By Ed Leefeldt – Never one to turn down a free book, I was handed a paperback copy of this novel at a local author event and put it in the ‘to-read” pile, without any expectations one way or the other. Now that I’ve worked my way down to it, it turns out to be a charming tale of the early days of flying machines. Told by a two-time Pulitzer-nominated journalist, the book demonstrates a reporter’s skill in picking significant details, and what it lacks in character development and literary flourishes is overcome by the sheer joy it conveys, as people capture the miracle of soaring with the birds. Published in 2001, it was recently reissued for the Nook.
The story takes off from the first chapter when a wealthy Parisian announces a one million franc prize for the first person to circle the Eiffel tower in a powered aircraft. The race is on, and the contestants are three: a dashing Frenchman whom the Parisians adore, a murderous German with the backing of the Kaiser, hopeful the win will demonstrate German technical superiority, and a wealthy American who hires a debauched stuntman to pilot his craft. An American woman—the novel’s main character and daughter of an airplane designer—helps engineer the wealthy man’s plane. There’s plenty of action, intrigue, and romance to keep the pages turning.
Set in 1901, the novel was inspired by such early women in flight as Harriet Quimby. Except for one near-sex scene interrupted by a suicide (no doubt tame stuff by today’s standards), this easy-to-digest story might be one young teen audiences also would enjoy.
