 |
 |
 |
|
Informal, gay, filled with the spirit of high adventure, this is Amelia Earhart's own story of her great flight, nearly around the world, which ended in tragic disappearance somewhere in mid-Pacific.
Almost by presentiment, it would seem, as she completed each stage of her journey, she sent back not only her dispatches and personal letters, but her diaries - three penciled books of them -- her charts, and the running log which she kept in the cockpit.
As each bit falls into place, the narrative is seen to tell the whole story of her flight.
The earlier chapters recount how she came to be a pilot (she got her new Lockheed by flying so rickety an old crate that the company, in apprehension, accepted the ancient plane in trade) ; how she flew the Atlantic, the first woman to accomplish the feat; how she flew, despite Wiley Post's gloomy head shakings, from Mexico City to New York; and how she first hopped across the Pacific from Honolulu to Oakland.
The narrative then swings into the months of preparation for the world flight, the alternative routes, the placing of supplies, equipping the plane. Then the first take-off from Oakland and the target, Honolulu, reached like a marksman's bullet.
The almost fatal crack up followed on the attempted take-off for Howland Island. But it never entered Amelia Earhart's head to quit. The plane was brought back to California, groomed once more, and at last, from Miami, the real world flight began.
South over the blue waters of the Caribbean, across the jungles of South America, straight out over the South Atlantic to Dakar; over Africa, along the coast of Arabia, over India, Sumatra, australia, New Guinea. There she paused, at Lae, before the longest and most difficult stage of her journey, to the tiny spot which is Howland Island...
With human incident, modesty, and humor, these pages do convey some measure of the pervading charm and magic character of Amelia Earhart, whose explorings were as much of the mind and the spirit as they were of the air.
The text has been arranged by Amelia Earhart's husband, George Palmer Putnam, and is illustrated with a map, line-cuts of documents and many photographs.
CONDITION: Hard Cover with Dust Jacket, this appears to be a First Edition/ First Printing of this book, Harcout Brace and Company publishers, 1937. Moderate wear to DJ which will be encased in a clear mylar cover to protect your investment. Book is in very good condition, clean. 228 pgs |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
