NASA has a free PDF downloadable book entitled The Smell of Kerosene available. This is a story of Donald Mallick's test flying career with NASA's Dryden Flight Test Centre.

Recommended for anyone with an interest in high-performance aircraft and aviation history.

From the forward:

The Smell of Kerosene tells the dramatic story of a NASA research pilot who logged over 11,000 flight hours in more than 125 types of aircraft. Donald Mallick gives the reader fascinating first-hand descriptions of his early naval flight
training, carrier operations, and his research flying career with NASA and its predecessor agency, the National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).

Mallick joined the NACA as a research pilot at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory at Hampton, Virginia, where
he flew modified helicopters and jets, and witnessed the NACA’s evolution into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

After transferring to the NASA Flight Research Center (now NASA Dryden Flight Research Center) at Edwards, California, he became involved with projects that further pushed the boundaries of aerospace technology. These included the giant delta-winged XB-70 supersonic research airplane, the wingless M2-F1 lifting body vehicle, and the triple-sonic YF-12 Blackbird. Mallick also test flew the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) and helped develop techniques used in training astronauts to land on the Moon.

This book puts the reader in the pilot’s seat for a “day at the office” unlike any other.

Hi Jessica.
Thank you for the link it will give me something to read on my road trip.

Thanks for the heads-up, Jessica! I will enjoy that read!
Ray