Flight of Passage - Hardcover

Buck, Rinker

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670856770 ISBN 13: 9780670856770

Publisher: Hyperion, 1997

Synopsis

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY.

About this title

About the Author

Rinker Buck began his career as a reporter for The Berkshire Eagle in western Massachusetts. He then worked for New York, Life, and Adweek magazines, and his articles and columns have appeared in numerous national magazines and newspapers. Flight of Passage is his first book. He and his wife, Amelia de Neergaard, live with their two daughters in Cornwall, Connecticut.

From the Inside Flap

Every writer keeps a secret, an episode from their past, hidden inside until maturity and their advancing powers conspire to bring it out; and that is certainly what happened with journalist Rinker Buck's Flight of Passage. Part adventure tale, part literary memoir, Flight of Passage is the
story of how two brothers resolved their differences and proved themselves to their father through a mythical odyssey across America.

In 1966, Rinker and Kernahan Buck, 15 and 17, bought a dilapidated Piper Cub for $300, rebuilt it in their barn, and then took off for California, making
headlines across the country as "the youngest aviators ever to fly America coast-to-coast." Buck movingly recreates the pre-Vietnam America of cheap strip motels and dusty landing strips, the perilous crossing of the Rockies and the Arizona deserts in a fragile plane without a radio, narrating a classic tale of the Sixties. But Flight of Passage is also a timeless ode to fathers and sons, evoking the rites of coming of age in a family driven both by demons and big dreams. This BDD Audiobook is read by the author--a man whom critics are already calling "a virtuoso storyteller in a very American vein."

Reviews

An old-fashioned air adventure in the tradition of Charles Lindbergh's celebrated autobiography, The Spirit of St. Louis. Buck, who has written for New York magazine, among other publications, revisits the crowning moment of his youth, the newsworthy 1966 coast-to-coast trek undertaken with his older brother, Kernahan, in a reconditioned Piper Cub. Young Kern Buck, soon after getting his pilot's license at 17, cooked up the idea of flying all the way from New Jersey to California in the two-seat, hand-crank, tailwheel airplane, which the brothers would purchase for $300 and meticulously restore over a long winter. Rinker's presence would be required as copilot and navigator in the radioless Cub. After settling on a southern route through Texas by way of Arkansas, the brothers steered ``stack to stack'' through the steel smog along the river mills at Pittsburgh, with overnights in Indiana, Arkansas, and Texas, reporters picking them up for interviews along the way. The memorable pass through the Rockies, near El Paso, where the pilots battled oxygen starvation as they approached the Guadalupe Pass, is the dramatic centerpiece of the book. From the distance of early middle age--he is now near the age of his father at time of the flight--the author filters his impressive tale through a prism of sympathy for the passionate, damaged man who taught his sons to fly and whose own barnstorming yarns inspired their unusual feat. Says the author, who like his brother sought a way to make a place for himself beyond the shadow of Buck Sr., ``The simple audacity of our trip, our complete naivet‚ and nonchalance, astounds me still.'' This enchanting story of youthful accomplishment, which includes masterly insider descriptions of flight, should reach a broad audience. (25 b&w photos, not seen) (Book-of-the-Month Club/Quality Paperback Book Club selection) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

In July 1966, Rinker and Kernahan Buck flew a Piper Cub from New Jersey to California, becoming?at ages 15 and 18, respectively?the youngest pilots then to cross the country. This abridged version of Rinker's memoirs discusses the flight in the context of the complex relationships between the two brothers and their father, Tom Buck. Tom, barnstormer, magazine editor, and political activist, taught both to fly. However, his strong personality overshadowed his sons. Kern, shy and sensitive, and Rink, rebellious and socially outgoing, learned to trust each other while facing harsh Pennsylvania weather, rough crop dusters, and a dangerous crossing of the Rocky Mountains. Appearing along the way are the population of tiny airports, small-town diners, and the underlying tension of Vietnam-era America. At the end, the brothers reach a greater understanding of each other and establish their own identities independent of their father. Rinker's narration of his own story is wonderful. This warm book will interest both aviation enthusiasts and listeners fascinated by the complex relationships between brothers and fathers and sons. For all audio collections.?Stephen L. Hupp, Univ. of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Lib., Pa.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In July_ 1966, Rinker Buck navigated while Kern Buck piloted the brothers from New York to San Diego in a standard Piper Cub (no lights, no radio, no heat) that they had painstakingly restored to near-mint condition. Kern was 17, Rinker 15, and their father, '30s aerial barnstormer turned journalist Tom Buck, 50 and starting to really feel the toll of a relentlessly active life. In the first paragraph of his colorful, exhilarating, heart-stirring account of the adventure, Rinker reveals the importance of that conjunction of ages: "What we were really doing was proving ourselves to my father." Tom Buck taught his eldest sons to fly and expected them to excel; they obviously did, which was particularly gratifying to Tom in the case of Kern, a naturally reticent, "geeky" kid. But Tom had a hard time granting his sons independence. He badgered them during their nightly calls home (Kern soon delegated calling duties entirely to Rinker, who stood up to Tom better). Using his media connections, Tom drummed up journalistic interest in the flight; the boys initially found this annoying, although Kern then got into it. At the end of their feat, the brothers were firmly reconciled to their father and to one another (Rinker had long been embarrassed by his nerdy older brother, and Kern had been demoralized by Rinker's popularity and athleticism). The journeys of miles and spirits that led to these resolutions Rinker recounts with such verve and love that Flight of Passage bids fair to become a coming-of-age classic. Ray Olson

In 1966 Rinker and Kern Buck, two teenaged brothers from New Jersey, flew a Piper Cub airplane across the country. As a journalist, Rinker Buck had plenty of opportunity to chronicle the flight, but he declined until his own daughter's interest in flying spurred him to this chronicle. He recounts, not only the flight, but the break the brothers made from their charismatic, eccentric father, who had instilled a love of flying adventure in the boys with his "barnstorming blarney." Buck draws a wonderful, vibrant picture of the two boys--penny loafers, jeans, cowboy hats, windblown and exhilarated by the adventure. These quintessential American boys, who reminded onlookers of the Kennedy brothers, did something quite extraordinary for the 1960's or even today. They had no radio, only a simple compass, and slept under the stars wherever they landed for the night. Buck vividly re-creates the flight, and in the narration he's a natural raconteur. He weaves the events and reflections through the animated conversations between the boys. Further, Buck projects an energy and professionalism seldom found when authors read their own work. Frank McCourt had this finesse in his reading of Angela's Ashes. Instead of McCourt's Irish lilt, Buck regales listeners with his imitation of an Arkansas accent and the airmen mimicking the boys' New Jersey accents. All is told with great good humor, and Buck's reading is delightfully unself-conscious. Animatedly he describes the "thwunk," "whap," and "pow" of air turbulence. FLIGHT OF PASSAGE is a perfect choice to introduce a family with teenagers to great family listening. Anyone who has an interest in small planes will delight in Buck's story, but one need not be even the slightest bit interested in flying to enjoy this truly American tale. R.F.W. An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award winner (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: Hyperion
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0670856770
• ISBN 13: 9780670856770
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352