Flying Sideways

In his gripping, surprising, and wildly entertaining new memoir, Fred North tells the incredible true story of how he became the most famous film stunt helicopter pilot in the world. 

As a young, misunderstood boy, Fred North was never a fan of the rules. Then, on an unremarkable day in 1969, a helicopter touched down in his hometown of Saint-Louis, Senegal, and turned his world upside down. Fifty years later, he’s Hollywood’s go-to stunt pilot with a world altitude record and over two hundred film credits to his name, including Inception, James Bond: Spectre, and Fast X. But a lot of incredible things happened in between.

Flying Sideways tells the thrilling but heartfelt story of how a misfit boy with nothing but a dream breaks the rules, beats the odds, and learns to bet on himself. Against a vibrant global backdrop that touches down everywhere from New York City to Mongolia to Madagascar, we follow Fred as he deserts the French Army (in roller skates), talks his way into flight school, becomes chief pilot for the world's greatest rally car and adventures races, gets mixed up with DEA in Miami, dodges death (many times), and—perhaps most improbably—falls in love.

Flying Sideways is a nonstop thrill ride, reminding us that the most dangerous thing we can do with life is give up on it.