Note that these books often contain discussions about problems that the designers would prefer to forget. However, each pilot usually has a favorite plane, and that one doesn't get the harsh treatment the other airplanes get.
William Bridgeman with Jacquelin Hazard, The Lonely Sky, Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1955. Story of flight test at Douglas, primarily of the Douglas D-558.
Frank K. Everest, Jr., as told to John Guenther, The Fastest Man Alive, 1958, reprinted by Bantam Books, 1990. Good description of flight testing at Edwards, flying X series planes and including the story of the F-100 problems.
Chuck Yeager and Leo Janos, Yeager, An Autobiography, Bantam Books, New York, 1985. Not particularly technical, but still good.
A.M. "Tex" Johnston with Charles Barton, "Tex" Johnston: Jet-Age Test Pilot, Smithsonian Institute Press, Washington, 1991. Johnston writes about his connection with Bell and Boeing. He gives comments on the Focke-Wulf 190, XP-63, P-47, P-51, XP-59A - the first US jet, the X-1, and then the Boeing jets: B-47, B-52, and the Boeing 707.
Milton O. Thompson, At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 1992. Excellent book, also entertaining and humorous.
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direct comments and suggestions to W.H. Mason, mason@aoe.vt.edu