The Cannibal Queen: An Aerial Odyssey Across America - Hardcover

Stephen Coonts

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 067174884X ISBN 13: 9780671748845

Publisher: Pocket Books, 1992

Synopsis

The author recounts his three-month, forty-eight-state flight into the heart of America in a 1942 Stearman bi-plane, describing the panorama of forests, mountains, rivers, and valleys beneath him

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

The record of a flight, in the summer of 1991, to each of the contiguous 48 states in a WW II-vintage biplane trainer, by bestselling novelist Coonts (Flight of the Intruder, etc.). Though the subtitle seems to beg the book's comparison with John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley or William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways, Coonts's gee-whiz tone soon places his book into a kind of upbeat appreciation of America rather than into a dour, midlife odyssey. You'll recall that Steinbeck was at the end of a long, somewhat soured career, while Heat-Moon had lost in love and seemed to be at the end of his career. Coonts, however, is divorced but riding a crest of popularity, and to pursue his chief passion, old airplanes, with the book already bankrolled is a wonderful lark. Even to include his 14-year-old son, David, on part of the journey seems calculated, although the father-son takes are appealing, particularly when David, high above the earth, folds his arms and announces, ``I'm bored.'' Coonts makes pilgrimages to such shopworn shrines as Disneyland, Hannibal, and even Mt. Rushmore, but he hasn't here much fresh to say about them; he's just a tourist. On the other hand, the culture of the private plane comes delightfully to life as Coonts marvels at a country where every little town has its strip, its laconic air controller, its cheap, clean motel just down the road. His observations on world politics seem pedestrian, but his insight into general aviation is clear and noteworthy: ``The general aviation industry is dying. Federal regulation and the legal system have driven it to the lip of the grave where it is waiting to expire and fall in.'' Middle-class, upbeat to a fault, and unmeditative. Yet the descriptions of flight and the portrait of an America seemingly trapped in a time-warp are arresting. (Eight page photo-insert--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

Coonts ( Flight of the Intruder ), in this departure from fiction, describes how he spent the summer of 1991 flying a 50-year-old wood-and-canvas open-cockpit biplane over the contiguous United States. This experience was the fulfillment of a dream for the author, who communicates his love of aviation and adventure in a warm, chatty style that will delight both his fans and aviation aficionados. Although he spent the first two weeks flying with his 14-year-old son, for the rest of the trip Coonts flew solo, feeling joy and facing ? 'experience' used above; also, 'experienced' is especially clumsy as verb, i think danger in Cannibal Queen as the plane hit bad weather, forcing him to tap every one of his considerable piloting skills. He landed frequently to see the country, meet people and visit friends. Lively anecdotes about his experiences add flavor, but readers may wish to skim his rambling political lectures. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 067174884X
• ISBN 13: 9780671748845
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 344