Wings

by Robert J. Sterling

Great book.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Aviation

Paperback

First published August 7, 1979

Reviews

[Kenny678 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entretenido

El libro nos cuenta la historia de Barney Burton, un chico con fascinación sobre los aviones desde que voló en uno de ellos al cumplir los doce años. Nos cuenta los inicios de la aviación comercial, y como fue avanzando a convertirse hasta lo que es hoy.
Es un libro que disfrute bastante sin ningún apuro, diferente a lo que leo normalmente.
Para las personas que no saben nada de aviación (como yo) recomiendo buscar diversos personajes en Google como Amelia Earhart, que aporta a la trama y es un personaje real, ya que este libro es una mezcla entre realidad y ficción.

A veces se puede llegar a volver un poco denso al no conocer diversos temas de aviación, pero es una lectura entretenida y quizá más relajante a lo que estoy acostumbrado a leer.

[John Mcconahey]

Growing up following World War II as the aviation business was in the midst of unprecedented development, I remember running outside when hearing each passing plane – especially when the rumbling growl of a four-engine piston powered airliner passed overhead. I was intrigued by all methods of flight and was equally fascinated by this aviation industry novel of how an airline born in the 1920s developed into a major carrier.

Barnwell Burton was awestruck by the prospect flying. For his twelfth birthday in 1920, his father paid Bud Lindeman, a local “ace” from WWI, to take Barney on a 30-minute flight. The boy was captivated and decided to become a pilot. By the time he is prepared to begin flight training, his father dies and he must support his mother by working in the family grocery business. Lindeman’s two-plane airline is about to fail when Barney’s mother dies and Barney’s inheritance is sufficient to temporarily save Tri-Cities Airline. Sadly, Barney is so uncoordinated that he nearly crashes during instruction and his dream of flying never materializes. Opportunely, his organizational skills result in the airline’s continued expansion until – his autocratic style catches up with him.

I could not help liking this book.

[Joe White · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character, Barney Burton, is the sole focus for the actions in this book, which portrays his development of an airline from the beginning of commercial aviation in the 30's through the 60's. One of the problems with the delivery of the story line I felt was that he seemed to make smart decisions quickly and correctly for the first 70% of his career, but near the end of the book, his failings of analytics and abrasive manner were so magnified that the story wasn't a pleasurable read. Instead this became a book where to put it down was to not only lose interest, but to shun continuation.
The history of commercial aviation which paraded as the background was what I thought was the biggest value from having read the book. Significant events that actually occurred were interjected into the correct chronological sequence and lent credence to the decision making and struggles of the growth of the airline industry.
Because of the duration of the time scale and the number of individual details, the book seemed to me to be about a decade too long for the characters involved.