greatest companies. He dropped out of Cambridge to become an outstanding racing driver and run a team of Maseratis across Europe and Africa. A qualified pilot at seventeen, he revolutionized aircraft design for the enthusiast, and his extraordinary war experience saw him rise from Pilot Officer to Air Commodore. He survived the invasion of Norway, a crash-landing in occupied France, and a year as a PoW to emerge with an MC, DFC, and US Legion of Merit. Rejecting Churchill's proposal of a career in politics, he became CEO of BOAC, transforming it into a national airline to be proud of. At Rolls-Royce, he railed against a company dominated by engineers who made poor businessmen and played a founding role in the separate paths of the aero and auto businesses still seen today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn incurable romantic, he could never imagine being married to anyone other than his wife, yet he had numerous mistresses. Paul Kenny has been granted unfettered access to Straight's diaries and photograph albums and has scoured archives on both sides of the Atlantic, leaving no stone unturned in pursuit of the full story of one of the twentieth century's greatest mavericks. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Paul Kenny\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798212018456\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Blackstone Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/06\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e CD","brand":"Paul Kenny","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":48241802019071,"sku":"9798212018456","price":45.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_d1a736c6-493d-4264-bd88-afab28fc04ad.jpg?v=1772655965","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/whitney-straight-paul-kenny-9798212018456","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}