Nous racontent une succession d’aventures et d’innovations depuis la venue en septembre 1923 du premier aeronef a voler au-dessus du Caillou : le Vought V-E7H du croiseur americain Milwaukee. For some books, the name "beautiful book" is not enough. We should create a category "superb books" as their level of quality is the register of excellence. This is the case of aerial adventures in New Caledonia that stands out in several ways. To begin, the subject. The books on French aviation in the Pacific Ocean are a rarity, and this is the first time we have ever received one devoted to New Caledonia. Imagine a book that, once opened, is 75 cm wide. Not really the kind of book that you can read on a plane or train trip, but once unfolded on a desk or table, will "put your eyes". Colonel Antoine Sadoux recalls in a concise and pleasant way all the history, both civil and military, of aeronautics on the "Caillou", since this Sunday of 1923 where a first aircraft, a Vought V-E7H hydroplane the US Navy , made an appearance in the sky of Noumea, until the first stop on Air Base 186 of the Airbus A-400M Atlas around the world. Nineteen chapters for as many subjects and events of unexpected variety and richness. Of course we find the flight of Couzinet 33 Biarritz , but it is from an angle of original approach, since the author reminds us of the important role of the navigator, Captain Max Deve, in the establishment of a regular flight paris-Noumea. There will of course be a chapter dedicated to the Trapas, another to the Naval Aviation at Tontouta, but also new topics, such as that of light helicopters in New Caledonia. This story, of an unsuspected richness, is treated with mastery by the author, who proposes us a substantial and balanced book, of a concise writing. To evoke the history of aviation in New Caledonia, it was appealed not to a collection of photos, but to a talented watercolorist, Tiennick Kerevel. This marriage between an essentially documentary text and beautifully crafted pictorial illustrations is quite happy. If the watercolor brings its share of exotic poetry favorable to the subject, the paintings and illustrations do not yield to the fantasy. Here is a total success, especially as the book is printed with care on a beautiful heavyweight paper, all wrapped in a blanket of quality. -Philippe Ballarini